At the end of the day, all people see is the work, the tangible outcome of our thinking and ideas. Simply being seen and participating in the conversation can be its own reward. But extraordinary only happens when the work is built on deep insight into the people we're trying to engage and the issues we're trying to address.
No client should have to choose between brilliant strategy and brilliant creative. That's why we're a "creative agency" that invests twice the industry average in strategic expertise. We deliver it through the Conversation Planning Group, whose goal is to guide our efforts to bring brands and people together in innovative and creative ways that benefit both parties. The Conversation Planning Group is comprised of three separate strategic disciplines:
Connection Planning, which McKinney pioneered along with two other agencies in 2003, identifies a brand's best prospects and the most arresting avenues and occasions to engage them in mutually beneficial conversation. Today, our Connection Planning group covers communication strategy (business and customer insights), connection strategy (the connection idea and architecture) and activation (including media planning and buying and media partner oversight). Think of Connection Planning as the “who, where and when.”
Account Planning identifies trends and insights that lead to inspiring brand ideas and strategies for building emotional and transactional connections. Think of Account Planning as the “what.”
Interactive Strategy identifies the unique ways that our best prospects make online a part of their lives and how best to bring innovation to online and interactive vehicles.
McKinney operates in brand teams comprised of leaders from creative, account management and strategy. The Strategy Lead is responsible for bringing the right combination of resources from each of the three disciplines to bear on each issue.
We harness data to make more informed choices through our Research and Data Analytics Group. Their efforts range from fielding the primary research we've conducted among over a quarter of a million consumers to isolate how brands create economic value, to the constant application of data to optimize online media schedules.
Every one of the five words that shape our values (Listen. Provoke. Love. Simplify. Believe.) is important to how we uncover insight and inspire great work.