On Strategy Showcase

By brilliantly crafting a perceived negative into a strength, Aldi went from a 2% share to a 7.9% share. Hear the Grand Prix award-winning strategy story from Jamie Peate and Laura McKinlay of McCann, Manchester.

Bumble's about women making the first move. In this latest work, the brand expands on their empowerment platform by encouraging women to fall in love with dating as a journey, not simply a means to an end. 

If drinking beer is typically something you do for yourself, could drinking a low carb beer be something you do for someone you love? It's "I'm drinking it for you" with James Tucker, Planning Director at Colenso BBDO in Auckland, NZ.

In a category fixated on clean, Unilever laundry detergent Persil flipped category conventions by telling the world that dirt was not the enemy, but the result of giving a child the freedom to explore and grow. This commitment to child development became the heart of the brand.  This is the story behind that platform and how it was evolved to reflect Unilever's new green purpose. 

A fast food brand attempting to win a Michelin Star? Seems crazy, but it's the attempt alone that worked. This is the strategy story behind the award-winning campaign from KFC and Ogilvy Australia.

TBWA Chiat Day Los Angeles has formed an elite team of creatives and strategists to build out a B2B marketing practice. I talk with Managing Director John Hickman about the back story and the case for B2B.

A WARC Grand Prix winner. The Middle Eastern-based home furnishing retailer used Father's Day to celebrate the achievements of single mothers. 

The story behind the heart-warming and award-winning campaign that reversed losses by expanding appeal, with Rachel Ellerm of Lion and Lucinda Sherborne of DDB, New Zealand. 

Huge fan of Doug Holt. We talk about purpose, challenger and cultural brands through the lens of Jack Daniels, Chipotle, Blue Buffalo, Dove, Starbucks, etc.

The industry columnist, advisor and professor of marketing shares his Top 10 moments of this past year.  And, as always, there are surprises for all.

La Dolce Velveeta presents the brand as an "unrestrained pleasure" by leveraging craveability and the attitudes of proud Velveeta lovers,  claiming you don't have to be rich to live golden.

Adam&Eve DDB's CSO Martin Beverley and Craig Spence, Chief Brand Officer for the IPC share the story behind the creation of Wethe15, with its focus on what we have in common, not what makes us different. Lessons in here for every marketer.

Cadbury’s belief that generosity is in everyone rebuilt its business. Sophie Kerbegian, former Head of Planning at VCCP and Benazir Barlay-Batada, Marketing Director at Mondelez  share the backstory of this Grand Prix award-winning campaign.

Pharma should treat patients like Nike treats athletes. So says John Kenny, Head of Strategic Planning at pharma agency, Intouch Group. He shares what he sees as opportunity for planners and strategists to reframe the category, worldwide.

This Gold EFFIE winning partnership with HULU drew attention to inequality by brilliantly twisting an age old adage " A woman's place is in the kitchen."

According to Ben, the essence of the Starbucks brand has always been seduction. Yet he worries it's moving away from its cultural capital codes. We talk about the brand and how its desire to connect post-lockdown led him and the team to the Funnel Cake Frappuccino.

The likelihood of getting eaten by your cat this Halloween is low, but it's not zero. Building on the success of last year's Halloween campaign, this year's "Tasty Human" takes the humor and insight to a new, hilarious level.  

In pre-covid convenience-obsessed culture, cooking at home was struggling. This led to  Lurpak's strategic pivot from celebrating "how" we cook to celebrating "why."  A 2021 APG Creative Strategy Award winner.

This independent shop with clients including Google (Chromebook, Assistant, Pixel, Photos, Pay, etc) ESPN, NBC and others, is a studio-style creative company that's delivering at speed, something that generally scares other agencies.

Three Ireland is a telecommunications brand. This B2B campaign centered around Arranmore, an isolated island off the coast of Donegal. The parallel between island life and business life was that companies, not unlike communities, need to be connected in order to effectively grow.

The story behind successfully managing through multiple challenges (chicken shortage crisis, the intro of new fries, and covid.) It's a journey of success built on the shared belief in doing the opposite of what's expected.

The story behind the brand's expansion from a niche segment to the broader market with Mark Kirkham, VP & General Manager of Sports, Energy and Juice brands at PepsiCo and Tiina Salzberg, CSO at 180 Amsterdam.

As strategists, we're reluctant to embrace the obvious. As Loz puts it "we think our role is to create an unexpected leap." But when something is obvious, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. This brilliantly simple campaign for Taylors coffee bags will inspire you to consider the obvious in everything you do.

After acquiring Droga5 and other creative shops, Brian and his team are now ready to roll out their part consultancy, part tech firm and part agency offering. Not only is it formidable, but it may, in fact, be what we've always wanted modern marketing agencies to be.

The brand that once expressed its essence - attraction - in terms of one dimensional women drawn uncontrollably to the Axe guy, is reinventing itself. From “Spray Axe, get girl” to “Spray Axe, open possibilities,” it now reflects how the playground of attraction has broadened.