Freelance Brand and Creative Strategist / Strategic Planner and Fractional Strategy Director
What problem are we actually trying to solve here? Think about it, the ultimate role of marketing is to attempt to persuade people to Think, Feel or Do something as a result of our communications (in which I include branding). With the ultimate outcome being that people’s Thinking, Feeling, or Doing has a positive impact … Continue reading The one thing every client needs to share with their strategist
The Strategist-Creative relationship can be make or break for a creative project. Without mutual respect and excellent baton passing, followed by constructive feedback and supportive client sell-in, the resulting work is never going to be as good. And the client will wonder why they paid for strategy when they can’t see it in the final … Continue reading What I wish I’d known…about working with Creatives
So, you’re starting a new project, possibly even with a new client, and an email lands in your inbox marked ‘Kick Off meeting agenda’. Which is a bit of a surprise, seeing as half that meeting is supposed to be strategy-focused and led by you. Find out who booked the kick off meeting and extract … Continue reading What I wish I’d known…about kick off meetings
There are strategic brand or comms projects where you’re given weeks and a generous budget to find the insight you need, but let’s be honest, for many strategists they can be few and far between. Whether it’s a pitch with tight timings, a low-budget bodge, or a time-sensitive response to something affecting the brand, an … Continue reading Thinking Scrappy: Finding Strategic Gold on a Shoestring
The more experienced you get as a strategist, the more, well, strategic your projects tend to be and therefore the more senior your clients and other stakeholders get. I’ve worked with all sorts of big noises, from ex-FTSE 100 CEOs to venture capitalists, silicon valley tech bros and Global Heads of Everything and it doesn’t … Continue reading Working with really senior clients – what I wish I’d known
I’ve done an awful load of road trips for work over the years, whether that was for qual research, client meetings, pitches or site visits. During covid WFH, I got really itchy feet for those road trips and I realised that it wasn’t the destinations or work interactions I was missing, it was the serendipitous … Continue reading Why you need to build serendipity into work trips
When I’m training account handlers how to write better creative briefs, early on I cover how to start by getting a better client brief from the client. When I mention making the most of a site/factory/HQ visit I’m increasingly met with blank faces. For reasons of budget and efficiency a lot of client meetings are … Continue reading You can’t beat being there
In the past few years I’ve come across quite a few aspiring planners (of all ages) and ‘I’m strong strategically’ senior agency people who seem to be under the impression that the only place that strategic thinking can possibly come from is the pages of a book. You know the ones, they have 50+ marketing … Continue reading Strategy is not just about book smarts
I know that the future is looking wobbly for lots of Planners/Strategists at the moment and I personally know several who have already been made redundant. It must be particularly hard for Junior Planners to work out how to make themselves indispensable/employable as quickly as possible, especially if they’re already on furlough. So I’ve come … Continue reading A little advice for junior strategists & planners who are nervous about their job prospects
When meeting prospective Planners, I always try to find out if their brains are wired the right way to be a great Planner - are they interested in what makes people tick, problem solving, investigation and communication? Do they appreciate the link between brand comms and the bottom line? And perhaps most importantly, have they … Continue reading for Planners, gut instinct matters however experienced you are