Get the right people in the same room and sweat the problem. Develop hypotheses itera,vely , share and improve. Rob Alexander Global Planning Director JWT
Gettherightpeoplein
thesameroomandsweat
theproblem.Develop
hypothesesitera,vely,shareandimprove.
RobAlexanderGlobalPlanningDirectorJWT
Writedowneverything
youknowonpost‐itnotes
ands,ckthemuponawall…thentry
andmakeconnec,onsbetweenthem.
BridgetAngearHeadofPlanningAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO
Themostimportant
behaviourstendtobe
ritualised.Findtheritual
andyou’vefoundthekey
toabe9eridea.
KevinAllenWorldwidePlanningDirectorProximityLondon
Don’tbescared.Beliberated.
Toomuch,megetsthelifepummelledoutofastrategy.So…workoutwhatthereal
problem(orinupbeat‐speak,
opportunity)is.Onceyou'vedonethat,you'reoff.Butonlyiftheteam'ssmallandtheytrusteachother.
JoannaBamfordIndependentConsultant
Lookcarefullyatwhat
compe,torbrandsaredoing.Whataretheysaying?Howaretheysayingit?Whenaretheysayingit?Then,takeagooddeepbreath,anddosomethingcompletelydifferent.
TomBazeleyPartnerLeanMeanFigh9ngMachine
AskyourMum.
AlistairBea<eHeadofDigitalStrategyAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO
Exerciseruthlesssacrificeintheestablishmentof
asingularobjec,ve,acleardes,na,onmakesthejourneyquicker.
MikeBentleyGlobalPlanningDirectorofFordTeamDetroit
Forgettryingtochange
loyaltyorproductusage–
you’llprobablyfail.Justaim
tomakeeveryoneinthe
marketslightlymorelikely
tochooseyourbrandeach
,metheymakeapurchase.Andthemainwaytodo
thatistomakethemfeel
something,nottotell
themsomething.
LesBinetEuropeonDirectorDDBMatrix
Askhowwouldyoutry
tostoppeoplefrom
doingwhatyouwant
themtodo?
LukeBozeatStrategyManagerMediaCom
Whateveryoudo,thinkofit
asyourbusiness,whatwould
youdoifitwasyourmoney.
Thinkthroughtheline,
encouragenewconsumers
andbuildvaluefromthe
exis,ngcustomers,astheseareoJentheeasiesttoconvert.Alwaysremember
adver,singneedstosell,sostartwiththeac,vitythat'sgoingtodeliverthebestROI.
LucasBrownManagingDirectorTotalMediaDirect
Workouthowyour
communica,onswillworkandinhowmany
differentways.
JaneyBullivantBoardPlanningDirectorLeoBurne$London
Knowthedifferencebetween‘Doh’and‘Oh’;aninsight
isnotanobserva,on.Alwaysinterpretresearchinrealis,ctermsandkeepasking‘why’un,lyouhaveacoreinsightthatfeelsright.It’squickerandeasierwhenyouhaveagoodone.
StuartButlerStrategicPlanningDirectorMediaedge:cia
Rememberthatourown
livescanoJenbebestunderstoodbymappingthe
thingswedidn'tdo,the
wordswedidn'tsay.
Alwaysconsiderabrand's
unspokentruth,quietregret,
pathnottaken.Becausein
itssilenceandinac,onmayresideitsstrength
andiden,ty.
JimCarrollChairmanBartleBogleHegarty
Getafewbrainstogether
fortenminutes–thegenius
oftheunpressured,
uninterestedpartycan
onmanyoccasionsgiveyou
theinspira,onorplaPormforgeQngtoagreatanswerinashort,me.
SarahClarkPlanningPartnerCHI&Partners
Apreciselydefinedgoalleadstomorecompellingstrategy.Keepques,oningun,lyouhavesomethingreallyspecific,like‘getpeopletoputHellmann’sonchipsaswellasonsandwiches’ratherthan‘increaseHellmann’svolumesales’.
WillCollinFoundingPartnerNakedCommunica9ons
Generatesolu,onsbysurroundingyourselfwithpassionatepeople.Include
ayouthelementthatisbrutallyhonestandwhosethinkingisyettobeprejudiced...experienceis
whatyougetwhenyoudon'tgetwhatyouwant!Alwayscomeawaywithaclearac,onplanandassignedresponsibili,es...theexperiencedpeopledothis!
StuartCorkeDirectorofCustomerInsightTimesMedia
Youcan’ttakeshortcuts.
Stopthinkingaboutstrategy
asabrand‐by‐brandjobbutas
alife’swork.Itisaboutbeing
open,culturallyconnected
andaware.Eachpieceof
informa,onyoucollecthasthepoten,altosparkamilliondifferentstrategicideas.Remember,cherishandsave
them,itmightbetherocket
fuelyouneedtogetyou
somewherefast.
NikkiCromptonExecu9vePlanningDirectorEuropeMcCann
Startwiththeac,on.Focusonthebigchangethatneedstohappeninthemarketplaceasaresultofpeople’sbehaviourinordertosolvethebusinessproblem.
Ma$DykeFoundingPartnerAnalogFolk
Formulateachallenging
hypothesisaboutthebrand
andwhereitneedstobe.
Getveryexcitedaboutit.
Calmdown.Pullitapart.Ifit
survivesthenyoumayhavea
halfdecentidea.Proveit.
S,cktoit.Aligneveryoneinthatdirec,onandtrytogetthereasquicklyaspossibleoritmaybetoolate.
RobForshawFoundingPartnerGrandUnion
Dothe‘extremescenario’test.
Choosesomethingquite,but
notcompletelyimprobable,
andcomeupwithideasforthat
situa,on.E.g.Whatifcreditcardswerebanned…Whatifpeoplehadtokeeptheircars
forfiveyearsminimum…Whatifbroadcastadver,singwasnotallowed…Whatifone‐to‐onecommunica,onswasnotallowed…etc.
PaulGagePlanningDirectorProximityLondon
Don'ttrytodoitonyour
own.Gettogetherwith
severalpeoplewhose
opinionsyourespectand
haveaproperdebate,
phonesoff.Startwithapointofviewandthenhope
itgetstorntoshredsand
rebuiltasabigger,be9er,brilliantone.
DavidGoldingFoundingPartnerAdam&Eve
Keepabreastofthelatest
brandthinkingfromthe
industry'sleading
prac,oners–justthebasictenetswilldo.Aquickflickthroughthismental
rolodexwon'ttellyouthe
answer,butit'ssurprising
howoJentherudimentsofyourstrategyare
lurkingthere.
NeilGoodladManagingPartnerCHI&Partners
Learntotrustyourins,ncts.TheideaorplaPormyoucameupwithonthetraintothebriefingmee,ngisrightnine,mesoutoften.Spendyour,meworkingoutwhyratherthanfindingtennewplaPorms.Thenbringittolifeininteres,ngways.
JamesGordon‐MacIntoshDirectorSeventySevenPR
WhatdoesFASTstandfor?
FlexibilityAssures
StrategicTriumphs.
TimHamesAssistantEditor&ChiefLeaderWriterTheTimes
Ifthereareonlysevenplots
inliterature,theremust
beafinitenumberofstrategies.Con,nuouslythinkofinteres,ngstrategiessowhenabrief
comesyou'vegotabeauty
that'sreadyandwai,ng.
TrevorHardyStrategyDirectorLunar.BBDO
Sizeisn'teverything,
speedis.
PaulHayesManagingDirectorTimesMedia
Projectyourselfintoan
endpointinthefuture
andworkbackwards.
AdrianHoolePlanningPartnerProximity
Intoday’scommunica,onsenvironmentitisfarmore
importanttobeinteres,ngthantoberight.Andthefastestwaytopotentcrea,vestrategiesissimplytothinkaboutthesinglemostinteres,ngthingyoucouldsayaboutyourbrand,
itssectororthewidermarketandbackthatins,nct.
RichardHun9ngtonDirectorofStrategySaatchi&Saatchi
Giveyourproblemtoa
celebritysuperstar.Imagine
Madonnahadthebudget–
whatwouldshedo?What
aboutHitler?Some,mesameglomaniaccanbeyour
bestfriendwhentryingto
thinkdifferently.WhataboutJordan,Beckham,
Gates(BillnotGareth)?
Goextreme:thenbringit
backtoasensibleidea.
ClareHutchinsonHeadofPlanningWCRS
Extractasmuchoutofthe
exis,ngdataasyoupossiblycan.ThisiseasierifyourememberthatdataislikeaVictorianchild–itwon’tspeakunlessspokento.Ifyougeneratelotsofhypothesesbeforelookingatthedataitquicklyyieldslotsofinteres,ngstuff.
OliviaJohnsonPlanningPartnerHooperGalton
Swipesomething
that'sbeenusedin
anothercategory
butnotyourown.
AlexLewisPlannerAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO
Keepitsimple.Abrilliant
strategythatcannotbe
easilyacteduponby
everyoneinyourclient's
organisa,onwillsitinacornergatheringdust.
EdLingFoundingPartnerAnalogFolk
Spendthe,metofindonebook/paper/commentator/expertthatwillprovidethebestandfastestshortcuttothe‘fountainofknowledge’.
DamianMcKeownHeadofPlanningDDBLondon
Thekeytofindinggreatstrategicanswersquicklyistofindyourselfa'fixedpoint'inthestrategy.Afixedpointisanunchanging,fundamentalforabrande.g.increasefrequencyofconsump,on,a9ractanewgenera,onofusers,orjus,fyapricepremium.AJerthatitisalldownhill!
GuyMurphyWorldwidePlanningDirectorJWT
Thebeststrategiesaresimple;
somakesureyouspendyour
,mestrippingawaycomplexityratherthanaddingtoit.
Thebeststrategiesarealso
'safedangerous':somakesure
thatyourthinkingmarries
rigourwithrisk.Finally,thebeststrategiesaregenerous:
somakesuretoleavegaps
forconsumersandotherdisciplinestoshapethem.
AndyNairnPlanningDirectorMCBD
Comeupwithamore
ambi,ousdefini,onofthemarketthe
brandoperatesin.
AndrewPhillipsPlannerAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO
Yourbraingetsintheway
offaststrategy.Don’tthink
thingsthrough,justask
yourself…WhatdoIfeelis
therightthingtodo?
Thenpickit,plumpitup,
playitoutandtrustyourgut.
EngageyourbrainaJerwardstopost‐ra,onalisethebrilliantsuccess...orthemessyou
andyourgutsmade.
IvanPollardPartnerNakedCommunica9ons
Pointthegunintheright
direc,on,beforefiringthebullet!Baseyourstrategyaroundtherightbusinessobjec,ves.
GurdeepPuriHeadofEffec9venessLeoBurne$London
Take,metotalk–lookingatthechallengefromsomeoneelse'sperspec,vealwaysbringsnewclaritytooldproblems.Ialwaysmake,metospeaktonewpeoplewhethertheyareintegralorperipheraltotheproblemasthereisnothinglikeahumanvoicetobringyourthinkingintofocus.
Sa9nReidHeadofStrategyCarat
Findoutwhatthe
brandfana,csthink.
MirandaRossPlannerAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO
Dovetailyourstrategyand
crea,ve.Developcrea,veideasfromdayone,whilst
developingthestrategicbrief.Don’tbeproud,turfistorold‐schoollinear.Allowearlycrea,veideastoinspirestrategy,whichinturninspirebe9ercrea,vity,whichinturnrefinesanddevelopsbe9erstrategy.Inshortiterate,dovetail,succeed.
StuartSmithHeadofPlanningWieden&KennedyLondon
Youdon’tgeneratestrategy
fromastandingstart.
Asenseofstrategyshould
beapermanentpartofthe
brain,butalwaysopento
challengeandmodifica,onbychangingcircumstance
orunforeseenopportunity.
It’swhatyoutestnew
thoughtsagainstandthat
canbedoneveryquickly.
SirMar9nSorrellGroupChiefExecu9veWPP
Thekeytofaststrategiesis
notthespeedatwhichthey
aredeveloped,butthe
speedwithwhichtheyare
agreedandimplemented
acrossabusiness.Themore
youinvolveallsenior
decisionmakersinthe
strategycrea,onprocess,theless,meyouhavetospend'selling'ittothem.
BenSouthgatePlanningPartnerCHI&Partners
ThesecrettogeQngagood,faststrategyistoallsittogetherandkeepyourarsesonyourchairsun,lyou'vegotone.
RichardStoreyChiefStrategyOfficerM&CSaatchi
WritedownONEwordper
compe,torwhichdefineswhattheyareuniquelygreatat.WritedownONEword
foryourowncompany.WritedownthetopTENtargetconsumermo,va,ons.IfyourWORDisuniqueandisintheconsumer'stopTEN,executethethemeinallyourac,vi,es.Strategycomplete.
SimonThompsonChiefMarke9ngOfficerLastminute.com
Today’smostinteres,ngstrategiescombinebusiness,brand,dataandmediathinking–Ilikeworkingwithagroupofpeoplefromdifferentdisciplines:unusualconnec,ons,makesforunusualideas.
JohnTownshendCrea9vePartnerRapier
Strategyshouldn'ttake
long.It'slikeplanninga
journey.Startwiththe
des,na,onandworkbackwards.
CharlesVallanceFoundingPartnerVallanceCarruthersColemanPriest
Don'tleadapredictablelife,
staysensi,vetoeverythingaroundyouatall,mesandbepassionateaboutmakingthingshappen.
DylanWilliamsStrategyDirectorMotherLondon
Giveyourselfamedia
budgetofzeroandsee
whatyoucomeupwith.
Ma$WilliferPlanningDirectorM&CSaatchi
Ialwaysstartwithasource
ofbusinessfunnel.Bythe
,meI'veaskedalltheimportantques,onsaboutwherethebusinesscouldcomefromanddugupsomenumbers,I'venormallyiden,fiedmostofthekeyissuesandhavearangeofstrategicop,onstoconsider.
MaxWrightCommunica9onsPlanningDirectorRapier