creative strategy — Thinking

Mapping a strategist

A simple map to help map your strategic makeup. Have a go! It’s more fun than your typical buzzfeed personality quiz (Slytherin btw)…

James LeesMarch 5, 2019ideal strategist, mapping your strategic skills, creative strategy, creative strategist, aptitude for strategy

The "Conspiracy of Yes"

It’s a waste of time and money, it rarely produces anything of value and it’s pretty pricey. It’s the ‘conspiracy of yes’.

Christian BarnettMarch 1, 2019creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, client agency relationship, strategic consultancy

The rise of Brand Killers and the agency opportunity

Some of key takeouts from our well received Brand Killers session with heads of strategy from brand and creative agencies…

James LeesJanuary 14, 2019brandkillers, BrandKillers, rapid growth, rapid growth start-up, killer start-ups, start-up mentality, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy

New York, New York

There’s something pretty irresistible about New York: The intoxicating sense of the energy, of something always happening, or about to happen, the idea of possibility as part of the city’s infrastructure. So we haven’t resisted. We’re launching in NYC in Feb 2018

Christian BarnettJanuary 14, 2019new york strategic consultancy, setting up in New York, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, creative strategy New York

Are the Brand Killers coming after your brand?

They look innocent enough. Fresh-faced, enthusiastic, passionate about their products and driven by an almost missionary zeal to make things taste better and consumers feel better about themselves and what they are doing to the planet. But their wonderful products and engaging stories mask a darker reality for the world’s leading food and drink brand owners.

James LeesJanuary 14, 2019brandkillers, BrandKillers, killer start-ups, changing landscape of food and drink, food and drink trends, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy

What makes a good client

At the end of an innovation project James and I told the client one of the key ingredients to its success was the client themselves. We explained why.

Christian BarnettJanuary 14, 2019how to be a good client, client agency relationship, great clients, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, innovation, strategic innovation

Chasing rainbows

While I was in Iceland chasing rainbows, others in the team were also tracking down rainbows. James was in New York, innovating for a global brewer, Flo was in Paris helping Pernod Ricard create and tell better brand stories and Caroline was busy developing media strategies for Oxfam in Brussels. Here's our month!

Christian BarnettJanuary 14, 2019transatlantic strategy, Pernod Ricard storytelling, storytelling, international strategic consultancy, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, Oxfam

Content about content

I really like content strategies that drive value and boost sales creatively. It’s almost like product placement, but instead of placing products you imbue your proposition, or value, or purpose, or blah into whatever bit of content you’re producing.

James LeesJanuary 14, 2019content strategy, branded content, creative strategy, Lego Movie strategy

Are the UK charts ignoring their audience?

The charts are making changes to try and stay relevant, but by essentially ignoring their audience, they are sliding even deeper into irrelevancy. Brands, businesses – follow suit at your peril.

Flo SayersJanuary 14, 2019UK charts, music strategy, Spotify, music streaming, creative strategy

Selfish and short-sighted

I’ve worked with some amazing people in my career, some real geniuses; people who make the advertising industry what it is.

But the industry has got selfish and myopic. In a dash for profits, earn outs and bonuses; the industry has not replenished its stocks. With little investment in young talent for the future, there is no sustainable future.

Christian BarnettJanuary 14, 2019advertising talent drain, Group Think, Strategy talent, creative strategy

Transforming Marketing Capability

Most companies recognize the need to understand their current marketing capability, often with the aim of transforming the marketing department into a function that can deliver more against the wider business goals…

JOHN HOWKINSDecember 20, 2018skills audit, marketing capability, upskilling teams, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, culture change

Planning "in the wild" is just Planning

It’s really sad to see Ogilvy making a fuss about sending planners out to connect with the real world. It’s even sadder that Ogilvy quote a “recent survey among planners”[1] that states “primary research informs less than 2% of creative briefs.” I mean, what do planners do nowadays?

James LeesDecember 20, 2018planning in the wild, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, conducting primary research, consumer safari, Ogilvy, Kevin Chesters

Yes, everyone can think more creatively

We’ve recently been training people on how to think more creatively. Initially, many people just see the word ‘creative’ and assume it is about producing something that is creative: like a piece of art or an advertising concept…

James LeesDecember 20, 2018Edward de Bono, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, thinking creatively, conceptual creativity, lateral thinking

He wanted sex, she wanted love

Clients and agencies often want different things from a relationship, and different marketing disciplines who have to work together often want different things from a relationship (shotgun wedding?)

James LeesDecember 20, 2018inter-agency politics, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, strategic philosophy

Pokémon GO – A master stroke of experience design and B.E.

We are witnessing another global Pokémon phenomenon. In a week, Nintendo has doubled its stock market value with an app developed by Niantic that is free to download and play…

James LeesDecember 20, 2018Pokémon GO strategy, app strategy, behavioural economics in gaming, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy

The Rebranding of Vegetarianism

I’ve been a vegetarian all my life. I love vegetarian food. I know that it can be nutritious, delicious and exciting. But I’ll be honest – you wouldn’t know it from most veggie brands.

James LeesDecember 20, 2018vegetarian, strategy, creative strategy, creative strategy consultancy, strategy consultancy

1 yr of Planner Pints

What our James has learnt from a year of hosting drinks for strategists in London.

James LeesDecember 20, 2018Planner Pints, account planning, creative strategy, advertising strategy, advertising meetup, strategy meet up

From day-to-day thoughts to thinking that's a bit bigger, these are the things that have come out of our heads recently.