2014 planning will be the same as it has been

+ As summer draws to a close, it's time to return to the office and start planning for 2014. Clients are making wish lists and putting together their metrics for determining their indicators of success for next year, along with goals for revenue, new sales, retention, and the ilk.

Agencies are getting ready to dig into research, build strategies and get the creative teams churning out the ideas that will bring these things to life.

If a brand has multiple agencies, then it could mean it's time to put on the war paint. You're fighting for dollars against the other agencies for your speciality. The traditional/brand shop usually gets the largest piece of the pie. And then the rest is scattered amongst the digital, PR, CRM, social or whatever other agencies are left.

But perhaps it's time to rethink this methodology.

What if budgets were based solely upon the goals of the client? Not about allocating $X million to each agency?

Problem is that it wouldn't work for the agencies. They need to know what funds are being set aside to make sure they have the right staff and other resources available.

These are just some of the fundamental issues needing to be resolved before the ad biz can make leaps forward from where it has been. Which means the planning process for 2014 will be the same as it was last year, and the decade before that.