In today's Sweathead episode, Rakaa Taylor shares with us how he made the leap from being a rapper, musician, and artist to being a full-time strategist. He draws parallels between songwriting and strategy writing and discusses some of his strategy work.  Rakaa Taylor, aka Rakaa Iriscience, is a world-class rapper, performer, artist, and musician who's part of the group, Dilated Peoples. They're an underground group that found mainstream success through record labels all over the world, particularly in the US, UK, and Japan. Rakaa is now on his journey to becoming a full-time strategist and is developing an agency with his partner. It's called Angles. You can find Rakaa here: https://www.instagram.com/therealrakaa/ ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In today's Sweathead episode, Ambika Pai teaches us what Instinctual Leadership is and why it is important for leaders and managers to learn how to lead with instinct. She also discusses the types of leaders and the common misconceptions that the world has of them. Ambika also shares how leading with instinct transformed her life and work and gives advice to young leaders who are just starting to navigate the strategy world. Ambika Pai is Chief Strategy Officer at Mekanism. She believes a strategist can solve any problem and is working to diversify and dimensionalize how the world thinks about leadership. She's a mom to a toddler and still trying to figure out how working parents do it. Connect with her at: Twitter/IG: ambikagp Email: [email protected] Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambikagpai ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Last episode of 2021! We discuss why creatives might dislike a strategist, what to do as the only creative strategist in a team, why “right” doesn’t matter, and how to turn despair into creativity. Thank you to everyone who shared prompts and questions with me over on Instagram @markpollard. Happy new year!

In today's Sweathead episode, Anastasia Karklina Gabriel talks about cultural intelligence and how it can affect brand strategy. She discusses how difficult it is to grapple with diversity, inclusion, and identity, and gives advice on how to deal and wrestle with these topics within the strategy and advertising landscape. Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel is a formally trained cultural analyst who works at the intersection of culture, brand, and innovation. She uses her expertise in critical race, gender, and sexuality studies to help both agencies and brands build culturally intelligent, incisive, and inclusive strategy. Dr. Gabriel specializes in social impact, brand authenticity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, drawing on 10+ years of experience in grassroots social justice movements, and is fiercely committed to producing rigorous, critically conscious, and people-centered work.  Connect with her at https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiaxgabriel/ ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

"Thou shalt not cut and paste the client brief." "No brief is an island." "Show the tension in the strategy." "Share it with the creatives." In today's Sweathead episode, Will Humphrey talks about 20 pieces of no-nonsense advice on how to write, sharpen, and present a creative brief. Will Humphrey is an integrated planner of 15 years' experience, having worked at a huge variety of agencies (Advertising, PR, CRM, Digital) on many different clients - from telco to charity, to FS and beer. He's taught APG courses, judged the Effies, written the odd award paper, and won a pitch or two. He likes good writing, tea, pub quizzes, and taxidermy. One of those is a lie. Connect with him at http://twitter.com/will_humphrey or https://will-humphrey.com/. P.S. I (Mark) managed to skip words in parts of this interview. As in, I introduce Will as "strategy", which is pretty good for Will but makes no sense. Sometimes my brain misfires but, luckily, Will is fully coherent.  ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In today's Sweathead episode, Giles Edwards shares with us how ISOLATED Talks was born during the early days of the pandemic to help people, both in and out of the strategy world, cope with crisis through creativity. He also talks about his feelings and experiences surrounding his father's death, and how they have helped him make sense of and carry on with his life now. Giles Edwards is Creative Director and Founder of Creatively Memorable and Boringly Effective™ agency…Gasp!, founder of ISOLATED Talks®, and host of UK top 5 marketing podcast, Call To Action®. He also manages ...Gasp! Books, is dad to two much more likeable humans, and to quote Professor Mark Ritson, “a bit of a tit”. He remains annoyingly curious about most things. Trigger topics: death, murder, anxiety, grief You can find Giles here: https://twitter.com/Giles_Edwards ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

What is it like to lead the strategy team in a social media agency right now? How can brands capitalize on social media platforms without just spraying content everywhere and praying for it to work? Are playbooks and creative brief templates relevant to social media strategy? These questions and more are answered in this Sweathead episode with Rob Engelsman, Head of Strategy & Relevance at Annex88. As the Head of Strategy & Relevance, Rob leads a team that works with brands like adidas Originals, Courvoisier, HUGO BOSS, and Keurig Dr. Pepper. He created the Science of Hype, a methodology for measuring viral influence of ideas, products, and brands. Previously, Rob spent time at Droga5 and Huge, developing social & brand campaigns for smartwater, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Cap’n Crunch, and more. Connect with Rob at @rcengelsman on Twitter, IG, and LinkedIn. ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In today's Sweathead episode, Dr. Clint Johns takes us on a nostalgic trip back to the heyday of magazines, particularly at Tower Records. Clint shares his experiences working at the forefront of distribution and sales of a wide array of magazines at Tower, he talks about the traits possessed by zine-makers large and small, and discusses the stories of independent zine-makers around the globe. He also shares what he's currently up to as a cognitive psychologist and researcher. Clint Johns is a cognitive psychologist and data scientist researching the impact of education applications, with a focus on applied statistics. Most recently, he was a research scientist studying language processing, reading comprehension, and memory retrieval, and sometimes is an adjunct professor of psychology here and there. Prior to that, he worked for Tower Records as their Director of Newsstand Operations, including purchasing, distribution, and just about anything else that might be linked to a zine or magazine or newspaper ending up in one of Tower's stores. He is a long-time indie press promoter and critic. Connect with him at Twitter @DrClintonJohns. ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In today's Sweathead episode, Itumeleng Ndaba tells us how she got inspired to take up a career in advertising as an art director. She also discusses her five-year plan to become a full-time strategist.  Itumeleng is an art director (soon to be strategist) who is passionate about building sustainable brands for the benefit of Africa and her people. Born and raised in sunny South Africa, she holds an undergraduate degree in Creative Brand Communications, post grad in Strategic Communications and hopes to get accepted into an MBA program. She loves learning as much as she love plants, tomato sauce, and people.  Connect with her at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itumeleng-ndaba-28b66aa6/ Twitter: @goodboymygirl ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In this episode of Sweathead, Penny Norman talks about her journey from working in account planning and startup strategy to focusing her strategy work in the niche of social good. She discusses how strategy can encourage individual behavioral change as well as government policy change. And Penny shares examples of her contributions to social impact campaigns in mental health, substance abuse, vaccine hesitancy, and child care. Penny has worked in London (Publicis, AMV BBDO) and Vancouver (DARE, Pound & Grain), and is now a Senior Strategist at Rescue Agency, a social impact agency focused on health behavior change. She also founded APG Good Thinking, a strategy hack-a-thon created to tackle real life problems to give other strategists a head start. You can connect with Penny at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pennynorman/ ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Esther Wang is two years into her strategy career. We recently spoke in a Sweathead Happy Hour (online) about creative briefs–How do you make them good? How do make them better? How do make them something that creative teams will use?  So, in this episode, we wanted to have that kind of conversation again.  We talk about why talking about creative briefs is a much more complicated discussion than many people realize. We workshop a creative brief to get teachers to use an online learning system. And we discuss the 3 to 4 phases that brief writers tend to mature through. There is a lot of thinking out loud in this episode but, without admitting the mess involved in our work, well, we'd be liars. You can find Esther here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-wang7 ** Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Are marketers allergic to creativity? How do bold ideas thrive in huge international companies? How can creatives work within a systematic, data-driven company or agency? All these questions and a lot more are answered in this Sweathead episode with Karl Isaac, who also talks about his experience working on some of the most popular brands worldwide. For over 20 years, Karl’s been giving brands chiropractic adjustments. He’s led some of the world’s best-known brands at Microsoft, Adobe, and Ebay and agency-side at Razorfish, Landor, and Hi It’s Us. Now, he’s a Fractional Chief Brand and Marketing Officer helping companies define, grow, and accelerate brands by better connecting to culture, embracing digital, and uniting through a common vision on a global scale. He’s presented at SXSW, DMEXCO, AIGA National Conference, and Digiday events and been interviewed and published in Wall Street Journal, AdWeek, AdAge, Inc., Forrester, and CMO.com. Karl has an MBA and Master of Architecture degree. You can find Karl at @redglassesclub on Twitter and Instagram, and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/brands. ** Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

A brief word about resilience while walking Central Park. Plus a bunch of questions from Instagram answered: What's a creative strategist? What skills will a strategist need in the future? What are neglected strategy skills? Should you work in a network agency or an indie shop? And more. (Apologies if this episode has appeared a couple of times in your feed––we had some technical issues). Find me on Instagram here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

A quick episode about how strategists mature. But also a brief chat about sleep and exhaustion. ** Find us at http://www.sweathead.com @sweathead: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead More posts about briefs @markpollard: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

In this Sweathead episode, Heeru Dingra talks about the challenges she has faced as a CEO managing three agencies in the midst of a global pandemic. She also discusses her experiences of being a woman in a highly male-dominated culture and professional landscape. Heeru also shares her life lessons and wisdom about how to be an effective leader. Heeru Dingra is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Isobar Group India. The Group houses award-winning agencies - Isobar, WATConsult and Perfect Relations under one umbrella. Heeru started her journey with WATConsult a decade ago and today leads a team of 1000+ people across offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. You can connect with her here: Twitter: @heerudingra Instagram: @heerudingra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heeru-dingra-b2769035/ ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In this Sweathead episode, Sara Tate talks about her experience as the CEO of TBWA\London and the valuable lessons that she learned from being the head of one of the top 10 marketing and communications companies in the UK. She also discusses how disruption, collaboration, and collective spirit can take a company to the next level. Sara was most recently the CEO of TBWA London and had a very long stint as strategy director and managing director at Mother (almost a decade). She is currently writing a book on rebuilding things in life and work while currently doing an MSc in organizational consulting with a focus on executive coaching.  You may connect with Sara at https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraktate/. ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In this Sweathead episode, Lydia Taylor talks about the many places where strategy lives -- may it be in agencies, within startups, on the client side, or at a social media platforms, to name a few. Lydia also lets us know what she thinks are the hottest places that a strategist can work at right now.  Whilst Lydia has done her time at the big agencies, she's not a traditional agency strategist. Having spent the last few years growing a creative tech startup and then hopping around as a freelancer, she keeps strategy as simple as she can, solving problems with a human lens and avoiding overly complex frameworks. You can find Lydia on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiataylor0/ And on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDcYQYjQlQ6BGA6wkZASBzg ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

In this Sweathead episode, Ben Mburu takes us behind the scenes of several of his small businesses in Kenya. An account planner by profession, Ben believes that owning a small business helps him validate his ideas and gain insights he can use in his client work. He also shares his experiences of the ups and downs of being a small business owner during a global pandemic.  After 14 years in account management in the advertising business, Ben is now building a life selling ideas that solve marketing and communications problems for businesses in East Africa. You can connect with him at www.linkedin.com/in/benmburu or [email protected].  **  Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com  Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead  Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

How do you start a new job without showing your impostor syndrome? How can you grow into a strategy director at an agency? How can you work in another country without having to start from scratch? These questions and more. From you. Answered. Right here. Right now. *** Don't forget to sweat that Subscribe button and share this episode with your strategy friends. ** For information about the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, visit http://www.sweathead.com You can find me on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

In this episode, Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts talk about marketing to women–how it's historically been and how it's been changing. We discuss sexism in marketing, corporate feminism, fempowerment and femvertising, and the narratives of women in the marketing and advertising world. Jane and Philippa worked for many years in advertising agencies DDB and Ogilvy.  Fifteen years ago they left their big jobs to write their first book about marketing to women and have written two further books since. They have been researching female audiences ever since.  "Brandsplaining" is their latest book. It is a data-led analysis of marketing to women and how much it has progressed (or not). To connect with Jane and Phil, visit their website, http://www.plhresearch.com, or follow them on IG @plhresearch. ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com  Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

A brief and gentle episode about the privileges of a strategy career.  If you'd like this episode as an Instagram post, it's here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU58pAbgQ-b/ *** If you enjoy these short monologues, let me know.  Don't forget to sweat that Subscribe button and share this episode with your strategy friends. ** For information about the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, visit http://www.sweathead.com You can find me on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

In this episode of Sweathead, Colleen Merwick talks about her experiences as the target of workplace bullying. She takes us through three experiences in three different companies and explains how she’s trying to come to terms with what happened and what kind of work life will suit her in the future. Colleen earned a degree in Advertising at Penn State University and a Masters in Creative Account/Brand Planning at Bucks New University. She is currently a freelance brand strategy director in the UK. Her personal mantra is, "What makes me different is my strength." You can find Colleen on LinkedIn here: http://linkedin.com/in/colleen-merwick-06b7885 And you can check out her blog, Baby on My Brain here: https://babyonmybrain.com ** The first Sweathead Strategy Accelerator launches November 1, 2021: http://bit.ly/sweatheadaccelerator

Over on Instagram, we often do strategy together. I'll ask for suggestions of brands and audiences. Then we'll run through some simple exercises to arrive at a Four Points.  It's playful and it tries to shine a light on the messiness of our work. Sometimes, we get somewhere worth getting but, often, we don't. And that's okay. A few days ago, Minal Jadeja gave us the challenge of selling IKEA to architects. We assumed that this was an issue for IKEA. We didn't have research to work with. But, over 24 hours, we landed on a strategy–we thought we could reframe IKEA and its instructions as a trigger for architects to think bigger.  You can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUvWZ42pfOc/ Ana Škorić disagreed with some of our thinking. Ana is an architect who works in marketing. She believes the issues that architects have with IKEA are different from the ones we focussed on. So I invited Ana to do a workshop with me. Ana is based in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a Senior Consultant at The Right Street, an agency based in Brussels. You can find Ana here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaskoric/ If you'd like to play strategy with us some time, find me here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard ** Also, we've just launched the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, a 7-week training program. Details are here: http://bit.ly/sweatheadaccelerator

In this Sweathead episode, Tatiana Peck voices what many of us have been experiencing in this pandemic—burnout, mourning the loss of self and identity, and being plunged into totally different routines. She shares with us how she has bounced back from these emotions and found joy in her work again. Tatiana also takes us through her journey from working in an agency to being a creative strategist at Facebook. Barcelona-born and transatlantic grown, Tatiana finds herself exploring the great digital frontier as the Strategy & Insights lead at Facebook’s Creative Shop, developing data-backed creative solutions at scale that sit at the intersection of people, culture, and technology.  Previously, Tatiana worked at small, independent ad agencies—most recently, as a Strategy Director at Big Spaceship, where she led a variety of new business pitches and client accounts, including Purina, Google Play, Chobani, and AOL, while establishing internal mentorship and collaboration best practices. You can find Tatiana playing pool in Brooklyn, enjoying the finest jamón, and loving on her dog Snacks. You can also connect with her on IG: @tatianapeck. ** Join Sweathead to access 100 strategy classes and pick up a copy of "Strategy Is Your Words" today.

Massive thanks for helping us reach one-million listens. Yes, it's just a number but it sounds good and you can say "one million" like the bad guy in Austin Powers. Thank you to everyone who's let me into their heads–guests and listeners. In this episode, I discuss how there's no such thing as a "right" way to do strategy and how frameworks like the 4Cs, Get/To/By, and the Four Points can work together or not. The onus is on the frameworker to use what works for them without being rigid or dogmatic. I share two examples that are...you know, okay. But definitely beatable. Hawaii–get remote workers to move there (when the world was locked down). Find it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLLAD0uhY5j/ And Freelancing–convince someone resistant to freelancing to try it. Find it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUc63mdFuhu/ We're looking to launch 1-2 more strategy training experiences this year. A 1- or 2-day masterclass as well as a 6-week program. Email us [email protected] if you're interested. Details are coming.  Happy 1 million to you! http://www.sweathead.com http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

What is your greatest fear? What is your most marked characteristic? Who are your heroes in real life? In this Sweathead episode with Parker Mason, we discuss the Proust Questionnaire and how Parker applies it to strategy projects. Parker has travelled the world doing strategy for big agencies. Now he's in Vancouver helping agencies win business and start-ups get their start. Find Parker on: Instagram Twitter ** Join Sweathead to access 100 strategy classes and pick up a copy of "Strategy Is Your Words" today.

Amanda Rue is a business consultant, facilitator, and the founder of The Shift Work Shop, a human resource consultancy offering consent-forward sexual harassment prevention and training. With over ten years in the advertising industry, including Vice Media, Anomaly (Ace Content) and Team One, Rue is a former brand strategy director turned founder and independent consultant with the mission of inviting more pleasure, purpose and passion into work and life. Her work with The Shift Work Shop has been featured in Forbes, The Rosie Report, Lifehacker and more with a focus on completely eradicating sexual harassment at work through an understanding of consent, power dynamics, and honest communication. You can find Amanda here: https://www.theshiftworkshop.com/about ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and strategy classes at Sweathead here: https://www.sweathead.com/

What role does linguistics play in strategy work and in everyday life? What exactly is a problem? Is there really a right or a wrong way to deal with a problem? We are discussing all these and more with Rodrigo Maroni, the Head of Strategy and Data at Crispin Porter + Bogusky Brazil. He currently serves as President of the Board at Grupo de Planejamento, the professional organization that represents strategy professionals in Brazil. Previously, he’s held strategy leadership positions at Wieden+Kennedy, BBH, JWT and DDB, in the US and Brazil, working for brands such as Nike, Budweiser, Heineken, Coca-Cola and Mondelez.  His projects have won a total of over 180 awards, including a Grand Prix at Cannes. ** Join Sweathead to access 100 strategy classes and pick up a copy of "Strategy Is Your Words" today at https://www.sweathead.com/

Inspirations on strategy can come from surprising places. In Asha's case, it's stand-up comedy and rap. She takes us through the power of words and fast wit, and how her experiences as a comedian and former rap music artist have helped shape her career in strategy. Asha Davis co-hosts and produces The Disruptor Series podcast, and is also an Integrated Strategy Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York. Canadian-born and NY based, Asha has over a decade of experience in the advertising industry and has helped top-tier brands including Dove, Huggies, and Nissan 'connect the dots' across their communications and organizations to create award-winning campaigns. In addition to being an accomplished marketer, Asha is also a talented stand-up comedian and writer and has performed at some of the most famous comedy clubs in New York. ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: https://www.sweathead.com/

We are about to reboot. New interviews are coming. Sweathead is now on Instagram here: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead And if you’d like to find out more about our first strategy conference The Sweathead Do-Together take a look at http://www.thedotogether.com

Also I answer 15 questions from Instagram stories (@markpollard), tell you about The Sweathead Do-Together and give you four book recommendations. I hope you’re doing okay out there. Find us at http://www.Sweathead.com

What do you learn from interviewing some of the world's best advertising strategists and account planners about their agency's best work? Fergus O'Carroll hosts the On Strategy Showcase podcast. He focuses on one thing–the stories behind incredible advertising campaigns. In this episode, I gently encourage Fergus (joking, I totally forced him) into a list of ten things he's taken away from tens of his own interviews.  They are: 1. We don't understand enough and need to push for a deeper understanding in our work 2. Don't let the search for an elusive insight ruin a good strategy 3. New shiny objects are killing us 4. There's no one way to plan 5. There's no one truth–there are many truths 6. Don't forget the other 50% 7. Rediscovery is more powerful than reinvention 8. Study the past 9. Develop the brand's voice over time because it won't happen over night 10. There's no shame in your strategy showing   You can find Fergus and his work here: http://www.onstrategyshowcase.com ** Bonus points: Fergus is talking at The Sweathead Do-Together this September. Find details and tickets here: http://www.thedotogether.com ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

In this episode, I download you about the first three findings from the recent Sweathead Feelings Check-In Survey. These are: 1. They appreciate the job and the money but they have questions about this version of capitalism. 2. They are not in a bad mood but they are in a mood to move. 3. They are raring to go but often feel sidelined in their work. 550 strategists responded. You can find the deck here: http://bit.ly/feelings2021 Also, I run you through the speaker list for our first ever conference, The Sweathead Do-Together. Excitement. You can find details here: http://www.thedotogether.com

How do you get the advertising industry and your clients to understand what you bring to the table?  Fabiola Nguembu is an account planner and researcher in Dakar, Senegal. She is one of a handful of planners in sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss what it's like to try to work in an industry that might not want to think too much and in which account planning is relatively new and not yet a major force. You can find Fabiola here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabiola-nguembu-579430168/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

What if your next presentation wasn't fifty slides of numbers followed by fifty slides of tactics? What if you could present your thinking within a story structure? Victor Pineiro knows stories. He made the documentary "Second Skin" about people who play online in different realities, he's written books, and he's helped to create some of your favorite social media brand presences - think Skittles and YouTube. Oh, and he has taught screenwriting.   In this episode, we discuss the most useful parts of movie structures and try to apply them to a hypothetical presentation.   You can find Vic here http://www.victorpineiro.com/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

How are the insights of outsiders useful and how can outsiders find anything more than a stereotype? Erika Brenner has worked as a planner and insights manager, and now works in marketing for Helly Hansen. Born in Brazil, Erika spent eight years in China after university and is now into her fourth year in Norway. With all this moving around, she has had to explain the value she can bring to local advertising and marketing teams by not being local, something she now captures in her website The Outsights: http://www.theoutsights.com   We discuss: - Belonging everywhere and nowhere at once - How to work with stereotypes - The reality behind stereotypes about Brazilians, Norwegians, and Australians ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

How much of the research that brands commission ever gets used? And isn't that the point? Gunny Scarfo and Ben Zeidler set up Nonfiction Research in 2018 to do research in an unafraid way, a way that might just open a soul or two.   We discuss: - Having an "unassailable" research methodology - Unusual experts such as bank robbers - Building a research business like Non-Fiction with a clear set of values - Insights they've discovered on their adventures   You can find Nonfiction here: http://www.nonfiction.co ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

When you respond to thousands of briefs in a year, how do you not start from scratch every day? Nick Susi is Head of Strategy at Complex Collective, a group that sits in the Complex media organization that is owned by Hearst and Verizon. His team often has 24 to 72 hours to help their sales team pitch ideas capable of winning budget.   We discuss over 7 ingredients that help strategy and creative teams work without much time–from a clear philosophy, understanding common client requests, hiring people connected to the zeitgeist, and more. You can find Nick here: http://www.nicksusi.com ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Side projects don't have to be side hustles - but what's the point of them? Jesse Nicely is a Group Strategy Director at Cashmere in Los Angeles.  After studying psychology and journalism at NYU and editing the subculture magazine Frank 151, Jesse has found a place in the advertising world but he keeps one hand in a side project called Puffington's Golf. Puffington's Golf is a brand for golfers who also play with cannabis.   We discuss: - The benefits of side projects - The struggles of side projects   You can find Jesse here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-nicely-84094b33/ And you can find Puffington's Golf here https://www.puffingtonsgolf.com/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Why is it so uncomfortable for marketers and agencies to delve into dark emotions? Lindsey Wehking is an Associate Director of Strategy at Nonfiction Research. She recently led research into the way people use music playlists on Spotify to identify and process dark emotions. Nonfiction published this research under the title "America's Secret Playlist Report".   We discuss how the team approached this research and what they found. Hint: dark places aren't bad places.   What I took out of this chat is this: 1. "Negative" emotions are useful and need dealing with; they need labels and names if we're to address them . 2. Vivid language disappears somewhere between what we say and what people tell us and what strategists put in their formal documents. 3. When you're conducting a research project, it helps to have breathing room between an initial qualitative phase and the quantitative phase so you can work out what you're really looking to put numbers to. 4. "The Story That Wasn't Told"–this is what Lindsey focuses on in her research. Do enough strategists ask themselves for the untold story before they write creative briefs? 5. People want to go into dark places with others because our public lives focus the light on heroic acts by heroic people as if those heroic acts are eternal and infinite. You can find Lindsey here: https://www.instagram.com/sup_creep/ You can find Nonfiction Research here:  https://nonfiction.co/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Black, indigenous, and racialized minorities are barely visible in the advertising industries in North America, which is where we are going to situate this conversation. We’ll situate it here because Derek Walker (USA) and Gavin Barrett (Canada) are on a mission to help more people become visible to and in the industry and North America is where they’re plying their trade. Gavin Barrett is Chief Creative Officer at Barrett and Welsh in what Canada claims to be the “most multicultural city in the world”, Toronto. He’s also Co-Founder of People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing (POCAM). Gavin is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinbarrettbw/ Derek Walker is CEO of advertising agency brown and browner. A prolific writer and truth-speaker, Derek has been writing daily profiles about Black American advertising talent for several Black History Months. Derek is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-walker-8741578/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Ever been hired to a strategy or account planning job only to arrive in the company and they don't know what it is, they aren't sure they want it, and they make you justify your existence every day? Ilana Bryant was one of two American planners in London in the 1990s. Read that again. It's not the premise of your next Netflix binge-watch but it could be. Ilana finished her postgraduate studies in the UK. She studied law at Oxford. Then she stayed on as an account planner. Not only were there few women in the agencies in which she worked, there were few Americans in the London advertising industry at all, let alone... well, hardly any American women in planning in London at the time. Ilana has worked with some prolific creative leaders. She's worked at BBH, Lowe Lintas, and HHCL. She was the CSO of Strawberry Frog for 5 years in New York.   So we discuss the differences between planning in the UK and the USA and how a planner can prove their value in a country–I mean, "agency"–that isn't sure what they are. You can find Ilana in her company Special Forces here: https://specialforcesny.com/projects  P.S. Some of my questions don't quite make sense in the second half of this. It happens. I was excited. ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Dear advertising agencies, mental wellness is not an initiative you can use to wish away cultures and processes that are not mentally healthy. What makes an agency culture mentally healthy? 1. A sense of meaning 2. Autonomy 3. Psychological safety 4. Reasonable hours 5. Work getting made 6. Small, focused teams 7. Gentle hierarchy Mental health in an agency starts with doing meaningful work in a 
self-directed way. And this episode is a rapid reminder about what actually matters to strategists and their mental health. You can read this episode on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMpRV8TBVM4/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

If you hunger to solve toothy problems, where can you even do that work right now? Many agencies talk a good game when it comes to solving problems only to put the brains fiending to do such work on social media calendars and hashtags and into inter-agency meetings gone wild. MJ Alexander-Scott is Group Director at Fjord, which is part of Accenture Interactive. He leads the strategy and insights practice there. In his work, MJ finds himself drawn to problems without a playbook, a siren that has led him from the agency world into the management consulting world.    We discuss: - Why so many people in advertising are wondering, "What else is out there?" - The kinds of problems management consultancies deal with - The different kinds of companies that strategists and account planners who are frustrated might do well to explore You can find MJ Alexander-Scott here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljon/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

How does it feel to leave a 5-year-career but then to flare out of the new agency that you join in a matter of months? And what if the flaring out really helps you work out what you want in life? Brinn Phillips is a strategist in Detroit. After a long run in one agency in which she grew in responsibility and in titles, had a mentor she enjoyed, and started to mentor other strategists, she left. She lasted a matter of months in the agency to which she moved, an agency that she hoped would open her to more client variety and a broader range of strategy. This journey will happen to many strategists.  For Brinn, stepping out of a new role, taking a short break, and examining what she wants has led to many doors opening, many new conversations, and a stronger sense of what she wants to pursue. You can find Brinn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brinnp/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

You're about to interview your first potential hire, how on earth do you feel right now? In this chat with Nicole Rajesky, we discuss the journey from not hiring to hiring. Nicole is a Senior Brand Planner at Rethink in Toronto, Canada. They do good work. Very good work. Nicole is 18 months into hiring and was kind enough to talk about the guilt she feels when interviewing people, feeling like a fraud, and wanting to be desirable while still making an assertive decision. You can find Nicole here https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerajesky/ and Rethink here https://rethinkcanada.com/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

If you're a freelancer exchanging time for money, and chasing invoices while trying to explain to people what value you can really bring, how could setting up a company help you? Brandon Williams runs 55 Media Group in Los Angeles. We were going to talk about what it's like to freelance–to go in and out of companies that aren't always functional–but we ended up discussing Brandon's journey from artist to advertising freelancer to business-haver to, now, business-runner. Brandon has such a broad background and works in so many different ways that, as we spoke, I kept trying to put my finger on exactly how he is trying to fit into the world. This is because I speak with a lot of freelancers and consultants who are trying to work it out. And I thank Brandon for letting me basically interview him to understand what exactly he is trying to do. And it's big. His goal is to hire the most people of color in North America while making afro-futurism happen now. You can find Brandon's 55 Media Group here: http://www.55mediagroup.com/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Ever worked in a company that fusses with process and organizational charts but never makes good work? Yeah. The question houses the truth, doesn't it? Genevieve Grandsen, Selma Ahmed, and Will Grundy work at one of the world's best agencies (although, now I've interviewed six people from adam&eveDDB, it sounds like "the world's best agency" is the "key message" but this is very un-British so I'll be British on their behalf and say "one of..."). Having spoken with CCO Rick Brim and CSO Martin Beverley, I wanted to find out if their relatively low-fi way of working is real. It seems like it is. And this will disappoint many agencies that are new to creative teams and account planners and spend their days in offsite meetings reviewing all their management things. Apparently, hiring people who know how to do what they need to do, expecting good things from them, and letting them talk is a pretty adequate process. And that's what we discuss. You can find Gen and Selma here http://genandselma.com/ and Will, because he's a planner and isn't on somebody else's website, here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-grundy-5835a536/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com