When it comes to advertising and media Leon Halbert knows a thing or two. The 30-year veteran has seen his share of software and watched processes come and go. He’s heard every promise from vendors and knows what happens when those promises are not followed through with quality products. It’s understandable that he was skeptical when his agency, True Media, decided to roll out Bionic as their new media planning system.

Resistance to Change is Natural

Implementing a new system is always difficult. It takes a concentrated effort and a careful roll out strategy to shift habits without everyone feeling like they’re having their hands tied. The addition of new software runs the risk of becoming more of a hurdle than a boost for media planners. You need to convince the team that learning new behaviors is worth the pay off in the long run.

Skeptic at First

When first introduced to Bionic, Leon was unconvinced. He didn’t feel Bionic would work, “I could not figure out how to get broadcast and print/digital to match up on the flowchart properly. I was also struggling with the aesthetics.” He tried managing a few media plans in Bionic, but never felt comfortable enough to go all in. So, he threw up his hands and went back to his old ways. After all, he had been successfully doing it for years. Why change now?

It’s human nature to be skeptical of any change. The risks of the change are felt immediately while the benefits seem far off and vague. These feelings make it hard to take the critical first steps towards progress.

Baby Changes Everything

Here’s where it gets interesting. Leon’s colleague, Julie, took time off, leaving Leon in charge of all her accounts. We’re not talking gone for only a week either, Julie was on maternity leave and Leon needed to cover her for a full quarter.

Leon quickly discovered that Julie works almost exclusively through Bionic. Everything – her clients, campaigns, even reports – was organized, generated, and stored in the system. “I guess I can make this work,” thought Leon. Luckily for Leon (and True Media), Bionic made it easy for him to pick up where Julie left off.

“I saw how Julie used Bionic and it all started to click,” said Leon. “I started to get a feel of how the system worked and realized that Bionic is more than a data entry tool for media plans. It’s built to manage the entire media planning and buying process.”

Becoming a Bionic Believer

With this newfound understanding, Leon’s skepticism turned to belief. Rather than getting caught up in the pieces that didn’t exactly fit his expectations, Leon started to appreciate how Bionic helped boost his productivity throughout the day.

He was more efficient when he needed to handle a change, or refer to a campaign’s plan, because all the data was in Bionic to update or share. Media authorizations were generated with a few clicks. Bionic enabled Leon to manage Julie’s accounts and work with her clients without missing a beat.

And Now a Development Partner

Today, Leon is part of a team of media planners and buyers that collaborate with Bionic. He volunteered to join this team of development partners because he wants to advance the state of media planning. In this role, Leon provides valuable insights to help the system solve the real-world issues that media planners deal with every day.

“I’m encouraged by the responsiveness of the Bionic team,” said Leon. “The commitment we’re making to each other is beneficial for the entire industry. It allows media teams to have better software that understands the real needs of the job and become the sandbox for media planners.”