advice from Steve Le Neveu, Publicis - West

How did you get to where you are?

• I started our on the client-side. It's a fairly common way to do it ~ move on up by way of account management.

What is planning to you?

• Creating is a process. Planning is responsible for creating the environment where that idea can bubble up. Planning is a catalyst process.

Awesome quote:

• We're not so much ad agencies anymore as we are idea agencies. (yes!) ...ways of connecting people to a brand, how you can create a more interesting brand experience, and how you can draw consumers into the development of that experience.

What a personality characteristic you look for in a junior planner?

• I look for people who are smart and interesting in non-generic ways. Planners need to know how to ask a smart question.
  

Do you have any warnings for newcomers?

• Don't be a smarty pants (yup, he said it). You want to be smart but you don't have to tell people you're smart.

Advice for breaking in?

• It's not easy (I KNOW!!!). Getting in through account management is a legitimate way to go because you've learned something about how advertising works and you get to be connected to strategy. Media is a little tougher, but still ok. Just make sure people see you have a planning brain.
  

Tips for my resume?

• References are always good, maybe attached to the resume; just a couple people saying this person is X, Y, and Z.