[Talking About What It Means to Be a Planner at SUNNY SIDE UP] A Field Study on the Life of a Planner at a PR Agency!

I have appeared on this blog several times, but my name is Kameyama. Whether this is your first time here or you are visiting again, thank you for your continued support.

This time, I would like to talk about how planners at PR agencies work.

Below is the table of contents. I would be grateful if you could stay with me for a little while.🐢

■ Self-introduction: Kameyama, Planner

Allow me to introduce myself again—my name is Kameyama.

I have written several posts on this blog so far, so if you are interested in other articles as well, I would be delighted if you would take a look around.

Kameyama’s articles are here!! (I have written 14 posts, and even I think, “Not bad.”)

My apologies for the sudden eyesore.

I thought I should probably include a photo of myself, but as I am rather shy, it ended up being a half-hearted photo where you can’t quite tell who I am. (It is a photo of me nearly being forced by a tough-looking guy at a street-side shop to buy a set of traditional clothing. In the end, I was made to buy it at a different shop… .)

I belong to the Communication Planning Department, and within the department I am a mid-level mid-career hire—so, as the title suggests, I am well suited to explain what planners at SUNNY SIDE UP do.

It has been about four and a half years since I joined SUNNY SIDE UP. Previously, I worked at a full-service advertising agency in sales and media buying. The reason I joined SUNNY SIDE UP was my “aspiration to become a planner.”

When I joined the advertising agency, I naturally wanted to be in the high-profile creative department, and there was a time when I even attended a copywriting course. However, I felt it would be difficult for me, and while it was not creative work itself, I began aiming to become a planner who sets the direction. If I was going to aim for it, I wanted to be a planner who also understands creative.

Because an internal transfer at my previous company did not work out, I began job hunting and was fortunately hired as a planner at SUNNY SIDE UP. At the time, I was at the midpoint of my fourth year as a working professional, and from a hiring perspective, I imagine it required a bold decision to hire someone who was neither young nor experienced in PR or planning.

Later, when I asked my then-manager why they hired me, they told me, “Kame-chan, I could see you had the aptitude to be a planner at the interview stage, but honestly, more than the content of your proposal, it was your passion that made me want to hire you.”

That is why I worked relentlessly to grow as quickly as possible and acquire PR and planning skills so I could become a contributing member of the team. After about a year and a half, just as I felt I could finally handle work on my own, I found myself taking charge of internal training lectures for younger members and being entrusted as a team leader.

Now, I am a planner who is often assigned to projects where the proposal scope includes creative as well, and I am able to do very fulfilling work.

■ What a planner is at SUNNY SIDE UP

At PR agencies, it seems the planner position is not very common. At SUNNY SIDE UP, planners exist separately from account executives and media specialists.

Our account executives are not limited to serving as coordinators. They can develop proposals themselves and carry them through to execution. At times, they even promote directly to the media—true all-rounders.

Even with such account executives, planners exist because there are still cases where the planner’s capabilities are needed—such as particularly challenging projects or projects we want to win with certainty.

That is why expectations from the account side are high, and we also put our full effort into every project so we can exceed those expectations.

SUNNY SIDE UP is categorized as a full-service PR agency, but our projects are not limited to the PR domain—they span a wide range.

As one example from my own work, I have done the following.

• Proposing marketing communications including TV commercials for an overseas brand’s launch in Japan
• Participating in a town development competition as a planning support company
• Creating materials for event sponsorship partners
• Providing PR-perspective consulting on plans developed by a consulting firm
• Delivering PR lectures for students at a university
• Creating briefing materials for shareholders

In short, I have been involved in a broad range of work.

Of course, at the core of these projects is a “PR mindset,” in a way that is characteristic of SUNNY SIDE UP. Recently, as I have spoken with creative directors at advertising agencies, I have increasingly felt that some of them also have a “PR mindset,” and I believe demand for it is growing across society.

As a planner myself, while keeping a “PR mindset” as my foundation, I would like to increase these kinds of projects even more through planning that goes beyond the conventional framework of a PR agency.

To return to the main point, what a planner at SUNNY SIDE UP is can be summarized as a planner who designs marketing communications based on a “PR mindset,” while thinking beyond the boundaries of a PR agency.

■ How Planner Kameyama Works

Let me introduce how I work as Planner Kameyama. Some mornings are slow, and some are early (I am a night person, so I do not like early mornings).

I prefer not to schedule meetings in the morning as much as possible, but some senior planners are morning people because they have children and need to factor in pick-up and drop-off schedules. Everyone has their own way of working.

Since meetings are generally scheduled during the day, I often use gaps in my schedule for steady, task-oriented work such as creating proposals. Because I am a night person (as mentioned), I often develop plans at night when I can secure a block of time for work that requires deep thinking (such as strategy and concept development).

Because thinking is part of the job, when I am in the office I sometimes take a short walk around the area as a break and go out for lunch. This is sudden, but here are Kameyama’s top 3 recommended lunch spots within walking distance of the office!!

Some days I finish neatly within eight hours, while on the day before a presentation I may keep going until late at night. However, we allocate tasks according to each member’s workload and situation, so it is not as though we are constantly busy.

I typically handle about 5–10 projects in parallel, and the appeal is being able to be involved in a variety of projects. Because assignments are not fixed by industry or client, it broadens the scope of my planning.

That is how I approach my work. I would be happy if this has conveyed even a little of what my work style is like.

■ A Moment with the Department Head

From left: Deputy Department Head Shimizu, Department Head Murata, Kameyama

I captured a screenshot from a regular meeting with the management members of the Planning Department. While speaking with Department Head Murata and Deputy Department Head Shimizu, they help adjust team members’ workloads and serve as a sounding board when we are facing challenges.

They support the team with a kind, welcoming atmosphere like this.

■ A Junior Colleague’s Hard Work

I will introduce just one junior colleague as well. Since she is highly motivated, from here onward these are her own comments. Please mentally switch the “voice” you have been hearing from the blog author—from a man in his late 20s/early 30s to a young female employee.

I am Oku, in my fourth year since joining as a new graduate!

After spending about one year after joining the company working on media promotion as a media specialist, I transferred to the same Planning Department as Kameyama. This is my third year as a planner.

Planning is a job where the information you encounter and the insights you gain in everyday life directly connect to ideas. I feel the fun and fulfillment of planning when what I have absorbed comes alive as an idea—and when that idea becomes reality.

My experience as a planner is still limited, but I am developing plans from a Gen Z perspective so I will not lose to Kameyama!

■ So, What Exactly Is a Planner at SUNNY SIDE UP?

This is very important, so please allow me to explain once again.

Planners are expected to elevate the quality of what can be planned by the account side alone, and to support areas that tend to become media-centric by taking a broader, societal perspective.

In addition, because advertising agencies can sometimes be competitors, we consider not only PR strategy but also marketing communications strategy.

In other words, a planner at SUNNY SIDE UP is someone who designs marketing communications based on a “PR mindset,” while thinking beyond the boundaries of a PR agency.

■ SUNNY SIDE UP Is Currently Hiring Mid-Career Professionals!

Comment from the Head of the Planning Department:

“I want to become a planner—what should I do?”
“You cannot become a planner without broad knowledge, right?”

We are sometimes asked questions like these.

It is true that in today’s world, the communications industry requires more and more up-to-date knowledge to be absorbed compared to the past. However, at this moment, having broad knowledge is not that important.

There is an environment where you can learn on the job by sharing information daily with team members, so I believe people with curiosity and a desire to keep learning are well suited.

And above all, what matters most is “the ability to stumble upon small everyday questions and issues.”

I believe people who can take a positively skeptical view of things that do not usually stand out (things society tends to regard as “normal”) are well suited.

Comment from HR:

From July 2023, SUNNY SIDE UP made a fresh start as a renewed SUNNY SIDE UP by integrating two group companies with strengths in influencer marketing and sales promotion, among other areas.

In addition, with regard to the indispensable “human capital” needed for further growth, we will review and strengthen our education programs and commit to each person’s growth as a working professional and as a PR professional.

We are entering a period of major transformation as a company, but our commitment to “Let’s Have Fun!” and to continuing to engage sincerely with our clients and colleagues remains unchanged.

While valuing both what changes and what does not, would you like to take on a new challenge with us—someone who can turn the company’s changes into “Let’s Have Fun!” as well?

■ In Closing

Thank you very much for reading to the end.

There were quite a few people who appeared along the way—senior colleagues, junior colleagues, HR, and others—but speaking personally, I enjoy the way planners work at SUNNY SIDE UP. Being involved in a wide variety of projects, thinking across many different domains, and holding planning meetings with all kinds of people is truly stimulating.

I would be grateful if this has conveyed even a little about the workplace and work content that I enjoy. If we have an opportunity to meet in some context, I look forward to speaking with you then.