STRAT_SCRAPS V145
thoughtful or full of thoughts?
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It would be cool if there was a magazine subscription where, upon becoming a subscriber, you were sent issues in chronological order rather than receiving anything published after the date of subscription.
Stop fetishizing newness of information.
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I’ve talked about each part before, but one of the bigger tensions in my industry related beliefs is around the role of process vs people.
Undeniably, people are everything. An agency is nothing but a temporary collection of people, and is therefore never the same agency as it was once t experiences turnover.
We used to trade in the commodity of talent.
But then we started paying people less. and working them more.
Clients started to drive, which usurped expertise in the things people at agencies did. So people stopped sticking around any one place.
So we elevated process.
A way of working that promises quality work no matter who the team is.
Except, we already lost that battle when talent was no longer the reason you hired an agency.
Because if you aren’t hiring for the talent, then it is no longer clear who is in charge of what decisions.
What if pitch decks had more about who was going to be on the team and less about an agency’s distributed network or methodology for measuring “cultural ph” or whatever.
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I share this every 6 months or so because I think it’s important. Also, it is nicely related to the point that follows.
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A metaphor about strategy that I don’t see used enough is that of the lever.
Strategy is about effectiveness. But you can be effective without strategy… We just are there to make moving the needle (or boulder) easier.
We provide leverage.
And that’s what the 3 Cs1 are for.
They are fixed points against which to find leverage. i.e. Tension.
Which is all to say, Strategy is about leveraging the existing landscape around you to make moving things easier.
What is already out there that can be used to our benefit?
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“find the secret humour everywhere.
all of it is drenched in subtle hilarity”
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Being creative is also about not being happy with how things are.
It is ok to be dissatisfied with how things are. As long as you pair it with curiosity about what could be.
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seek
perspective
rather
than
answers
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the problem with AI:
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as information has become infinite, we’ve shifted from valuing being well read to being informed
A recycled note from a previous vol.
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The problem is, when you live down at the level of “Advertising Strategy” you are almost never provided with a clear outline of everything above. so are building in the dark, surrounded by invisible limitations. If I were handed a client brief with every bullet prior to the second to last pre-approved, it could be an exercise completed in a week max.
I also think Advertising belong above content, PR, and Comms. Yes, my ego wants that to be true, but also I’m pretty sure it is.
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“The goal of marketing, then — especially as it pertains to things people would rather not pay attention to — is in making sure that the message taints the tastelessness of existence, and forces us to pay attention.”
A quote I saved years ago from Zander Nethercutt.
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Is your brief thoughtful or full of thoughts?
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WEEKLY MONSTER
**Go take a walk without headphones. Focus on what you smell.**“Category” “Consumer” “Company” — I don’t recognize Culture as a “C”
“We used to trade in the commodity of talent. But then we started paying people less. and working them more.”
Odd but generally true sports analogy…
Most agencies approach their employees the same way NFL teams approach their running backs. Longevity is short. Most are fried by the time they’re 30. Get as much out of them as you can. Run ‘em into the ground. They’ll be gone in a few years anyway.
The result? A lot of talent decides they’re better off walking away from game entirely.
I’d love to read in a future volume why you don’t consider “culture” a C.