The Overthinkers

Pitches are the daily life of agencies. While the world of media tends to see longer term contracts, many creative and activation pitches are on a project by project basis. Is that a healthy practice for the advertising industry? Does anyone profit from it more? Or does everybody lose in the long term?

This week we're joined by the awesome Minjae Ormes, CMO at Visible (part of Verizon) and one of the hottest telco brands in the US, to discuss the way a company's culture can influence its marketing department. A chance to discuss the ways in which the culture of the business can make or break its marketing output, some of the models we look up to, and what Minjae has brought to influence one of t...

CX planning has become very fancy in advertising circles, but is often badly used or even misunderstood. This week, Rachel tells us more about how she sees the role of strategy to deliver better customer experiences.

Often debated, decried or revered, but rarely tenured. That's the reality of CMO, a job many of us aspire to as the ultimate goal, but one that is often hard to navigate. In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss the traits they think define the best CMOs, as well as some of the realities they have to contend with.

Coming at a problem with a sharp point of view can be daunting. Between the egos of the people you work for and your own insecurities, overcoming that can require leaps of faith and efforts that are hard or discouraging. Likewise, we have to establish the role of leaders to set a culture that welcomes points of view, and what it means to delegate.

It's part of the recurring questions our community loves to ask. Sat between "what is an insight?" and "what is strategy?", we've recently had a resurgence of debates surrounding the difference between planning and strategy. In this episode, we explore why it is we are so enamoured with it, and explore potential implications, whether you're a junior or senior strategist - and even as a client!

A slightly more personal than usual episode this week, where Rachel and Shann share some of the things they've fucked in their careers and what they've learned from it. As the self-aware, introspective superstar Rachel is, she did the the honours, while Shann was playing catch up trying to dig out all the wrongs he'd done.

Brands are often accused of putting glitter on a shit product. But is it really that simple? Are brands able to excuse poor quality? And vice versa, could a bad brand sink a good product?

Community Marketing has long been pegged to represent the future of how marketing would operate, promising brands the ability to get their fans and followers do the bidding. But in the past decade, we've seen both an evolution and a recognition of what community marketing can (or cannot) deliver for brands. To discuss its future, we're joined by Christina Garnett, one of the more insightful voices...

In-housing is a very common strategic shift for clients nowadays, and often seen as a risk to agencies. While it does have downsides in terms of immediate ownership and revenues, it's not necessarily a negative step for the ecosystem. In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss the good, the bad and the maybe sometimes ugly aspects of in-housing marketing services.

This week we're joined by one of the industry's best straight shooters, Derek Walker, to discuss his perspective on whether the quality of our industry's work has gone done or up (hint: Derek is not mincing words). A great opportunity to hear from a veteran who has seen it all, and to discuss pretty openly the dynamics at play, from client agency relationships to the growth of specialist shops, of...

We're beyond delighted to welcome Murray Calder this week, ex strategist from Edinburgh with experiences both client and agency side. As an integrator by heart, Murray joined us to discuss the ways in which media and creative (two worlds often pitted against one another) can work better together.

Let's be honest, we all love to be rewarded. But between the number of disciplines in major awards and the proliferation of xx over/under xx, the sheer volume over awards is skyrocketing. Is there still any value in them? Or are we all a bit too cynical for our own good?

Emotions have been at the heart of successful marketing for decades, and a strategy greatly popularized in the last decade by the work of Binet & Field. This week, we're joined by the brilliant Claire Strickett from adam&eveDDB to bring a grounded view on the importance of emotions. A chance to better define what we mean by emotions, and put to rest some of the many misconceptions peddled...

With Superbowl about to capture advertisers' attention (and purses), we discussed the current state - and worth of tentpole events for brands. Admittedly, this year is particularly special as the world still struggles with the pandemic, but is it even worth brands' attention to sponsor and participate in those tentpole media moments, or does it distract them from finding more ownable moments?

Over the last 30 years the agency business has seen some intense consolidation with holding company models. As our industry is coping with a second crisis a mere decade after the last one, do independent shops stand a chance or are they facing increasingly difficult odds to survive? Both Rachel and Shann started in independent agencies, and Rachel is even now launching her own, so clearly they bot...

We're delighted to Welcome Nicki Sprinz, MD of Ustwo in London, a design studio famous for also producing mobile best-selling game Monument Valley and led with a very strong sense of purpose and values. Now, we're not talking of brand purpose here, but about what genuinely happens on the inside, and how it shows on the outside! The chance to hear about ways to build teams and cultures, but also to...

We have all some lines we wouldn't want our employer to cross. Sometimes, those lines are very public. If you want to change it, should you join the company that crosses them, or "fight" it from the outside?

To start off the new year, new you, we took a listener question from John Burke, asking ourselves when a strategist can feel their job is done. As we discuss in this episode, we believe there is a lot more to it than just the brief!

It's often hard for strategist to let others run their course. Put two strategists on a project, and you're likely to see two diverging views of how to get there. So how do you find ways to not only delegate, but also inspire others' thinking? And how to handle it when what you get is not what you think is right? This will be our last episode for the year, as we take a break. Wishing you all happy...

This year certainly has taken its toll on many of us, often taking some to the point of exhaustion. In this episode, Rachel and Shann share their own experience, sometimes dealing with debilitating burnouts, what has helped them and what to do when the signs are showing.

This week, Rachel and Shann reflect on what has defined the better leaders in their careers, as well as the good, the bad and the not so pretty of their own trajectories as team leaders.

This week we are joined by the awesome Lara O'Reilley, Media and Advertising Editor at Business Insider, and started the discussion with a very loaded question: considering how much the trade press is a representation of our industry, is it acting more as a source of truth that calls out the bullshit, or a source of hype that perpetuates it? A chance to also discuss how to get yourself spotted by...

Facing the reality of one's own mediocrity can sometimes be daunting, if not crippling. But caught between honesty and imposter syndrome, dealing with it head on can be a useful way to mature in your career. Sometimes it can mean working it out and getting ready to learn again, others it may simply mean realising imperfection is not a fatal flaw - just a normal one.

It's a recurring theme that if we were really good at what we do, we probably wouldn't be working in advertising - let alone in an ad agency. And so it's not unusual to hear the refrain that the best creatives tend to pursue a career in the arts, whereas less talented ones would go into advertising. So what two strategists have to say about it? Is it fair to the talent of ad creatives? Or is it ju...