The Overthinkers

Advocates of brand purpose often treat as a given that brands should take a stance on cultural crises and the debates that stem from them. Sometimes brands are even blamed for not taking a more active voice. But is it really their place, and will brands really make that much of a difference? This week, Rachel and Shann discuss why it's important for marketers to keep track of what's happening in s...

While this topic exudes scents of false dichotomy, it is also the opportunity to reflect on the balance between ambitions that might sometimes be in conflicts. Ultimately, marketers are both in the business of delivering the right message and delivering the right now. So sure, a combination of the two is best, but if you were to choose, which would you pick?

There is no denying the essential role of creativity in marketing. But there has been a lot of talk about the struggling health of creative shops over the last decade. Industry veterans like Martin Sorrell seem pretty convinced the future doesn't even require much of what used to define them in the past. Meanwhile, media agencies have been playing a bigger role in driving communications plans, oft...

There has been a lot of discussion about long term brand build and short term activation in the last few years. We've engineered our thinking around this opposition where one does a specific job the other doesn't deliver, or at least not as well. This week, we explore if performance marketing (search, e-commerce, programmatic etc.) can be a good vehicle to build a brand, and if yes how?

We're seeing a lot of products popping up with pretty polished brand identities and that try to fast track the value of their branding. This week, we are joined by Ana Andjelic, strategy executive and author of “The Business of Aspiration”, to discuss (and sometimes even debate a little!) what makes a brand a strong asset to a business.

Many big names in our industry are professing the death of brands. Their value is, in their opinion, waning with the crash of mass broadcast, hurt by the easy access to reviews, and a general direction towards the product more than the brand. This week, Rachel and Shann discuss why brands are more likely here to stay.

The recruitment and promotion process in advertising tends to reward outlandish claims. Sometimes, fitting in the narrative of the moment can help fast forward one's ambitions. But is that really a requirement? Is there a role for honesty and provocations that go against the accepted norms?

Agencies like to remind the world they're a talent business. But as competition for talents gets fierce, are they really set up to win the best? Rachel and Shann share their unfiltered views on what's happening to our business, and whether agencies can still retain, or even attract, talents.

Being able to provide direction is an essential skill for strategists. But it's at least as important to know when and how to let go - whether it's for other functions to take over, or while supervising someone else's work. In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss how they develop a more hands off approach to their work sometimes, even when it feels hard to let go.

This has been a difficult year for junior recruitment in agencies, and we know some will struggle to get their foot through the door. Regardless, if strategic planning is something you'd like to start your career with, there are many questions worth asking yourself, from whether it's right to start there to whether you're working in the right environment for you to enjoy it. In this episode, Rache...

Today we are joined with the phenomenal Bennett D. Bennett, writer/strategist/principal at Aerialist and co-igniter of 600 And Rising. In this episode, we discuss the importance of having a sustainable media diet for brands, one that rewards those who bring depth and not just click hacks, a particularly important discussion at a time where context makes a big comeback on the media scene.

Creative testing has long been a thing a lot of ad folks love to hate. The practice has certainly made massive contributions to the industry, but as always, when a method becomes a dogma, it's bound to become a problem. This week, Rachel and Shann discuss not if but how creative testing get in the way of great ideas, all the while being a valuable and important part of our process?

Somehow, strategy has become a very fragmented practice, with digital strategists, brand planners, comms planners, social strategists etc. This week, we take a question we've seen on Fishbowl (yes...), and discussed whether it was a possible (maybe even natural) fit for a digital strategist to become a "strat planner".

Although we take it for granted, the separation of media and creativity is actually still a somewhat recent structure in the history of advertising. As we see the lines between the two getting very blurry again, is there value in reuniting the two? And should strategy in particular be more integrated?

We're delighted to welcome Alexandra Jamieson and Bob Gower to discuss a massive challenge most of us have to deal with on a daily basis. Alex and Bob bring their years of expertise in organizational design and executive coaching to explain some of the discoveries they've made to get the most out of organization. In this episode, we talk a lot about creating safe spaces, taking the time to underst...

Faris Yakob likes to remind us that the pursuit of strategy is to turn uncertainty into risk. In our efforts to manage risks, we can oftentimes get caught up in an endeavour to find the optimal solution and direction, as if there was one right way competing with a lot of sub-optimal - or even wrong - directions. The question often isn't wether it's achievable but whether this ambition can have per...

Bonus episode this week, recorded a few months ago when Tom and Mark joined us around our little microphone. The occasion to talk about what happens when you feel like you're reached your peak in ad land, something many of us have to think about. For many, peaking is impossible, while for others it can be a blessing allowing them to pivot to other things.

Working in the service industry means you don't always get to choose who you work for - or at least who your business works for. Equally, we may feel unable to express things publicly in fear of response, or simple respect for the colleagues we work with. Sometimes, it can be a dilemma, one that has no doubt been felt even more strongly in the last few weeks for some. Are there ways to navigate th...

Oh boy, do strategists love their frameworks. We love using them, writing them, sharing them and even evangelising them. But do we really need them to write good strategy? What value do they bring to a team, and to an organisation? What makes a framework a good framework? And what happens when we don't use them?

Workoholism is often seen as something worth celebrating. "She worked the three weekends in a row on this, it shows her commitment!" It is particularly true in the United States, where the idea of "hustling" is often associated with merit. In this episode, Rachel and Shann share their own journeys, how they have identified it in their careers, and some suggestions for talent, leaders and clients t...

We welcome the awesome Thas Naseemuddeen, CEO at Omelet in Los Angeles, to discuss her progression from Chief Strategist to Chief Executive. What is it like to switch responsibilities? Is it more stressful, and why? What does she love about it? How does she leave space for the strategy leads to define the strategic vision? Tune it to listen to one of the most inspiring strategists in the ad indust...

Today we take a bit more time than usual to reflect on some of the things we have seen, heard and sometimes learned over the last 2 weeks.

We are joined by Cole Habersham, account manager at Droga 5 and contributing writer for ADCOLOR, to discuss the tragic events and escalation of the last few days in America. As we all face the reality that the message Black Lives Matter is as important as ever, we explain what's happening, how it may impact some of our friends and colleagues, but also the reality that we all have a role to play to...

This week we are joined by special guest Zoe Scaman, a brilliant London based strategist trained in ad agencies and who is now working for Oscar winning filmmaker Ridley Scott's Creative Group. The occasion to find out more about what it's like working in the star studded entertainment industry, what skills she was able to transfer there, but also what she thinks the ad industry could learn from t...

Because strategist don't really produce anything that is tangibly seen by the consumers, it is sometimes heard that there is a tendency for strategists do work in their own bubble. This can of course be a problem both in terms of collaboration with other teams, but also because strategists are tasked with helping understand the reality of consumers and the world they live in. Is the issue really t...