stratscraps v208

a taxonomy of tension

Alex Morris

Jun 18, 2026

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

│ │

│ ISSUE 47 STRATEGY, UNFILED FREE / $0 │

│──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│

│ │

│ ____ ____ ____ _ ____ ____ │

│ / ___| / ___| _ \ / \ | _ \/ ___| │

│ \___ \| | | |_) | / _ \ | |_) \___ \ │

│ ___) | |___| _ < / ___ \| __/ ___) | │

│ |____/ \____|_| \_\/_/ \_\_| |____/ │

│ │

│ S T R A T _ S C R A P S — Q U A R T E R L Y │

│ │

│──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│

│ │

│ ▌ THE EMBEDDED OUTSIDER ▓▓▓▒▒▒░░░ │

│ ▌ REACH > EVERYTHING ▒▒▒░░░ │

│ │

│──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│

│ ║▌║▌▌║▌║▌▌▌║▌║▌║▌▌║ No.208 SUMMER 2026 │

│ │

└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Admin updates:

I am wrapping a project and have availability starting in July.

There are a few ways we can work together:

You can buy my time, i.e. the traditional freelance model. If you have a project coming up with the need for brand/comms strategy thinking and implementation, lets talk.
Flat fee offerings. Read more here.

/////

Do you make art? In the past I have buried this at the end of the newsletter, but I am thinking about what a subscriber art show might look like. So, do you make art?

Based on the numbers the above poll comes back with, I’ll think through what would come next.

/////

Website was recently updated. More updates to come there, as always.

/////

What are we trying to say? (Strategy spend your time here)

How are we going to say it? (Creative spend your time here)

/////

From a good list of creative qualifiers to bring to your next creative review.

/////

Found this on Are.na, but thanks to some excellent distinctive assets I know that this was originally shared by Praveen. (if you aren’t subscribed, you need to be)

/////

Some recycled content from newsletters past as I compile my next print object:

on this week’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver ended the show by showcasing a plumbing company that made its own ads. All of which were incredibly low quality movie spoofs. Here is an example from a commercial titles “Toilet Dune”

The point is – we spend so much time trying to land the perfect concept, tone, message. Maybe there needs to be more room for novel experimentation. I really like the strat scraps logo I made. And I never would have made it if I knew what I was doing. Toilet Dune is fucking hilarious. And says very little about their ability, but I would totally hire them. People (and companies?) who don’t take themselves too seriously seem far less likely to rip you off.

SNL’s most popular format, the digital short, came into existence because Andy Samberg had a video camera and liked goofing around.

And you know what– this leads to a lot of bad content. But this isn’t Sundance. frequency is a huge part of effectiveness. Yet we spend 6-12 months with clients trying to land the perfect thought.

During that time, Radiant Plumbing released 18 commercials. And are being rewarded with free coverage on a show with over 500,000 live viewers and 9 million subscribers. The second most popular show on HBO.

I guess what I’m saying is… Can we stop trying to make things perfect and more things that are just fun?

Can we stop taking it all so seriously?

At the intersection of hot takes and conversations I’ve had with subscribers,

someone said this to me recently:

“as i got better at thinking as a strategist, i got so much worse at thinking”

Thanks Amyri, that thought keeps messing with my head.

(other notes from that conversation:

“strategy is something to be implemented, not executed.”
“my favorite part of the job is a minority of what the job is”

This is especially true when it comes to something like the 4Cs.

Here’s how I see it:

The 4Cs are a nesting doll.

A company is part of the category.

The category is defined by the consumer.

The consumer exists within the bigger culture.

So, to visualize it another way:

Creative Brief: Complete Owners Manual

An overview of the creative brief that looks at it in context of the bigger process and the role it is meant to play – not just the information it is meant to contain.

Two Freelance Truths via Tom Critchlow. I’m realizing the reason I feel so comfortable in a freelance role is because these have always been part of my core approach. (Emphasis mine)

THING ONE

Questions and inquisition are at the heart of good consulting - you can’t truly know the problem until you understand:
What the client thinks the problem is

What the actual problem might be

How the current system operates

Why the current system caused the problem

Why the current system can’t solve its own problem

THING TWO

Consultants are ideally capacity builders who develop links between research and practice rather than problem solvers. They provide methods and tools to help others expand their capabilities and skills on an ongoing basis, thereby transforming concepts into practical know-how and results.

Some patterns and other fun stuff:

Now that I’m getting more and more data from Creatives for the Creatives on Strategists survey, a few things keep popping up.

Thought starters: Controversial item. Rarely appreciated, but I feel there are complex reasons as to why.
Talk less. This applies to people in general to be honest.
The purpose of a creative brief: answers are either “inspiration” or “clarity” – but more interesting is the tone of answers across the board. It can be summed up with this one response:

“I gave up on those a long time ago. I’d rather just ask the questions I need answered.”

And my favorite response so far: