The 5 P Motto – Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Posted on June 22, 2011

I was in college the first time someone mentioned “The 5 P’s”.  I had not heard of this phrase before, and thought to myself… genius, so true, what a great saying.  Only later in life did I realize that this common phrase has been duplicated, replicated, and modified for many years.  No originality here, but nonetheless, the phrase has stayed with me; I still refer to it as the “5 P Motto” and typically when I refer to it as this, I get a lot of “what” and head scratches.  I explain and then get the same quote I once had; “genius… I love it”.  Of course I don’t let on that this phrase has been around for years.

Some say, Proper Planning, others-other variations… but in the advertising world, I think “Prior Planning” works best.  Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance… in a nutshell.  Think ahead.  Think ahead to what you want to happen when, where, and how.  Take the time to chart your path.  Take the time to think about what you want to accomplish and how and when you plan to accomplish it, then work towards that goal.

In advertising, too many times advertisers have absolutely no idea on what they want to promote, when and how they will do it.  And when the time comes for them to put an idea into action, they are often behind where they should be in order to effectively execute their plan.  “Missed opportunity” rears it’s ugly head.  Roadblocks, obstacles, often get in the way of last minute planning and render proper execution of a well laid plan in shambles.  This of course leads to an enormous amount of stress on both the advertiser and the advertising medium to which they want to use.

I was in a automotive dealer client of mine the other day shooting a series of 10 ads.  10 TV ads, not to use at this time, but we were crafting ones for September and beyond.  In the automotive world this is often unheard of as automotive dealers rely on manufacturers for incentives as to what they will promote, and these only get released to them at the beginning of each month.  What’s the advantage of this?  Automotive advertisers typically only advertise the last 2 weeks of every month… it’s a pattern every automotive advertiser follows, except for the ones that follow the 5 P motto.  By having advertisements ready to go early, these smart advertisers can speak to audiences for a full 2 weeks without all the other automotive advertisers.  In marches the others 2 weeks later, but it’s too late… early messages have already been received.

Think ahead.  Plan out a yearly, 6 month or even 3 month calendar on what you want to promote with your business.  It may take a little time now, but when the time comes for execution, you’ll find things much easier.  Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.