Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast (Mark Pollard)

A big thank you to the Sweathead team and all the speakers for making The Sweathead Get-Ahead happen on January 20, our five-year anniversary. 

We have so much planned for 2023, including a week of trends this week on the podcast (The Sweathead Trend Bender) and a live workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on 16 meta trends on Feb 3.

RSVP to the workshop here: http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f

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Next strategy training:

1. Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass on planning superpowers (Feb 23)
2. The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March)

Details: http://www.sweathead.com.

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Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

**

Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

Tony Clement has worked data in agencies in Sydney, London, and New York. We've worked together in two of these places - Leo Burnett in Sydney about a decade ago and then at Brooklyn's Big Spaceship. Tony has the rare background of having worked with a lot of different types of data - CRM and direct marketing, advertising effectiveness measurement, web analytics, and social, and, in his time in New York, he worked on several Google brands, YouTube, and Samsung. The guy is legit. In this interview, we discuss: - Why data struggles in agencies - How to get data to work better - The politics of data - Growing up in 26 different places - Fatherhood You can find Tony at: http://twitter.com/tonyclement http://www.instagram.com/tonyclement ---- Internets: YouTube: http://bit.ly/2Ji3zNt Community: http://www.sweathead.co Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Problems can fix creative briefs. But how can something broken make something else work?   In this mini lesson, I define the word "problem" as I use it in advertising strategy (or account planning), why you need to be careful when you use the word, and six examples of a problem statement being solve with a strategy statement to help greyhound dogs find new homes.   To listen to two of these strategies happen live, listen to the episode with Cait Dorombozo, which you can find here: https://www.sweathead.com/blogs/podcast/30-minutes-to-a-greyhound-adoption-campaign-strategy-cait-dorombozo-graphic-designer.   If you have ideas for other problems that greyhound adoption agencies might need to address plus ways to solve them, tag me on Instagram @markpollard with your thinking. ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.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

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  

It's May 4. Today marks three years since Sweathead launch its first online class. And, to celebrate, we've published a new report "What Strategists Want From Work".

In this report, you'll learn:

1. What strategists want from the companies they work at,

2. What strategy bosses want from their strategists,

3. What makes a strategy career happen,

4. The top strategy bosses that people want to work for, and

5. The companies strategists most want to work at.

Find it here: https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/what-strategists-want-2023

Today, a chat about strategy job interviews, Europe, happiness, moving goal posts, problems, favorite projects, and more. Thanks for your questions: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

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

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

Charlie Quirk is a strategist at Google in San Francisco. Recently, he published a deck that looked at 50 movies as a way to practice insights.  You can find the deck here: http://charlie-quirk.com/hollywood/ Charlie is here: https://twitter.com/charliequirk Sweathead strategy class is in session http://courses.sweathead.co

Sam Hammington is an extreme freelancer. When he's working, he's really working. And when he's not, he's really not. That's because Sam is an actor. He's an Australian actor in Seoul, South Korea. If you turn on a television in South Korea and change the channel a few times, chances are you'll see Sam's face. He has starred in several massive TV shows (Gag Concert, Real Men, The Return Of Superman) but even with what looks like success from the outside comes the frequent question: What am I doing with my life? We discuss: - How South Korea has changed - The explosion of South Korean culture onto the world stage - Being a foreign actor in South Korea - The challenges of an extreme freelance life - The benefits of self-expression for mental health - Mixed-race children in South Korea You can find Sam at http://www.instagram.com/samhammington and his sons William at https://www.instagram.com/williamhammington and Bentley at https://www.instagram.com/bentleyhammington. For more Internet: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard http://www.instagram.com/markpollard http://www.sweathead.co

Join me on a walk from Times Square to the Flatiron District as we discuss some big life changes, my masterclasses in Asia, impostor syndrome, and teaching strategists.

Find me @ http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Heleana Blackwell is a London planner who recently discovered herself doing stand-up comedy. Her brain told her to do it because it would make her better at her job. But Heleana was also looking for new ways to express herself and to experience the world. As she simultaneously moves deeper into comedy and planning, how do the worlds work together? Which skills and techniques transfer? And which don't? You can find Heleana here https://twitter.com/h_a_blackwell 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.

In this episode of Sweathead, James Hankins discusses two big topics: marketing concepts he's infatuated with and how he published his way through–then out of–a redundancy. 

We discuss concepts such as market share, contribution margin, and incremental revenue. And we discuss how writing can provide a sense of rhythm and mission when life throws lemons at us.

James is Global VP Marketing Strategy and Planning at SAGE. He's also Founder of Vizer Consulting and the Co-Chair of the IPA Share of Search ThinkTank. In the past, he's worked at Manning Gottlieb OMD, Vizeum, and MEC.

He's worked on two of the most successful smoking cessation campaigns in the world (Quit Kit and Stoptober for the UK's NHS) as well as IKEA's "The Wonderful Everyday".

He created the "Hankins Hexagon"–a new model of the path to purchase, and "digital availability"–an addition to the availability canon.

He also works with JP Castlin writing about e-commerce, modern retail and corporate strategy implications.

You can find James here: https://twitter.com/jcphankins

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🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com

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📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead

🔊 Other links: https://znap.link/sweathead

Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

It's not every day you get to launch a campaign at the Super Bowl. And it's not every day you get to speak to the people who did it.  This episode of Sweathead is an edited recording of a live panel we hosted for the Sweathead community, organized by Dot Jarantilla. In it, Chandreyi Davis (Global VP of Brand Marketing, Trips Brands at Expedia Group) and Melissa Peace (Senior Manager, Global Brand at Expedia Group) discuss: - Why launch campaigns at the Super Bowl? - Where did the budgets come from? - How are they measuring success? We also get guest questions from Theophilus Wells IV, Al Sakickas, and Mark Jenson. If you'd like to attend live sessions like this, sign up to our newsletter for details: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 You can find Chandreyi Davis here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandreyi-saha-davis-9a4859/ You can find Melissa Peace here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaspeace/ ** 🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com ✉️ Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead 🔊 Podcast & other links: https://znap.link/sweathead

Writing creative briefs, creative brief templates, running brief-writing workshops, propositions, and more. Shout-outs to Gillian Rightford and Shane O’Leary for the Saturday morning encouragement. http://www.instagram.com/markpollard For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Nathan Young is Group Strategy Director at Periscope in Minneapolis. Like the rest of us, he used to make a rap blog and, like the rest of us who've made rap blogs, at some point Nathann realized he had bills to pay. So again, like the rest of us who've faced these turbulent rap blog decisions, he moved into advertising. In this chat, we discuss research that he and his team at Periscope have just published. It focuses on COVID-19 and how America is feeling about it and responding to it. It also covers Periscope's POV on how to help marketers right now. Yes, we discuss rap and #BlackAF. You can find the Periscope team's research here https://www.periscope.com/covid/ You can find Nathan here https://twitter.com/notnathan You can join the Sweathead strategy school here: http://courses.sweathead.co

Tom Goodwin is Head of Futures at Publicis. We live-streamed this chat into Sweathead on Facebook on Saturday, 11 April, 2020.  We mostly discuss sharing ideas in public - the privilege that often enables it, the perils of doing it, and what the point of it is anyway.  You can find Tom here: https://twitter.com/tomfgoodwin  Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

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

If you'd like to read this episode, go to this link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdbxeOTpGg0/

My first in-person masterclass will happen in NYC on Thursday June 16. DM me for details or get them in your inbox with our newsletter soon.

In this episode, we discuss Fearless Honesty and five ways a strategist can focus on sounding clear rather than emulating The Strategist Dictionary and trying to sound expensive.

Also, you're a hermit crab. 

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Strategy classes and books: visit http://www.sweathead.com

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Podcast: https://www.sweathead.com/pages/sweathead-podcast

So. Many. Trends. But what's really worth our attention? 

In this episode of Sweathead, Chike Ume (Essence, Seattle), Hayley Grant (VaynerMedia, New York), and Matt Klein (Reddit, New York) each introduce three trends they think we need to pay attention to.

We recorded this in front of a small but live virtual audience on Zoom. We managed to remove most of the Zoom glitches and there is a little lag in which we speak over each other but this chat left me energized. I hope it does the same to you.

You can find these minds here:...

Chike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chikeume/

Hayley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleykgrant/

Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kleinkleinklein/

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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

The book "Strategy Is Your Words" by Mark Pollard is here: http://www.sweathead.com

Shann Biglione recently moved to New York as the Head of Strategy at Zenith after five years in China, including a stint as CSO of Publicis Media. And he's French. With an Italian last name. So what are all these places like to work in? And what's happening with strategy in media agencies right now? We discuss: - How to deal with someone saying, "We don't need strategy" - What it's like to work in China and New York - The importance of doing - Why Shann loves people who ruffle feathers (P.S. Ask him for a job using "Feather ruffler" in the email subject line) - How working in different countries teaches you - Communications Planning vs channel planning You can find Shann at https://twitter.com/LeShann For more Internet: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard http://www.instagram.com/markpollard http://www.sweathead.co

Marc is a fractional CMO based in Calgary, Canada. He recently published a deck to help marketers work out how to set their budgets based on evidence.

You can find the deck here:

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7134918764252299264/⁠

You can find Marc here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/

Greg Hahn is one of the world's most prolific and best known creative leaders. Chances are that if you've lived in America–yet alone worked in the advertising industry here–you've seen his work. Or his team's work. Greg started at Fallon in Minneapolis then moved to BBDO in New York where he rose to Chief Creative Officer. He spent fourteen years at BBDO. But he's not there now. In this interview, we discuss how Greg is thinking through his future, how strategists and creatives can work better together, work and identity, as well as simpler stuff like, "What makes a portfolio good?". You can find Greg here https://www.linkedin.com/in/greghahn777/ The LinkedIn post we reference is here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/greghahn777_last-week-i-got-to-attend-my-own-wake-it-activity-6658133906765697024-JDDg Sweathead strategy school is in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Ever felt creative but uncertain about how strategic you were? What about the other way around? In this episode, we get into both of these situations. We'll discuss small shifts creative minds can take to become more strategic and help the strategy-inclined to understand their creativity.

We also answer strategist questions:

1. How can I sell strategy without design?
2. What to do if your creative crew isn't capable of translating your strategy into a digital concept?
3. How do you convert a campaign pitch to a brand strategy pitch?
4. Tips for someone transitioning from a strategy doer into a strategy leader?

To find some of this on Instagram...

"I'm creative but am I strategic?"
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch2ZpGYOo8Q/

Why strategy work is creative work
https://www.instagram.com/p/CiA0yYOOkCa/

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The Sweathead Do-Together will take you through ten hours of strategy conference October 18-20, 2022.
The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator is 4 weeks of lively strategy training and starts Oct 25, 2022.
Find out more at http://www.sweathead.com.
**

🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com
✉️ Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5
📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead
🔊 Podcast & other links: https://znap.link/sweathead

Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

@Femalcopywriter is an anonymous Internet presence. It’s funny. The person who writes it is funny. And, in this episode, we talk about what’s funny about advertising. But we also discuss some serious issues including sexual assault. @Femalcopywriter’s voice has been altered. Female Copywriter is here http://www.twitter.com/Femalcopywriter Strategy class is in session http://courses.sweathead.co

For details about the Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp, go to: http://www.Sweathead.com

Meet Chelsea Coleman and Rachelle DiGregorio. They recently formed Flock, a community of women from the University of Oregon that helps each other get jobs, get paid, and shine. Flock is a gang and chances are that if you think for a living you spend too much time alone and you need a gang. Get a gang. In this interview we discuss: - Making that running jump from college to agency - Common problems with internships - Starting salaries - Making mentorship work - Communities organized around gender - The WAIT RUle (Why Am I Talking?) - #TimesUp Video: http://www.sweathead.co For more: Flock website: http://hey-flock.com/ Flock Twitter: https://twitter.com/hey_flock Flock Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/hey_flock/ Flock Email: heyflock@gmail.com Chelsea: http://twitter.com/chelseaLcoleman Rachelle: http://twitter.com/rachelledigreg Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

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/

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Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.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

A quick episode about how strategists mature. But also a brief chat about sleep and exhaustion.

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Find us at http://www.sweathead.com

@sweathead: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead

More posts about briefs @markpollard: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

James Lees is a strategist and a co-founder of Group Think in London. With over 1,000 members, Group Think brings together strategy-inclined folk several times each month to learn and to hang out. They even trialled a space for strategists to work together inside a co-working location. In this chat, we discuss how Group Think approaches its events and the topics that are on people's minds right now. You can find James here https://twitter.com/jameslees101 and Group Think here https://www.group-think.co.uk/ 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 soon http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Grace Gordon is an Australian who's worked with a list of companies many strategists would dream of working with: Netflix, CashApp, Nike, Apple, The Fader, Refinery29, as well as various agencies. In fact, we worked together at Big Spaceship a decade ago.

In this chat, we discuss living and working the USA as Australians as well as what Grace learned about getting these kinds of jobs.

You can find Grace here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracelgordon/

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Find out about our strategy training and conferences at http://www.sweathead.com

You can download a free 50-page ebook "How To Do Strategy" here: https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/how-to-do-strategy-by-sweathead

In October 1990, Miguel D’Souza started The Mothership Connection on 2SER FM with Roxanne. Within a couple of years it was Sydney’s preeminent hip hop radio show. Every Tuesday at 2pm (or at 2.30pm for a period), it was one of the few places on any radio station that played hip hop, underground hip hop, local hip hop, while also hosting hip hop DJs and open mic freestyle sessions. Around April 1998, Miguel handed the radio show to me. I was 20. I had no idea what I was doing. And I spent five years trying to work it out while also trying to work out what I was about. In this chat (edited from 2.5 hours), Miguel and I compare notes about the show, what it meant to us, the role we think it played in the local community, some of our favorite memories, and how it changed us. Topics include: - How the format of the show evolved - The recent Australian youth protests. Is change happening? - Indigenous hip hop - Finding yourself by bringing others together Contributing to a community while analyzing it - How Miguel researched and interviewed people Getting people into hip hop - Dealing with aggression, bad rap, open doors - How the Internet and September 11 affected rap and the business of rap - The Four Elements, style enforcing, and fascism Stepping aside as one ages - or not? - Participants, observers, and tourists in subcultures - What’s real hip hop and who gets to decide? - Finding an identity in Australia as an immigrant Names mentioned include: Molly Meldrum, Easy Bass, DJ Kavi-R, Gil Scott Heron,  Bootsy Collins, Roy Ayers, Roc Raida, DJ Qbert, Def Wish Cast, Just Us, Mako and Perret, Katalyst, Obese Records, Next Level Records, Parallax Records, Celsius, Bliss n Eso, Hilltop Hoods, Elefant Traks, Urthboy, Meta Bass n Breath, The Sleeping Monk, Ugly Duckling, Raised by Wolves, Wu Tang Clan. You can find Miguel at https://twitter.com/MiguelDSouza For more internet: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard http://www.instagram.com/markpollard http://www.sweathead.co

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

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: ambikagpai@gmail.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambikagpai

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Find out about our strategy classes at http://www.sweathead.com
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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

I spoke to Priyanka today. She was in Bombay - or "Mumbai," as some call it. Earlier this week, news abounded with fears of international war between India and Pakistan. We discuss this then we discuss doing strategy as the only planner in an agency and how India's diversity requires different approaches to advertising. War to strategy - easy segues all round. You can find Priyanka here: https://twitter.com/pri_agrawal   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Toby Ryan runs security in a large casino-resort in Macau. It’s one of the biggest in the world. He’s worked in security for over two decades, having trained in martial arts and initially wanting to apply his skills for a living. In this chat, we discuss what he’s learned about people in his job - as a “simple guy”, then a manager, and now as someone running one of the largest casino-resort security operations in the world.   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Dublin's Rachel O'Donovan and Thomas Geoghegan are strategists who want other strategists to talk about strategy. They recently set up a Dublin branch of London's Group Think, a community of hundreds of strategists that is trying to provide emotional and intellectual support that doesn't seem to be something agencies or industry organizations are interested in, capable at, or resourced to do. We discuss: - Dublin's pub philosophers and writers. And are planners this? - The frustration, loneliness, and self-doubt of the planning life - What midweight planners need - What is a midweight planner? A senior planner? - What happens at Group Think You can find Rachel at http://www.twitter.com/phaedria http://www.twitter.com/thomasgeoghegan and Group Think event dates here: http://wwww.group-think.co.uk ---- Internets: New Skillshare strategy class: http://skl.sh/markpollard Articles: http://www.markpollard.net Community: http://www.sweathead.co Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

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

Samanta Judez is Managing Director of DDB Barcelona. Before this, she was the agency's CSO. She isn't alone as a planner-turned-agency-leader but the convention is to reserve the role for someone from account management. So, what can a planner bring to agency leadership? We discuss: - What an MD does - How to know if this path is for you - Planning in Spain - Barcelona's long history of creativity  You can find Sam at https://twitter.com/samjudez13   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Faris Yakob is a Cofounder of strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. A prolific thinker and writer, he has worked all over the world and is now six years into also living all over the world. But what we discuss in this interview is having a mind that sometimes won’t stop moving - how it feels, how Faris tries to deal with it, and why people find the topic so difficult to discuss. You can find Faris here: http://www.twitter.com/faris. Don’t forget to read his book “Paid Attention”. 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

The strategy life is full of lonely strolls through the garden of the mind, blank timesheets, and career paths. Sometimes, there are allies. Sometimes, there aren't. Sometimes, you don't even know. Do strategy in a massive city like New York and the sense of isolation can multiply by the number of people in the city in some bizarre and ironic act of revenge. With her crew at STRTGST, Tina organizes events for strategists, and helps them find a supportive room of allies. We discuss: - Embracing your otherness - What Tina learned at each of the 8 events STRTGST ran in 2018 - The power of side projects You can find Tina here https://twitter.com/tina_yip and STRTGST here http://www.strtgst.co   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Simeon Coker is a Creative Director. He also makes a podcast called Mixed Company. A big part of Simeon's work is helping brands and agencies make creative work that is inclusive and that doesn't offend people with stereotypes. We discuss the business benefits and politics of inclusive work. You can find Simeon here https://www.indigoxpyrite.com/  Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Heidi Hackemer. Many of you have heard of her, met her, watched her speak, or read her. Many of you will have seen her article "I've cried on a few runs lately" in which she documents losing her job at the Chan Zuckerburg Institute, family health problems, closing the agency she co-founded, edging towards 40 years of age... and now what?  We spoke on the day Heidi was due to get an impressive tattoo so I wanted to publish this close to the conversation. It's raw, intimate, candid. Everyone is working things out. We discuss: - Creating space for yourself to speak to yourself - Working in advertising but not really being into buy stuff - Recovering from personal and career wipeout You can find Heidi here https://www.instagram.com/uberblond and here https://medium.com/@uberblond.   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Watergunz won two golds at the recent Ad Black Sea festival for a campaign called “Women Who Don’t Exist”. They won in the Impact category for Creative Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals. Their campaign managed to get the Tbilisi government to change street names to the names of accomplished women. I was fortunate to be the one who handed them their trophies in front of well over one thousand people and a few stray dogs that had wondered into the Summer Theatre in Batum, Georgia. I grabbed the team at 1am just after the ceremony had finished to find out how they were feeling. Find out more here: https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/stories/feature-story/2023/06/women-who-dont-exist-a-campaign-against-stereotypes

Ben Shaw is Head of Strategy at BBH London. As an eleven-year veteran of one of the world's best agencies and one of the world's favorite homes to agency strategists, Ben believes that strategy is a creative role and that strategy departments need to contain more people from different backgrounds to be as creative as possible. We discuss both topics, including BBH's year-and-a-half mission to open itself up to people who wouldn't normally get access to an advertising career in London.      You can find Ben here https://twitter.com/benshaw  BBH's Homegrown program is here https://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/careers/internship-homegrown  Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Seb Chan is Chief Experience Officer at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne, a museum that over 1.5M people visit every year. Seb has also led digital efforts at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York and is one of the world's most renowned experts on getting museums to open up - to get their collections online, to get people using the museums in new ways. And he was a well-respected DJ, radio host, zine maker, music and video game writer, and we hosted radio shows back to back for five years. We discuss: - The early years of museums getting onto the Internet - How an IT guy ends up a Digital Head - What is a museum? How have museums changed? - What is the business model of a museum? - The metrics that matter to museums - Career paths one just... falls into You can find Seb in many corners of the Internet, especially http://www.twitter.com/sebchan For more Internet: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard http://www.instagram.com/markpollard http://www.sweathead.co

Nick Hirst is Executive Strategy Director at adam&eveDDB in London. He's twenty years into his planning career. He's been at adam&eveDDB for eight years and spent some of them as Head of Planning. That's after being a Head of Planning at Dare and working at Lowe and Grey.

In this episode of Sweathead, we discuss the messy reality of doing account planning.

You can find Nick here: https://twitter.com/nickhirst 

**
Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com
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Nish Shah has just set up a company focused on helping companies to pitch. It's called Pitch Factory. Like Hit Factory. You know, that studio where hundreds of pop music hits were once made.

In this episode, we discuss Nish's philosophy "Pitch With Joy" as well as some practical tips for Young Lions about to head over to Cannes to compete.

You can find Nish here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hellonishshah/

**

Next strategy events:

1. Masterclass with WundermanThompson CSO Rodrigo Maroni (March)
2. The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March)
3. WTEff-The Eff-ing Effectiveness Festival (April)

Details: http://www.sweathead.com.

**

Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter:
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Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

On Instagram, I recently asked people what questions they had about insights and I responded as an Instagram Story. This episode of Sweathead is those questions and my responses but on a walk around Central Park. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Sai He is a copywriter and runs the hilarious social media presence Dong Draper. He thinks he’s one of the most introverted people in the industry. I have a hunch a few listeners might contest this claim. Either way, Sai is prolific and still finding his feet in the industry. My question to him: What are you going to do after this industry? You can find Sai here https://twitter.com/adversaising Dong Draper on Twitter here https://twitter.com/dongtent Dong Draper on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/dong.draper/ You can find Mark here http://www.instagram.com/markpollard And details for The Strategy Megaclass here http://www.strategymegaclass.com

Tim Gingrich, along with his team at Edelman and his clients at Dallas Regional Chamber, recently picked up a couple of trophies at the 4A's Jay Chiat Awards. Silver in the Healthcare category, bronze in the Regional category.

In this interview, Tim takes us through the thinking behind the initiative that sought to get over 600,000 North Texans vaccinated and why capitalism played a key role in the messaging.

You can find Tim here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timgingrich/

**
The Sweathead Do-Together will take you through ten hours of strategy conference October 18-20, 2022.

The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator is 4 weeks of lively strategy training and starts Oct 25, 2022.

Find out more at http://www.sweathead.com.
**

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Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Marcelo Ferrarini is a Brazilian in London working for The Lego Group as Senior Manager, Global Insights. 

Recently, he published an article on LinkedIn that later made its way to WARC. And, now, you can hear it from his mouth right here.

In this episode, Marcelo takes us through what he's learned from the marketing sciences and how what he's learned has changed how he goes about marketing. 

You can find Marcelo here: https://twitter.com/immarcelinho

**

🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com

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🔊 Other links: https://znap.link/sweathead

Praveen Vaidyanathan has worked around the world but currently calls Copenhagen home. He's a strategy director at VIRTUE/VICE Nordics, and, as he's traveled around, he's contemplated the agencies in which he'd like to work and how they talk about themselves. He's contemplated them so much that he compiled a list of 700 agency philosophies. In this interview, we discuss what an agency philosophy is, the categories of philosophy that Praveen sees, and Praveen's favorite philosophies.  You can find Praveen here https://twitter.com/v_praveen and his list of 700 agency philosophies here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ad-agency-philosophies-taglines-global-700-praveen-vaidyanathan-1c/ 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Derek Walker runs Brown & Browner Advertising. He enjoys cooking, writing, and taking public pot-shots at the things in the advertising industry that don't make sense. We've spoken on Sweathead before but I wanted to speak to Derek about what's happening right now.  *For COVID-19 context, we live-streamed this to the Sweathead Facebook Group on March 31, 2020 You can find Derek here: https://twitter.com/dereklwalker Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Payal Pereira is studying strategy at VCU Brand Center. We met in Bombay, India, last year but I came across her portfolio again in a spreadsheet compiled by Aisha Hakim. In this spreadsheet are over 300 people hoping someone with industry experience with review their portfolios. Payal's portfolio and the way she expresses her strategic thinking stood out to me. So, we decided to talk through her portfolio in public. You can find Payal here: https://www.instagram.com/payalpereira/ Her Swatch case study is here: http://www.payalruthpereira.com/swatch Aisha Hakim's spreadsheet is here: https://bit.ly/reviewmyportfolio Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Bernice Chao is author of "The Visibility Mindset". Her agency experience includes R/GA, Zambezi, TBWA, and David&Goliath.

While navigating her career in the creative department, Bernice found herself longing to be able to connect with more people who understood her experience. So she set up Asians In Advertising with Jessalin Lam and has amassed a community of over 4,000 people who identify as AAPI from around the world. And this is what we discuss.

You can find Bernice here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernicechao/ ** Next strategy event: Aisha Hakim's Masterclass The Art of Deck-Making http://www.sweathead.com ** Sign up for our newsletters: 1. For Friday's Sake–a weekly laugh at the marketing world https://sweathead.com/newsletter/for-fridays-sake/ 2. Strategy 4 Life–inside the working lives of strategists https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

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

Do creative lives happen in straight lines? Carolyn Hadlock is Executive Creative Director at Indianapolis's Young & Laramore. She does creative work but, as part of doing that creative work, Carolyn also does ethnography. She likes to go deep into people's lives to try to understand what's going on inside their minds. It's an unusual combination–a creative director who does ethnography–and it's led her to set up her own publication Eunoia where she's recently started documenting other people whose minds are also unusual combinations. In this interview, we discuss: - The creative and agency scene in Indianapolis - Young & Laramore and the work they do - Carolyn's circuitous path into advertising (after seven years of undergraduate study), and - Carloyn's investigation of minds she finds beautiful through Eunoia, a blog started four years ago You can read her interviews with beautiful thinkers and listen to them chat at Eunoia: https://medium.com/eunoia-by-carolyn-hadlock  ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

What does the journey from doing strategy for other people's brands to making your own product look like? Brooklyn's George Crichlow made $250,000 selling bamboo hats in high school. This bought him a ticket to the elite Georgetown college and it made George the first person of his family to go to college - most of his family had not stayed in school beyond the fifth grade. After college, George ran an agency gamut that took him from telling the world about brands to help companies create brands to making his own product and telling the world about it. He was AKQA's tenth employee in New York and made pitstops at Wolf Ollins and Red Scout along the way.  Now, he does freelance strategy but puts most of his time into Kynsho, an outerwear brand that he created. And it's into this brand that he puts his love for problem solving, making, and entrepreneurialism. In this interview, we discuss: - Running a business in high school - The attributes of an entrepreneur - Making your own product   You can find Kynsho here http://www.kynsho.com  You can find George here http://www.georgecrichlow.com/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

So, what did account planners make of this year's Super Bowl ads?

#PlannerBowl is a hashtag that account planners and strategists use to talk to each other about Super Bowl ads as they watch them. Born in 2013, it has housed snark, wit, strategy analysis, and probably led to a friendship or two.

In this episode, Megan Averell and Brian Wakabayashi discuss what they saw planners discussing as well as their own thoughts on this year's Super Bowl ads. 

We cover:
1. How few brands ran at the mega cultural shift happening in the USA right now
2. Nostalgia and escapism during dark times
3. The state of fear and exhaustion into which the Super Bowl ads were unleashed
4. The reappearance of the old school celebrity
5. And the question: How do you find the thing everyone can relate to?  

You can find Megan here https://theinsightinn.com/ and Brian here https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwaka/.

**

Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

I wrote a thing today. It features Musashi, a sick samurai. He was probably sick in all the ways by today's terms but I try to connect what you're going through to what he once went through. This is especially relevant to anyone trying to work out their place in their company right now.

We're launching a new weekly newsletter called For Friday's Sake. You can subscribe here: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/for-fridays-sake/

You can find out about all of our events and training here: http://www.sweathead.com

To start 2023, we're running a fast series on trends worth paying attention to in The Sweathead Trend Bender Series. Over five episodes this week, you'll get to hear 25 trends that people who get paid to find trends are highlighting for their clients.

In this episode, Vayner's Olayinka Ajibola and Hayley Grant take us through their trend highlight reel.

The trends come from The Vayner Constellation: 2023 Trends Forecast. They include New Americana, Gen-less, and Revenge Living.

You can find Olayinka Ajibola here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olayinkaajibola/
Hayley Grant is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleykgrant/

**

Join a live Meta Trend workshop with Reddit's Matt Klein on Feb 3 here:  
http://bit.ly/3XOjJ7f

Next strategy training:

1. Lucky Generals Cofounder Andy Nairn teaches a masterclass (Feb 23)
2. The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March)

Details: http://www.sweathead.com.

**

Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

**

Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

In this episode, we discuss two sets of agency-client dysfunctions and ways to deal with them–too many revisions and your strategy getting props but not your creative.

Download our new career planning toolkit here: https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/career-planning-toolkit

**

Next strategy events:

1. Masterclass with WundermanThompson CSO Rodrigo Maroni (March)
2. The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (March)
3. WTEff-The Eff-ing Effectiveness Festival (April)

Details: http://www.sweathead.com.

**

Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

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/

In this episode, I discuss a couple of recent essays—when it’s time to quit and how to help a strategy team that’s swirling all over the place. If you enjoy it, share it. And come say hi on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Rob Schwartz is CEO of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY New York. A big agency brand name, TBWA in New York was a shining star then it faded. When Rob arrived, the culture had been decimated and clients were either leaving or very unhappy.  In this interview, we discuss the turn-around story. Rob shares with us the business plan he shared with global CEO Troy Ruhanen and he discusses what they discussed before he took the role. He also describes what he focused on in his first few months.  It's a very candid interview - although I can tell Rob is comfortable in candor.  You can find TBWA NY here https://tbwachiatdayny.com Rob is here: https://twitter.com/Schwartzie14    Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

It’s the final day of the Georgian advertising festival Ad Black Sea. The campaign winners will be announced soon. In this episode, I talk with fellow speaker Marie Reig Florensa, Ad Black Sea and agency Winfors founder Vato Lavtaradze, and Lado Malazonia who quit his job on stage during one of my sessions and in front of perhaps 800 people…and his wife. You can find out more about Ad Black Sea here: https://adblacksea.com

Felipe Tomaz is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Saïd Business School at University of Oxford.

He's about to publish a paper in the Journal of Marketing after analyzing 1,000 campaigns and a million customer journeys via Kantar and Wavemaker.

With this paper, he'll be showing that "not all reach is created equal" as well as how few campaigns are actually effective.

I invited Tom Roach to join me for this chat.

Links

Felipe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drfelipethomaz

Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-roach-5b468026/

Mark: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

For strategy training, check out http://www.sweathead.com

Zac Martin is a senior planner at Ogilvy in Melbourne. We discuss getting. interviewed and being in the spotlight when you’re not used to it and how Australian culture is suspicious of it.  You can find Zac here: http://www.twitter.com/zacmartin  "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes are now live at http://www.sweathead.com

Rodolfo Estrada is a fresh new planner at BBDO in Guatemala. He recently took The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, our 6-week strategy course. And I thought his work was worth sharing.

In this episode, Rodolfo takes us through his response to a hypothetical brief. The task was to get heavy drinkers to consider Vivitrol as a way to cut down their drinking. Vivitrol is a monthly needle in the butt (although there are pill versions of the drug, too - eg Naltrexone). It claims to turn down the opioid receptors in the brain, to reduce the endorphin rush that heavy drinkers feel after their first few drinks and then chase for the next few hours with more drinks.

You can find Rodolfo here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodolfoaestrada/ 

**

Find out about our New York City strategy workshop on June 16 here:

https://sweathead.com/products/the-sweathead-strategy-workshop/

**

🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com

✉️ Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead

🔊 Podcast & other links: https://znap.link/sweathead

Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Fanny RK makes jokes. She also does stand-up comedy. That's not to say her strategy at companies like Shopify and Johns St has ever made anybody laugh. But what if it did? What if a strategist used techniques that make people laugh to make strategy? We discuss: - A need for attention and immediacy - Strategy as The Thing Before The Thing - The role of uncontrollable laughter in ideas - Writing and writing jokes - Techniques strategists can use You can find Fanny RK http://twitter.com/fannyrk and at Shopify or on stages around Toronto * Don't forget to leave a rating or review. Please. ** Want an article? Try "How To Do Account Planning": www.markpollard.net/how-to-do-account-planning-a-simple-approach/ ---- Internets: New Skillshare strategy class: http://skl.sh/markpollard Articles: http://www.markpollard.net Community: http://www.sweathead.co Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

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/

Yeah! Tom! Tom is the Head of Effectiveness at BBH London. He shares such good things on the Internet, things that will help you do more effective work for your clients. And guess what? We discuss this. We also discuss: - "All data is wrong but some is useful" - What makes advertising effective - Objectivity, confidence, and pride - How to shepherd good ideas - How to approach writing an effectiveness paper We had a couple of WiFi glitches (sorry - I'll get more pro!) but it was a fun chat. MOST MARKETING IS BAD BECAUSE IT IGNORES THE MOST BASIC DATA http://bbh-labs.com/most-marketing-is-bad-because-it-ignores-the-most-basic-data/ Fwd to CEO: THE MOST VALUABLE BUSINESS TOOL EVER INVENTED http://bbh-labs.com/fwd-to-ceo-the-most-valuable-business-tool-ever-invented/ Video: http://www.sweathead.co Tom: http://www.twitter.com/tomroach Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Rosie Yakob runs the nomadic strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. She moves around the world with her partner Faris doing strategy work and talks, and constantly contemplates their belief system and how to apply it to their lives outside of the New York agency world. We discuss their goals of working 20 hours per week, of not having an exit strategy, how they'd work on a project with very little time, the importance of creating space for yourself, and the value of patience. You can find Rosie here https://twitter.com/rosieyakob and Genius Steals here http://geniussteals.co/ For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

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

Ryan Wallman is an Associate Creative Director at Wellmark in Melbourne, Australia. He's also a prolific Internet satirist. It's not that he satires the Internet but he does satire marketing and advertising on the Internet. Formerly a psychiatrist, and having experienced an assault while working with a patient, Ryan switched into a copywriting career later than many. We discuss: - What's distracting the industry now - Why is everything so bland? - The power of irreverence, humor, and negativity - The industry's insecurity - Ryan's work as a psychiatrist - Why people call things "negative" and what they're missing out You can find Ryan at http://www.twitter.com/dr_draper More Internets: Instagram http://www.instagram.com/markpollard Strategy class http://www.skl.sh/markpollard Articles http://www.markpollard.net

Picture this: you're on a plane. An airplane. You land in Austin, Texas, for SXSW. And as you get off the plane you realize you've just lost your client Silicon Valley Bank and a chunk of your savings are at risk in another bank that might go under. Well, that's what happened to Jason Harris, CEO Mekanism, last week. You probably know his agency and his work and his accolades. But that's not what this episode is about. Instead, we talk about the dark times. We talk about getting back up when everything else is falling apart. You can find Jason here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-harris-29abb12/ ** Next strategy events: WTEff–The Eff-ing Effectiveness Festival (April) 8 Masterclasses this year Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up to our weekly strategy newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5 ** Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world. We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

LA's Jack Appleby is a Director of Creative Strategy. He has touched projects for Beats by Dre, Microsoft, Rockband, and more. Almost a decade into a career that has focused largely on whatever social is and with a title that now suggests a broader remit, we chat about the challenges facing social strategists at a time when few get training. We discuss: - Best Practice Machines - What's up with "engagement"? - What is social strategy? - Could other types of strategists do social work? - The skills social strategy folks need - The Los Angeles agency zeitgeist - Video game marketing - What is a creative strategist? You can find Jack at https://twitter.com/JuiceboxCA For more internet: Facebook group: http://www.sweathead.co Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

In this episode I run you through some recent student work from the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator (thanks to Colin Craig from Moon Rabbit) as well as ten tips about doing strategy while exhausted.

Our next strategy accelerator starts on March 31. You find find details at http://www.sweathead.com

You can find the Instagram version of this episode on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Girl Geek Academy Co-Founder and CEO Sarah Moran is on a mission. With her team, she's aiming to teach technology to 1,000,000 women by 2025. The greater goal is to ensure that the Internet of the future reflects more of the people who use it, rather than it reflecting one gender based in Silicon Valley. We discuss: - The career choices of technical people - Starting something and founder fears - The work of Girl Geek Academy You can find Sarah here: https://twitter.com/sarahmoran?lang=en https://girlgeekacademy.com/ ---- Internets: YouTube: http://bit.ly/2Ji3zNt Community: http://www.sweathead.co Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

David Navarro is Executive Creative Director at Ueno in New York. He's spent swathes of his career working websites and digital products, and he's done this in Spain, the Netherlands, and the USA. And while we could have spoken about all the incredible work he's done, we decided to discuss how companies new to strategists can help strategists succeed. (PS I said GFC = Global Financial Crash but it’s Global Financial Crisis) You can find David here http://navarro.co/ 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 soon http://www.strategyisyourwords.com

Nancy Hill became President and CEO of the 4As in 2008. The 4As is the American Association of Advertising Agencies. It is the main advertising agency body in the USA. In 2008, the economy tanked, middle-management roles disappeared, salaries didn't disappeared, and the misbehaviors of agency leaders started going public. Many people set up their own agencies as a way to do work they liked and to regain a sense of control over their careers. Nancy now consults with some of these small and mid-sized agencies in her company The Agency Sherpa. We discuss: - How diversity requires public numbers - Trade publications and whether they are too cozy with their topics - Where money goes in holding companies (i.e. not to you) - New York arrogance and titles - Does planning even work in the USA? You can find Nancy here https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-hill-advertising/   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

How do you conduct useful research? Simple question, right? At Current Forward, a research and brand strategy consultancy in Austin, Texas, Ashley Lapin and Kaitlin Moon spend their working lives trying to answer this question.  With COVID-19 throwing everything up in the air and forcing even more research to happen through screens, we decided to discuss practical ways to conduct research in a pandemic but also not in a pandemic. We discuss: - Helping clients work out what research to do - Pricing research - Quantifying qualitative research - Creative testing and is there really a point? - Working out which outputs would be useful  You can find Current Forward here: http://www.currentfwd.com ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

BBH LA Head of Strategy Agathe Guerrier has run a strategy department or two, and, right now, when it seems strategy doesn't always know where it's running, it also seems useful to speak with someone who's put a saddle on a strategy horse in her time. We discuss: - What Agathe did when she took over strategy at BBH London - The most important things new heads of strategy can do - The logistics of BBH LA's strategy department - The hardest thing about finding good planners right now You can find Agathe here: http://twitter.com/agatheg ---- Internets: YouTube: http://bit.ly/2Ji3zNt Community: http://www.sweathead.co Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Gareth Price is a senior planner at JWT/WundermanThompson in London. He won the 2017 IPA President’s Prize and the Advertising category in the 2018 WPP Atticus Awards for his IPA Excellence Diploma thesis, Thinklong, which outlined a seven-point plan to tackle short-termism in marketing. So we decided to talk about writing about strategy. Topics include: - The IPA Excellence Diploma - Short-termism and Gareth's thesis about why people don't think long - Writing about strategy - why even do it? You can find Gareth here https://twitter.com/G_Price P.S. There are minor glitches in my questions - well, the sound of my questions. But Gareth's audio is 100%.   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Tom Beck once ran then sold an agency. Now, as the Executive Director of the Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA), he helps other people who run agencies.  We discuss: 1. The eras of digital agencies over the past 20 years 2. The missteps some agencies have taken 3. How to get the people to work... specifically, what are the challenges in bringing in strategy, account management, user experience, and creative folk? 4. Is "production" a dirty word? You can find Tom here https://twitter.com/laughingrobots and SoDA here: http://sodaspeaks.com   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

James Whatley is Chief Strategy Officer at UK agency Diva. Diva works with gaming brands but they also help non-gaming brands get into gaming.

James is speaking at our upcoming conference The Sweathead Do-Together so I thought it would be good to speak to him about the work he's doing at Diva:
1. How does an agency that focuses on gaming work with brands?
2. How can brands get it right more often than not?

You can find James here: https://twitter.com/Whatleydude

**
The Sweathead Do-Together will take you through ten hours of strategy conference October 18-20, 2022.

The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator is 4 weeks of lively strategy training and starts Oct 25, 2022.

Find out more at http://www.sweathead.com.
**

🔥 Strategy classes: http://www.sweathead.com
✉️ Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5
📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead
🔊 Podcast & other links: https://znap.link/sweathead

Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.

We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.

Toygun is Chief Strategy Office at TBWA in Istanbul, one of my favorite cities on the planet. He recently presented his thoughts about artificial intelligence at SxSW.

We discuss these thoughts as well as Turkey. 

You can find Toygun here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toygun-yilmazer-29810267/

**

For details about our upcoming strategy masterclasses and free ebooks, go to http://www.sweathead.com

🇨🇿Prague

🇩🇪Berlin

🇺🇸NYC, LA

🇸🇬Singapore

🇮🇩Jakarta

🇵🇭Manila

🇦🇺Sydney

Dave McCaughan was a public librarian for 10 years then worked 27 years for McCann in Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Japan. This makes him one of Australia's earliest planners. He is still based in Asia - Bangkok, Thailand, and he hosts a podcast about market research called MR Realities. He talks, he advises, and he is definitely open to you asking him about planning. We discuss: -  The Australian Planner - The white Australian male - Stereotypes - useful or not useful? - How do you know when you’ve gone beyond a stereotype? - Current and interesting market research and survey techniques - Marshall McLuhan and Umberto Ecco You can find Dave here https://twitter.com/bibliosexuality   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

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

What are your desires, goals, and cravings? In this episode, Libby Swan takes over as host and brings four of us together to discuss our desires. Grace Steite is Head of Program Management at Square’s Creative Studio and has recently been working from Ireland: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsteite/ Anjali Ramachandran is the Director of Storythings and Co-Founder of Ada’s List: https://twitter.com/anjali28 Libby Swan runs digital agency PRDXN: https://prdxn.com/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Helene Dick is Strategy Director at New York's Barton F Graf, an agency renowned for provocative work. And in a time where provocative work seems rare, how on Earth do these ideas travel through an agency committed to them? And what role do planners play? We discuss: - The work: Supercell, Welch’s, Little Caesars, Emerald Nuts, The Climate Name Change, Ragu - Briefs, briefings, and reviews - Client presentations You can find Helene here http://twitter.com/helenebd   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Edwin Rager is a Bolivian in Argentina who is about to move to Colombia. He's taught strategy at Brother and worked at Mother, Google, and MediaMonks having made Buenos Aires his strategy home for several years. We discuss: - How travel helps the strategist - Planning in Argentina - How teaching teaches a teacher - Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile You can find Edwin at http://www.twitter.com/locosombrero and http://www.edwinrager.com * Don't forget to leave a rating or review. Please. ** Want an article? Try "How To Do Account Planning": http://www.markpollard.net/how-to-do-account-planning-a-simple-approach/ ---- Internets: New Skillshare strategy class: http://skl.sh/markpollard Articles: http://www.markpollard.net Community: http://www.sweathead.co Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Maytê Carvalho won a special version of Brazil’s The Apprentice television show when she was 18 years old. People told her she was persuasive. They told her to write a book about it. 

But, first, Maytê decided to study persuasion and ended up getting a Master’s degree focusing on it. She also became a Research Fellow at the Berkeley Global Society.

Simultaneously, Maytê worked in the Grey Group and Accenture Song in São Paulo and TBWA\Chiat\Day in LA then CUBOCC in New York as their Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.

She’s just moved to LA and set up her own company.

We talk about all of this.

Here, you can find… 

Maytê: https://www.instagram.com/maytecarvalhos

Mark: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Sweathead: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead

Strategy classes and books: http://www.sweathead.com

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.

How do you graduate from "doing social" to doing strategy? Blake is a digital strategist from New York who entered advertising after a brief flirtation with neuroscience.   In this episode, we discuss the  evolution made by many people who start out as social media workers. They go from trading on their youth and knowing the platforms because they use them to making recommendations not just because they get the platform but because they get people and business.    You can find Blake here https://www.instagram.com/not.blake.lively/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Have you ever wanted to ask a recruiter... "Like, come on now, could you tell me what's really going on?" Well, I just did. And - BONUS - Erin Noel who's currently Director of Team Operations at Stink Studios was a strategist for 13 years before doing recruitment so she can speak to both sides. In this interview, we discuss: - How to honor yourself in your career - The 2 most common crossroads in a strategist's career - The art of compromise - Getting a job, keeping a job, and career twilights - Working with recruiters (and specific recruiters Erin recommends) You can find Erin on LinkedIn. Related article: Give Me That Strategy Job (Can you passion your way into a job?) https://mailchi.mp/mightyjungle/give-me-that-strategy-job Video: http://www.sweathead.co Mark on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5