Nicknames

I love nicknames. I think they are one of the best ways to make a group cohesive. I went out last night for my friend’s 30th birthday and I love this group so much because they are nickname fetishists. Part of the reason I kept my married name is because so many people use it or nickname me around it – LuhFevrah, fever, LaFarge, you give me fever. Last night we had Sausage, Meat Drawer,  and Taxi. The meat theme continued as we moved the party to Easy Street where none other than DJ Meaty was pumping out the music.

At the last agency I worked at, everyone in the department had earned a nickname. Ralph who’d puked in someone’s office after a client social, The Dongle Keeper which is too long to explain, Half Empty, and others that played off of names nicely. I think I need to start nicknaming my department.

It’s Planner Survey Time!

I’m starting to love this time of year… it’s when I send out the now annual planner survey and get updates from lots of people around the country and some really nice notes from people I don’t even know that they appreciate the survey.

This year is the 3rd year of survey fun and I’ve added some new questions about supervisors (what makes for a good one), where we might aspire to work, what do we think about the quality of planning and what’s driving it up/down/sideways, if we plan to switch jobs, why and will we stay in planning. Then there are the old favorites that let us know how much people make based on years of experience, geographic location, degree and so forth.

Since the blogosphere has taken off, I’ve asked everyone to post the survey on their blogs, and even though mine is far from world famous, I’m posting too. So if you are a brand/strategic/account planner working at any type of agency, freelancing, even client-side in the US or outside the US, please take the survey.

Then enter your email address so you can receive the results and keep your answers separate from your email identity.

I sent out the email last night, and this morning we already have 75 responses. I think we will top last year’s 192 pretty quickly.