(Editor’s note - Matthew is off sick so the shoemaker’s elves are behind the scenes this week keep things going. We hope we do a good job!).
I’ve seen a noticeable uptick in recent months of initiatives aiming to support people wanting to get into strategy. Whether it’s formal training programmes, open sharing of resources and frameworks, or conversational groups and communities, or simply individuals sharing their experiences through writing or mentoring - there’s no shortage of people in the industry are being incredibly generous with their time and experience.
Some are commercialised for sure (and there’s nothing wrong with that), although there’s probably hours of debate to be had what makes for ‘good quality’ too, as strategy is by definition subjective, oftentimes gets into philosophical debate around what is/isn’t strategy, and measuring it’s effectiveness and value has always been a challenge, but in many ways, it’s an amazing time to look towards getting into this type of work.
There are folk who looking towards the craft and roots of the discipline, there are others who are looking to make strategy less esoteric, there are many who are selling templates and frameworks, and of course new tools and platforms which almost remove some of the process entirely built upon those craft principles.
Perhaps it’s worth questioning why it feels like there’s an explosion of educational, training and supportive content at the moment.
Many of the individuals creating this work are independent - so this is potentially a revenue stream, or personal/professional brand building for some; much of it comes from a sense of professional duty of care, giving back to an industry we’ve spent so much time within so that others may benefit; but there also seems to be a feeling of underwhelming education, learning and development within the agencies - which once was the training ground for so many. The shift to remote work, the lean-ness of teams, time and budget, the hiring of talent over investment in it, or simply an expectation that people will figure-it-out or learn on their own time.
Alarm bells around investing in emerging, diverse and new talent have been ringing for at least 15 years, yet in a ‘big society’ sort of way, it mostly seems to be falling to individuals to take on the work. Perhaps still lingers the mindset of “if we train them, they’ll leave us and a competitor will benefit from our investment”, combined with a dramatic increase in the number of independent strategy professionals, no longer tied to a business, but running their own.
It’s heartening to see some organisations, however, still believing in the importance of training, education, development, and investing in new talent entering the industry (or established talent reaffirming skills or pivoting to new skills).
Strategy is a highly transferable skill, some would say a useful life skill. If nothing else, it helps you to challenge assumptions, question deeply, and find a positive path forwards through chaos - which I think is something we could all benefit from at the moment.
We spoke to Greg Newman, Strategic Business Consultant at Craft Media about their initiative “Planonymous”, and why they feel its necessary.
Q. Why Planonymous? Are you seeing a gap in training and development in strategy?
Yes, the feedback we get from both sides of the aisle points to this we think.
Clients say that the things we offer (Craft is a specialist Comms Planning agency, we don't buy ads) are becoming increasingly hard to find, and our agency partners - and just our friends in the industry - tell us they're less and less clear on how to hone and improve their planning skills, with lots of initiatives focused on raising the floor and establishing process rather than helping people do the best work of their careers.
Q. Are clients placing decreasing value on strategy, or is it more important than ever?
I'd definitely say the latter. The clients I come into contact with have sought us out so I'm sure there's some bias, but the level of complexity they're being asked to navigate and corral into something coherent nowadays is overwhelming.
Most are working with a huge roster of agencies, all of whom have ideas on how to fix their problem, which are mostly independent of one another.
This is where great strategy and planning adds real value, providing direction and a signal in the noise. We always say a great strategy should help them say no to good ideas, because they're clear on their overarching focus.
Q. Do you feel the craft and discipline of strategy is being, or does it need to evolve, especially in the light of things like AI?
I think there will be two big effects of the growth of automation and AI, one good, one bad.
The first is that 'equivalence' will become easy.
A decent, belt-and-braces campaign that delivers reasonably well will take 2 minutes and very little money to pull together, but I expect most advertisers will have greater aspirations than that, and so I think we'll get to spend more time focused on making work that outperforms expectations rather than just meets them.
The second is that - at least at the big holding companies - there will just be less space for strategists. Their pitch to investors is all about delivering equivalent outcomes at lower cost, facilitated by tech (I think it's fair to assume instead of people)
Strategists will need to be a bit more entrepreneurial in how they position and sell themselves, be clearer and more confident in articulating the value they add and be able to point to a portfolio of work to back it up.
Part of the reason we're running this course is to give people real clarity on how to make the kind of work they can confidently claim responsibility for.
Great strategy gets brands noticed, remembered positively and helps them command a price premium.
Increasingly, strats are going to have to think about how they themselves do all of those things
The Planonymous workshop series will kick-off with its first session on Friday 30th May. No strings attached. No cost. You don’t even have to share your name or turn your camera on. Just turn up, learn, and get better.
Drop Greg a line at [email protected] for more details.
Each week, I’ll try to profile one of our members, so you get to know each other better, and find folk you might want to connect to. Shout if you fancy having your face here.
👋 Hey everyone, I’m Eva Keogan
I’m a London-based senior brand strategist and communications specialist. I started in PR and journalism, jumped into social about fifteen years ago, and now work across the brand and marketing sphere. I work with digital, PR and event agencies and directly with clients on a diverse range work from pitching through to social media strategy.
At the moment I’m an entrepreneur in residence at Goldsmiths University, where I’m developing my new business idea which a digital skills and capability project to bring more diversity into the sector– watch this space for more!
I’ve been working with a FinTech called Reseo for over two years, helping them develop the early stage brand position and strategy and we had a great team to launch the brand early last year – they’re a startup and it’s exciting they’re starting to get recognition in the market which is impressive from a standing start. I also helped devise a strategic marketing framework for a Cabinet Office programme– varied work is exciting!
This year’s focus is on securing longterm working relationships with agencies and nurturing new clients in the creative and emerging tech space. I want to do more workshop facilitation, strategic planning and research and make strides in my new business idea.
Things I’m reading/consuming/loving at the moment:
Listening - I’m an avid audible consumer and listening to Documentary Filmmakers Speak which is a revelation as we’ve lost track of what this kind of work really entails.
Reading - Welcome to the Creative Club by Pia Mailhot-Leichter – we used to work together and it’s about her creative / life journey– definitely recommend, and just finished All Fours by Miranda July – shockingly good!
Say hello to Eva on LinkedIn, or via the community.
» Lucinda Bounsall has published a post on the power of independent strategy on her new substack for Sibling Studio
» ’s The People has published a landmark piece of research on what’s happening in the UK and how brands, governments and mission-led organisations can build meaningful connections with citizens and local communities.
» Further & Further have published a report on the first quarter of Trump’s new USA
» Edward Cotton is looking for people to join a StratChat (new name tbc) - although he already found 250+ up for joining.
» is speaking at VISIONS summit at MOMA in June
» The power of ordinary (thanks joel)
» Half of young people want to be severed (thanks again joel)
» The science behind rewatching
» Are you slow-watching the moose?
» Short Trip - a lovely interactive story (thanks Angie)
» Flawless impression of Rory Sutherland
Wanna share your work, ideas or thinking with the community? - drop me a message, and I’ll pop it in the next issue. This is a scrapbook of our ideas, so please open up your brains.
(hoping matthew will be better soon!)
That’s all for this week.
Not mk ✌️
Get our Community Edition delivered to your inbox every week.
