Julian and I have just launched Season 2 of The Strategy Megaclass. It's called F**k Yeah Rainbow Cannons. And it's coming to NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle in March and April. It's a full day of strategy training covering words, briefs, ideas, and strategy frameworks. Details and tickets are here http://www.strategymegaclass.com We thought we'd use the occasion to talk through some work by S'well, Burger King and ClassPass, as well as discuss strategy practice work that Harriet (@minimalstrat), Bram Draaijer (@DraaijerB), and Sanika Tilway (@tillwaytweets) have posted on Twitter to #ShowYourStrategy. Hannah Molly Baker's ClassPass case study https://www.hannahmollybaker.com/classpass-positioning-campaign Harriet - Selling fountain pens to office workers https://twitter.com/minimalstrat/status/1226120048902918144?s=20 Dram - Selling wall paint to new house owners https://twitter.com/DraaijerB/status/1225792494018887681?s=20 Sanika - Selling speed dating to introverts https://twitter.com/tillwaytweets/status/1223692880826568704?s=20 The Strategy Megaclass -> http://www.strategymegaclass.com Julian https://www.planningdirty.com/ Mark https://www.instagram.com/markpollard/

Clare Barry is a copywriter from Liverpool, England. She struck Internet gold with an article titled "Everyone’s a copywriter. Right?" in which she captured the frustrations of many of her peers. Now, she's back in the mines again. This time she's writing a book in public and on the road. It's called "Drink. Smoke. Swear." It's going to be like "Eat Pray Love" but Clare. You can find Clare here https://twitter.com/ClareBarry and here https://copyclare.com/ You can find her article "Everyone’s a copywriter. Right?" here: https://medium.com/@ClareBarry/everyones-a-copywriter-right-4dbbac741a4d You can find Mark here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard And new dates for The Strategy Megaclass here: http://www.strategymegaclass.com

Justine Armour started as the Chief Creative Officer of Grey New York this week. Big job, big city, big ambitions. In this episode, we discuss the journey from doing the work to helping others do the work. We touch on missteps along the way, as well as ideas that can help people doing creative work do better creative work.  You can find Justine here: https://twitter.com/jusarmour You can find Mark here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard New dates for The Strategy Megaclass are here: http://www.strategymegaclass.com

Stephanie Matthews is Partnerships Director at Creative Equals where she is currently launching the next series of their Creative Comeback Returners Programme. The programme is a two-week bootcamp for people who've worked in the advertising industry but have had a prolonged period away from it and now need a hand to get back in. It involves training as well as working on a real creative brief. Some participants may also get the opportunity to do a mini-internship.   Details about the Creative Comeback Returners Programme are here http://www.creativeequals.org/creativecomeback You can find Stephanie here https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanielmatthews You can find Creative Equals here http://www.creativeequals.org/ And here's an article Stephanie wrote about the power of businesses with diverse employee populations which cites the McKinsey research she mentions in the interview: https://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/how-mary-poppins-could-inspire-gender-equality-workplace  For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in soon http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Claire is a strategist in Paris. We met at an impromptu strategy get-together in Paris a couple of weeks. It was organized by M&C Saatchi Head of Planning Gregory Duquesne. Having been fortunate enough to hang out with and enjoy long conversations with strategists around the world, I've realized these are some of my favorite conversations and that many of the non-strategy topics we discuss are echoing across borders and continents. This is also why I want to do a better job of sharing these non-strategy topics.  So, today, almost live and unedited, Claire discusses feminism, romance, singledom, and what it means to be and feel independent in one of the most romantic cultures and cities in the world. You can find Claire here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-joly-18634b9b/ I'm here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Tamer Kattan is a stand-up comedian who's plied his strategy trade at 72andSunny, TBWA\Chiat\Day, and Deutsch.  He was born in Egypt, moved to the USA when he was 8, and then he had to work out how to adapt to an unhappy father and to unpredictable and sometimes violent environments as he grew up. Unfortunate for Tamer but lucky for us–because now he makes jokes about it all. P.S. Tamer is in NYC for the next few months doing shows. I caught him last night at the West Side Comedy Club. Go out and support one of your strategy kin flexing in new and incredible ways.  And shoutouts to Heather LeFevre and Julian Cole for putting me onto Tamer and his work. You can find Tamer and his shows here: https://twitter.com/TamerKattan For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 9,000 strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in soon http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Heather LeFevre is back. Last time, we discussed applying strategy to life. This time, we discuss 10 things we hope advertising students can contemplate as they embark on their careers.  You can find Heather here https://twitter.com/hklefevre - and make sure you check out her book “Brain Surfing.”  For more strategy talk:  Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Julian Cole and I decided to speak in public for an hour before we plan the year. Well, probably, a few years. It's the first time we've sat face-to-face to plan the events we do–specifically, The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass. We discuss things we've learned about strategy, doing events, and life.  Details for the next megaclasses will appear here soon: http://www.strategymegaclass.com You can find Julian here https://twitter.com/juliancole You can find Mark here http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Lee Maicon is Chief Strategy Officer of McCann - the North American Chief Strategy Officer. It's a big role but Lee cares about the small things such as the craft that goes into account planning. "Craft" can be an esoteric word that planners throw around like the phrase "classically trained" planner. So we discuss what craft is when the word isn't used in an esoteric way. You can find Lee here https://twitter.com/leemaicon For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Two things Toronto-based strategy head Dino Demopoulos has spent much of life doing are music and strategy. In this interview, we discuss how promoting events, running record labels, and DJ-ing have something to do with strategy. You can find Dino Demopoulos here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dino-demopoulos-91b1073 For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Jane Evans runs the Uninvisibility Project.  Having been a prolific creative director and having run an agency, she's now on a mission to make women over 50 uninvisible.  You can find Jane here https://twitter.com/janee and The Uninvisibility Project here https://www.uninvisibility.com/ For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Marco del Valle is a strategist at Epoch Design in the UK. He recently posted hypothetical strategies every day for a month. How do you sell Britney Spears to CEOs? The durian to westerners? Yoga to body builders? We discuss how Marco made a move from the Philippines to the UK and then go through 10 different strategies. You can find Marco’s work here: https://twitter.com/marcodel_valle/status/1190251547042684928?s=21 For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Katrina Grönberg (née Wong) is a career-long planner. Her first planning role was at Leo Burnett in Sydney then she worked at Droga5 and then she went to BBDO in New York, met a guy, moved to Sweden, and had two boys. We discuss all of this. You can find Katrina here https://www.instagram.com/katrinagroenberg For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Brian Wakabayashi leads strategy at 215 McCann in San Francisco. He started as an admin. Well, as an admin to an admin. And, as he grew into bigger roles and roles that weren't only about doing the strategy work but making the strategy team his work, he's had to reflect a lot on what that work is. So we discuss this.  You can find Brian here https://twitter.com/brianwaka For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Dabs runs Adland. It's a website with over twenty years of ads from around the world. Adland went down recently after a copyright dispute. But it's back up. This week. And that's really cool. In this interview, we discuss what Dabs has learned about advertising over the years, issues with copyright and DMCA takedowns, as well as how creative award show juries–and their jurors– work. You can find Adland here https://adland.tv/ and Dabs here https://twitter.com/Dabitch For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words” is out in April 2020 http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

In which I answer about 10 of your questions, chat creative briefs, and agencies doing a better job taking care of their lone strategists: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Duncan Blair runs marketing at Article in Vancouver. Article is a furniture powerhouse in the e-commerce world, growing quickly and appearing everywhere. In this interview, we discuss how marketing responsibilities have eroded from the 4 Ps to just an A–advertising. We also discuss working with introversion, especially in business cultures and regions where extroversion is prized. You can find Duncan here: https://twitter.com/phixx For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words”: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Nicolas Lévy is Managing Partner and CSO at Marcel in Paris. Marcel is part of the huge holding group Publicis but it tries to maintain an independent spirit. We discuss how Marcel works, getting strategy to work at Marcel, as well as mentoring strategists. And I accidentally call Nicolas "Marcel" once - maybe twice - but let's see if it sticks. You can find Nicolas here https://twitter.com/nico_atd For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Facebook - join 8,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words”: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Welcome back. It’s 2020. What are you going to do about it? Come read 15 Instagram essays here http://www.instagram.com/markpollard and top up your brain with this official Skillshare class http://skl.sh/markpollard PS Much love to friends, family, and strangers in Australia dealing with the bushfires

Sam Sterling is Managing Director of AKQA Greater China and Japan. Mega title, right? She's a doctorate candidate at Fudan and Durham University where she's doing a DBA (Doctorate of Business Administration), in which she's trying to bring a practitioner's mindset to academia while bringing academia a little closer to the practitioner's reality. She's studying the life expectancy of brands. We discuss this. You can find Sam https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsterling For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co 5. The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words" http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Kate O'Neill went from studying linguistics to making websites to Silicon Valley to Netflix to starting an agency to writing books and speaking around the world. Like many of us, she's interested in meaning. How do we work out what means something to us and how do we express how we mean that something? And this is what we talk about.  You can find Kate here: https://twitter.com/kateo For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co 5. The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words”: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Rory Sutherland has a brain the size of a whale in the head of a short, scruffy Englishman who's spent a lifetime trying to work out people while mostly being among them. He’s the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy in London and he recently published the book “Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense”. The book has two subtitles depending on where you look and this makes complete sense because why not? In this chat, Rory douses us in tens and tens of ideas while avoiding most of my attempts to corner him in a deep, cozy, unnecessarily revealing series of confessions about his inner life. We touch on behavioral economics, dating profiles, how Spanish takes longer to write and say than English, taxing wealth not income, homeownership, public speaking, possible Asperger’s, government policy, Rory’s mother, how Rory is contemplating making his next book, travel photos, how your long haul is someone else’s short haul, Humanitarians of Tinder, how young people have it both great and not so great at the same time but in different ways than ever before. This is unedited.  Enjoy the segues because they’re infinite and you’re bound to learn something useful. And, yes, "segue" is said "segway". You can find Rory here https://twitter.com/rorysutherland Rory's book "Alchemy" is here: https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Surprising-Power-Ideas-Sense-ebook/dp/B01F1HOAWA For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co 5. The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words”: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Helen Edwards is a columnist for Marketing Week, a strategy consultant, and a teaching fellow at London Business School. We discuss the tensions between the worlds of the practitioners and the academics of marketing, amassing credentials, and overachievement. Then we discuss what Helen wants to see change in marketing.  You can find Helen here https://twitter.com/helenedw For more strategy talk: Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words”: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Amber Benson is a strategy consultant and an executive-in-residence at SMU in Texas. She consults and she teaches. Yes, she does both. And she believes doing both helps you get better at both. We discuss Texas, what the creative culture is like in Texas, and how she encourages students at SMU to develop empathy and creative skills. You can find Amber here: https://twitter.com/AmberBenson For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co 5. The deskbook “Strategy Is Your Words" http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Ryan Ford is CCO of Cashmere in Los Angeles. Ryan entered the agency world after working as the executive editor of The Source magazine, one of the most powerful hip hop media voices of all time. So how do the two worlds connect? What did Ryan learn from his journalism days that he applies to his advertising role? How do brands "work within culture"? You can find Ryan here https://twitter.com/fordryan and Cashmere Agency here http://cashmereagency.com/ "Strategy Is Your Words" the deskbook is here: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

About 15 of your questions answered today. ASMR soon - I promise. Tickets to Strategy Upon A Strategist are $40 and on Eventbrite it you can get a ticket plus book for more here: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Vikki Ross is a copywriter in London. She does a lot for the copywriting community - she organizes events and drinks, and she is a powerful and independent voice fighting to improve the respect the industry has for the craft (of copywriting, not of drinking). Also, she would have hated seeing the word "organizes" spelled like that. She probably flinched seeing "spelled" in the passive voice, too. Finally, see how I used brackets? Tsk tsk.  In this episode, we look at a few ads and try to break them down. What's the strategy? What are the words doing? You can watch the video of this discussion in the Sweathead Facebook group and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyCX2nKj0wY You can find Vikki at https://twitter.com/VikkiRossWrites The book “Strategy Is Your Words" is here: http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Ryan Wallman is back to talk about his first book Delusions of Brandeur. He's compiling his most powerful pieces of the Internet to put into a compendium dedicated to puncturing the pretensions of marketing. We discuss why the industry is so serious about itself and how this hurts it, the copy-writing community, and self-deprecation.  You can find Ryan here: http://twitter.com/dr_draper.  His book website is here: https://www.delusionsofbrandeur.com/ The Kickstarter for the “Strategy Is Your Words" book is live until December 4 http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

An episode for all my people thinking about their next jobs when, maybe, a brief pause to think about their next lives is due. Plus some of your questions answered. http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Natalie Kim runs We Are Next. She is urgently trying to get diverse advertising voices into public while also helping people start their advertising careers well. We hear from hundreds of people every month. So we thought we’d compare notes about what we are hearing for the We Are Next podcast and Sweathead podcast. PS Happy maternity leave, Nat! http://www.we-are-next.com For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for the “Strategy Is Your Words" book is live until December 4 http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Barry Mowszowski has worked at Droga5 in New York as well as Contagious and, after a good stint in the agency world, he decided to go to the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. We discuss getting an executive MBA and the work Barry now does helping leaders to understand how to adapt their companies for creative minds and makers.  You can find Barry here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrymow The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" is live: http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Kaitlin Maud is back. As co-founder of Austin's Current Forward, Kaitlin has spent time thinking about and developing products from strategy services. It's one of those ideas that sounds cool and seductive but what does creating strategy products mean and can it even work? You can find Kaitlin here https://twitter.com/kaitlinmaud The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" is live http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Jason Fox is a copywriter who also writes the social media presence known as Lee Clow's Beard. We discuss how Jason came to create Lee Clow's Beard, melancholy, writing, and the fundamentals our industry can seem too advanced to defend. You can find Jason here https://twitter.com/jason_fox and Lee Clow's Beard here https://twitter.com/leeclowsbeard * The Kickstarter for the “Strategy Is Your Words" book is live until December 4 http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Simon McEvoy runs strategy at Omobono in the UK. He's working with his agency on decentralizing how they operate, as well as on building give into the company and into the culture. "Give" - as in encouraging a sense of safety, vulnerability, and forgiveness. But are agencies meant to act like this? And how does it work? This is what we discuss. You can find Simon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmcevoy/  For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" is live: http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Jessie White is Executive Creative Director at Instrument in Portland. We discuss two main topics: the graduation from designer to leader and how designers and strategists can work better together. If you work with people in any other kind of discipline and if you're contemplating a shift from being on the tools to being on the people, you'll get something out of Jessie's insights. You can find Jessie here https://twitter.com/jessiefwhite For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" is live http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Thoughts from SoHo about knowing when you have an insight or strategy or idea plus THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY KICKSTARTER: http://bit.ly/strategykickstarter

Reema Mitra is VP of Brand at New York's Today Tix, a ticketing platform that gets you into your favorite shows. In this episode, we discuss how brand and product can work better together, the importance of research, and finding your way in a career that has a hunch about what it wants to do but knows it will take a few twists and turns to find it. You can find Reema here: https://twitter.com/rmitty Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Derek Walker is a creative director turned agency owner. He writes and reflects extensively about the industry and he believes the advertising industry is operating in the face of constant fear. And he believes a big part of this is because agencies haven’t fought hard enough for themselves. You can find Derek here https://twitter.com/dereklwalker For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

1. Empathy 2. What’s the difference between a strategy and a plan? 3. I got the dates wrong - Kickstarter Tuesday Nov 5, NYC event Wed Dec 4 http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Eaon Pritchard is working on his second book. Sort of. You see, he published his first book in 2018. It was called “Where Did It All Go Wrong?” Then he ran into a career surprise and is now working out what kind of work he wants to do and how to get that work. We talk about how all of this feels like and how to keep going when the going gets shitty. You can find Eaon here: https://twitter.com/eaonp For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

Mary Ergul is a strategist who wants to see companies help strategists start new jobs well. So she made a deck called “Sinking Isn’t An Option” (http://bit.ly/strategyonboarding). Grab the deck, fill it in, and help your fellow strategists fly... or, at least, not drown. Mary mentions working at Havas a few times. She recently left and is joining Madwell. You can find Mary here https://twitter.com/MaryErgul and here http://maryergul.com For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

Sarah Watson likes big pictures. First, as an account planner then as a chairman, Sarah has been drawn to the big picture and to grand narratives and to drawing them out of people, companies, and brands. But, over time, she’s had to learn how to adjust to her clients and colleagues because not everyone knows what to do with a big picture. After all, you don’t usually just hang them on a wall, stand back, and think, “Lovely.” You have to turn them into action. For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

Today’s walk - yeah, things I’m learning about through therapy, confidence, a happy life, job interviews, how maternity leave can feel. This weekend, make some art, yo! http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

In a happy coincidence, an interview I'd scheduled with Jim Carroll occurred hours before he was due to attend the Account Planning Group's Creative Strategy Awards.  The APG really is the leading industry group for the awkward among our industry and, after a hefty career in London, Jim just chaired two days and 27 presentations from England's strategy brains for the APG. So we talked about how he sees the state of creativity in advertising, why planning seems a bit lost, what makes planning work difficult yet powerful, and his analysis of this year's account planning papers and presentations. This interview isn't edited so you know you'll get a few rambling questions.  You can find Jim's writing here: https://www.jimcarrollsblog.com/ For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

Justin Lines is a marketer who recently completed a year at the University of Edinburgh. He's on a mission to investigate the connection between comedy and marketing. His paper "How do comedians reveal the funny?" discusses insights and, especially, how comedians deploy benign violations - thoughts that offend yet seem true - to stir their audiences.  You can read Justin's research here https://justinlines.com and you can find him on Twitter here https://twitter.com/JustinLines1 For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

It's an outer-body experience to have written a bunch of pages about empathy and feelings and how they can affect a strategist (not all strategists because, let's face it, not everyone has feelings), and to then start therapy and have some of the ideas in your writing played back to you but about you.... very about you. Take a listen if you're into any of this. I am. I need to be. You - you have choices :) I'm launching the book as a Kickstarter on November 5, 2019. I'd love your support - even if it's just telling everybody you know about it. You can subscribe to my newsletter for launch details: https://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ You can also follow the adventures on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard And Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

I wanted to re-record the introduction to my book "Strategy Is Your Words" after making a few changes and because the sound wasn't great six months ago. I'm launching the book as a Kickstarter on November 5, 2019. I'd love your support - even if it's just telling every single person you know about it. Joking. But not joking.  Let me know what you think. I think I'm happy with it which is a very unusual thing for a writer to feel.  You can subscribe to my newsletter for launch details: https://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ You can also follow the adventures on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard And Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard  

Here are stories about mental health experiences from the Sweathead Facebook community. Ben Breier, Julia Vanderput, Abbey Gaunt, and Mariana Cotlear step up and share their minds with us. A huge thanks to them.  You can read Ben's Medium article here: https://medium.com/@misterdisco For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.