WARC published a podcast interview with Tom Morton, Suzanne Powers and Faris Yakob this week on the topic of the rise of independent strategy. It’s an interesting discussion on the perceived role and value which strategy plays within agencies, and the need for it from clients - and where, perhaps those two don’t always align.
The guests on the podcast talked about strategy doing its best when being ‘agnostic to the solution’ - Faris’ suggestion that if you walk into a fishmonger and ask for suggestions for dinner, you’re going to get fish, illustrates the common challenge of strategy being within an agency, you’re going to get whatever their flavour of output is.
But in a more complex world, strategy cannot work in isolation. It needs to be connected to the business goals, all of the working parts of the organisation. It cannot be vertical, it must be horizontal. Strategy needs to be about direction and integration.
So an impartial view (could one say, outside perspective?), without ties to the deliverables or next actions, in theory should offer you more honest and effective outcomes. Hence, the value of independent strategy.
Although, in pitching that value proposition, have we become the fishmonger?
The group closed the interview with a handful of things that anyone considering going independent should consider - and a consensus of ‘community’ was heard, the importance of having a network and others to work alongside and lift you up.
On this point, I couldn’t agree more, and it’s lovely to see you all here, all 3.8k on LinkedIn, all 2.5k on substack, all 800 odd in the slack. I’m not suggesting we’re rebels nor an alliance, but if nothing else, it’s good to know we aren’t doing it alone.
“Beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living within that way of life.”
— Hunter S. Thompson (yep, really - that guy)
I messaged Matthew the other day - he had a slot to fill in his newsletter, and I was doing nothing but (very) leisurely laps around a North London reservoir.
I’d thought about writing an industry commentary (others do it better). Venting my frustrations (probably wouldn’t help). Or a sales pitch (if you needed me, you’d ask).
But then I remembered: When in doubt, write a love letter.
I’ve done that. It might be a little vulnerable. It might be just what a few people need to hear.
About a year ago, I was made redundant. No drama - just another chapter in the story of someone with potential, stuck in a struggling industry.
I’d thought about freelancing. So I defaulted to action: Started a limited company, emailed recruiters, reached out to old clients. Got moving. You know the drill.
I watched peers, friends, and ex-colleagues building businesses. Growing fast. Thriving. I tried to follow suit. Failed. Got frustrated. Got jealous. Got happy for them (eventually). I’d set myself a grand ambition and a very big mountain to climb - solo. I wanted what they had. Or at least I thought I did.
But sometimes life throws you strangely shaped lessons.
The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau isn’t actually a hustle manual (grim) or an easy blueprint for a seven-figure business (damn). It’s neither. Turns out it’s a love letter to building something small - on purpose. Something that fits around your life, not the other way round. Not designed to scale, designed to enable.
Like many of us, I’d been chasing financial safety as a proxy for happiness. But the security I imagined never arrived. It never does. It’s pushing the same rock up the same hill (as that Greek chap can testify).
It changed the idea of Little Vienna for me. From being a vehicle to solve all of the issues in my life (money, stability, recognition), to being an enabler of the kind of life I wanted. To work to live - and drive to the coast on a quiet Tuesday when the swell is firing and everyone else is stuck in an ‘all hands’.
It’s 50% spent on clear, human, useful strategy - the way I feel it should be done, with clients I can genuinely help. And 50% on side projects that spark curiosity, solve real-world problems, or simply exist because they’re interesting. No commercial justification needed.
Little Vienna is deliberately small. Tiny, even. It’s a space to go deep, make fewer, better things. The two halves fit together nicely.
The Japanese word - shibumi - (I think) roughly translates to an understated elegance or effortless clarity. That’s the energy I’m chasing. Not pushing. Not scaling for the sake of it. Just doing good work with good people. A small business that genuinely helps.
Hunter S. Thompson may have been the most extreme case of in vino veritas, but I think when it comes to our world - he was onto something.
So; if you’ve cracked how to do very little and make a fortune, please do get in touch. But if anyone out there feels an affinity, wants to connect, or just wouldn’t like to be alone in it - I’m here. Say hello; I like cappuccinos. Beers too.
» You can find Toby in the community, on LinkedIn, or at LittleVienna
We’ll be taking a little rest over the summer. Gigs and Curiousity Stream will be here, but we might otherwise be a little leaner. So if you’d like to do a weekly takeover, and fill the feed with your thinking - email me. Here’s the schedule:
W31: Open for submissions
W32: Takeover scheduled
W33: Takeover scheduled
W34: Open for submissions
W35: Open for submissions
W36: Open for submissions
» on Fandom rewriting motorspot
» Brand new microstudio NEWDAYS are hosting a “Build the Thing” event next week. Bring your ideas, get them made, have a drink.
» on industry burnout, cognitive dissonance, and the myth of the creative industry
» Devon Powers on what is (and more importantly, what is not) a trend
» Nicole Cardoza on the Coldplay thing (yes, sorry, it was going to get a mention), but more interestingly how it puts our relationship with surveilance culture in the spotlight - thanks Ellie
» Charlotta Hellichius & Anna Schneider-Mayerson explore the art of helping businesses sell out without selling out
» DCA have published a deep-dive on the Return on Social
» The song of the summer is nothing - thanks Joel
» The crisis of becoming invisible
» Kevin Kelly on flounder mode
» Do conversations end when we want them to?
» How substack authors are using (or not using) AI
» Brewdog closing bars, and on the importance of valuable experiences
👋 Hi, I’m Sally Skinner
I’m a strategic copywriter. I’ve been freelancing since 2010, six years into my career as an ad creative at glue London, AKQA and Work Club. Initially I left perm work so I could do a Masters in Creative Writing (fiction) but I loved freelancing so much I’ve never gone back. Over the past 15 years, I’ve continued to create integrated campaigns through agency contracts, but I’ve also been able to focus on words through interim roles like Writing Lead at Google Creative Lab, and Head of Copy at Deliveroo.
Increasingly, I realised I could add an unexpected level of value within a particular niche: where wordsmithery meets big-picture thinking. So that’s what I’m focussing on at my one-woman consultancy, Leapling launched on Leap Day last year.
My aim is to bring the creativity of advertising to the world of branding, using an idea-led approach to help brands get their positioning watertight, their messaging on-point, and their storytelling and tone of voice as distinct and compelling as possible.
My other area of focus is teaming up with strategists, using language and ideas to create a bridge between their thinking and the creatives tasked with bringing it to life.
Penguin Random House was my first Leapling client: a dream come true. I had to be gently led away from the triple height wall of books, and then Actual Marian Keyes in the office kitchen! After reining in my inner fangirl, I helped them to define and roll out a new positioning and tone of voice. Armed with what team members described as “the missing key”, “game changing” and “a joy to see come to life”, Penguin is now able to distinguish themselves in the market and connect more meaningfully with their audiences.
I’ve been privileged to work on some high-profile copy briefs for some great brands, like new straplines for Secret Cinema and wagamama (both of these lines were unbriefed, but fell out my work refining their brand positioning, messaging and tone of voice) and crafting creative territories, lines and manifestos to help YouTube articulate their position to key opinion formers - on tricky subjects like AI, and youth+tech. But the big surprise has been the fact that small/emerging businesses can be just as hungry for great writing as big/established players - often more so. I’ve so enjoyed working with the founders of a documentary filmmaking company, a knowledge-creation start-up and a growing physiotherapy chain, who have all entrusted me with so much creative freedom.
Three things I’m consuming right now:
Reading: Feral Strategy - Richard Huntingdon’s personal, very readable take on how to ‘rewild your brand thinking’ is right up my street.
Watching: Succession - Late to the party but fully addicted to this amazingly written and acted show.
Reading: Annie Dillard - I loved The Writing Life and recently started reading An American Childhood - so far, so fant
Say hello to Sally in the community or on Linkedin.
Briefs discovered and curated from across the stratosphere.
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That’s all for this week.
mk✌️
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