Getting the right talent is critical for an agency business. But it seems incredibly harder for them to attract and retain talent. In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss whether agencies can pay and reward their talent in a way that is competitive and attractive, but also some of the ways in which they could be a more talent centric approach to the way their do their business.

Strategists tend to love their processes. Some even use them (wrongly) to define their work in the guise of "frameworks". Meanwhile, others tend to avoid them like the pest, preferring more chaotic and unstructured approaches. Of course the answer often lies in the middle, but how do we define this middle, and what should strategists keep in mind to make the most of them, without becoming slave to them?

Pitches are the daily life of agencies. While the world of media tends to see longer term contracts, many creative and activation pitches are on a project by project basis. Is that a healthy practice for the advertising industry? Does anyone profit from it more? Or does everybody lose in the long term?

This week we're joined by the awesome Minjae Ormes, CMO at Visible (part of Verizon) and one of the hottest telco brands in the US, to discuss the way a company's culture can influence its marketing department. A chance to discuss the ways in which the culture of the business can make or break its marketing output, some of the models we look up to, and what Minjae has brought to influence one of the largest companies in the world!

CX planning has become very fancy in advertising circles, but is often badly used or even misunderstood. This week, Rachel tells us more about how she sees the role of strategy to deliver better customer experiences.

Often debated, decried or revered, but rarely tenured. That's the reality of CMO, a job many of us aspire to as the ultimate goal, but one that is often hard to navigate. In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss the traits they think define the best CMOs, as well as some of the realities they have to contend with.

Coming at a problem with a sharp point of view can be daunting. Between the egos of the people you work for and your own insecurities, overcoming that can require leaps of faith and efforts that are hard or discouraging. Likewise, we have to establish the role of leaders to set a culture that welcomes points of view, and what it means to delegate.

It's part of the recurring questions our community loves to ask. Sat between "what is an insight?" and "what is strategy?", we've recently had a resurgence of debates surrounding the difference between planning and strategy. In this episode, we explore why it is we are so enamoured with it, and explore potential implications, whether you're a junior or senior strategist - and even as a client!

A slightly more personal than usual episode this week, where Rachel and Shann share some of the things they've fucked in their careers and what they've learned from it. As the self-aware, introspective superstar Rachel is, she did the the honours, while Shann was playing catch up trying to dig out all the wrongs he'd done.

Brands are often accused of putting glitter on a shit product. But is it really that simple? Are brands able to excuse poor quality? And vice versa, could a bad brand sink a good product?