Truth, Lies, and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning Hardcover – March 13, 1998

This book is such a great resource for students in advertising - especially for those of you out there pursuing account planning and strategic thinking. This book offers amazing insight into the entire process from ideation to brief writing. Loved the use of case studies throughout the book because they offered very tangible evidence of the ideas he argues throughout. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting clarification on what exactly strategy and account planning is all about.

Jon Steel clearly explains what account planning is and more importantly, why it's important. Regardless if you're on the creative side or the account side, this book is loaded with insights. Entertaining, too. It's a book I will refer to again and again. Yes, the game has changed and will continue to change, but there are basic procedures that will remain. I highly recommend this book to agencies and clients alike.

Very interesting book. He is the typo of pro I admire and respect. I have been an account planner al my long adman career, 60 years. I have always been a Bernbachian monk and I see the author is a similar person.I strongly believe that account planning exists to help create advertising - a supporting role not leading. It is an important element but is by no means a substitute for an fresh new idea beautifully executed.Account planning should not be misused. It is a tool to help the creators.Since I'm Brazilian and all my life worked on American accounts, I believe the author's British writing maybe is not as clear as the Americans.

Another Outsource Marketing firm favorite!A great book about communication planning written by Jon Steel, the Brit who heads account planning for Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Steel and his agency are best known for developing the "got milk?" campaign.Truth, Lies & Advertising describes the process of gathering consumer insights and turning them into potent communications.It offers great advice about developing advertising objectives, using consumer research, and working with creative people.Steel writes with enthusiasm and sympathy for the creative process, but he's also savvy about business realities and committed to results.If you've ever struggled to reconcile the art of creative with the science of business, this book should interest you.

As an ad exec who went to London to get a better understanding about the phenomenon called Account Planning I was keen to read what Mr Steel had to say. Unlike some of the other reviews I thought it a very good nuts and bolts book.Unfortunately I was disappointed that the author did not explain the key to Account Planning success.Like so many others Mr Steel viewed it as a technique or even worse a sub-discipline or even a department within the agency.Account Planning is a culture.It is the attitude the entire agency must take to making the work relevant to its task. It is a culture of teamwork. And it must begin at the top. Many US agencies hire someone who understands research and gives them the title Account Planner and then claims the agency is an account planning agency. Nope.If the CEO can give hard benefits of the Account Planning culture in the agency than it probably is an Account Planning agency. If every member of an account team can explain the benefits than it probably is an Account Planning agency. If there are still hard lines between Account People, Writers, Art, etc then it is not an Account Planning agencyIf an Account Planning agency's work wins awards for creativity it is merely lagniappe to the real purpose of account planning. Selling what the customer actually wants not what the client thinks the customer wants.

Love this book. Steel does an amazing job explaining the art of account planning. Very well written and easy to read. Sometimes I forget that Im reading this book for a class and not just for fun! Id recommend this to anyone interested in the field.

The book came on time, in great condition, and was packaged well. This book is a great read for anyone interested in Marketing and Advertisting. A lot of great insite given on campaigns that you are sure to remember! Great book for college students and recent grads.

I got this book as a gift for a college senior about to go into the world of advertising. She absolutely loved it and felt that she learned a lot of valuable lessons for her future career from it.