Super Strategist: The Art and Science of Modern Account Planning by Lesley Bielby (releasing spring 2021) is full of practical advice for newcomers and usable strategies and insights for experienced planners, or anyone with an interest in the discipline. Readers will find clear outlines of the role of account planners within an agency, including step-by-step plans to achieve success with clients large and small: how to conduct modern consumer research, develop and implement the creative brief, use data skillfully to protect and improve great work, and use all of these tools and more to influence the feather in the planner’s cap—the customer journey. Super Strategist is the first significant book on the subject of account planning for over twenty years.

Lesley Bielby is a thirty-year veteran of the UK and US advertising industries, having spent equal thirds of her career in London, NYC and Boston. She was one of the third waves of “British Planners” to bring the discipline of Account Planning to a US agency in 1998. She has been a Chief Strategy Officer for over 10 years, being on the leadership team and running departments at several major agencies across North America including DiMassimo Goldstein and Hill Holliday.