The Eleven Miles planning team has been thinking ahead for 2023: Where can we add the most value? How can we take ourselves out of our comfort zone? What do clients need from us now? In our latest series, each Eleven Miles planner muses on the single word that sums up what 2023 could hold for them.

Above all, planners in 2023 will need to be brave.

“Often, in the real world, it's not the smart that get ahead but the bold.”

If 2022 was anything to go by, clients will often find themselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable territories – especially in industries experiencing rapid change. This year, planners need to be brave in guiding clients through the unknown. 

The role of a brave planner is especially important in the world of digital. With the almost daily proliferation of marketing tools, channels and platforms mixed in with keeping tabs on trends and uncovering insights, there’s no other way but to dive in, and help clients make smart decisions on emerging techniques when and where appropriate.

Being a brave planner will often mean being the first one in the room (virtual or not) to ask the difficult questions, to suggest a bold new initiative, a change or redirection, words that many clients would rather not hear due to pressure, timelines and budgets, but a word that, when turned into action, can yield effective results. It’s also exciting: from getting a client onboard to launch on a new platform with subcultures aplenty to connect with; Discord, Reddit, TikTok and Pinterest to name a few, to experimenting with new creative – it’s these expert recommendations that clients, in my opinion, look to agencies for.

This isn’t to suggest that the planner will always know the way – risk is inherently part of the process. But a brave planner commits to an open mindset of curiosity and exploration, always aiming to be one step ahead. This may mean that we’ll find ourselves in uncharted territory… Does that sound scary or exciting? It depends on which way you look at it. It also depends on the client. A brave planner needs to be able to help take their client to these new places with confidence and optimism. To move from how a business works today, to how it might work better, and more boldly, tomorrow.

Olivia Thurlow, Creative Planning & Research