The Overthinkers

A few weeks into the crisis, brands have started responding en force. While marketers are all walking a fine line, are they going too far, or landing on the so obvious they become trite and undifferentiated? And are they cutting budgets with a machete when they should be cutting with a scalpel?

There's hardly anything more satisfying than bitching about awards - and Cannes in particular. But as Cannes is being cancelled and the industry is now being given what so many wished for, are there reasons to lament the absence of our top award show for the year?

This week we step a little bit outside of the COVID19 grind, with Rachel and Shann discussing how a strategy team can improve its relationship with other specialists, from account to creative. They talk about the importance of empathy to understand others' perspective, the fine line between providing direction and directing others, and some advice on how to handle issues when things get personal.

This week we are joined by special guest Rosie Yakob, co-founder of Genius Steals, to talk about the likely impact of the COVID crisis on our industry and our jobs. A chance to think of the coming months and beyond, from new ways of working to the stressful reckoning of a slowdown, and even some hopes for a bright future.

A week into confinement in New York, Rachel and Shann discuss how their job as advertising strategists has been impacted so far, between client questions, big brand problems to answer and personal realities of working from home.

This was also the first recording from a distance, so please excuse us for some of the sound mishaps, and the slight delay in getting this episode live. Take care and stay safe!

Most of us walk into advertising careers with very little training in soft skills. Considering how important these can be in corporate environment, what should we be taught early on, but aren't?

This week we take a listener question from Ashwin, who as a creative asked us if it was possible to switch careers to strategy. In this episode we discuss our own journeys (Rachel coming from creative, Shann from account), the requirements to make the switch, but also the limits one has to consider. And if you are able to combine skills, it may be a good idea to make that your superpower?

This week we have a special (and longer) episode with two of our favorite people, Mark Pollard and Tom Goodwin, discussing our respective experiences as introverts in an industry where collaboration is essential.

This week we discussed what in our eyes defines good talents, often looking for traits that make them interesting both as a strategist but also as a person. But the onus is also on us to not only find them, but more importantly attract them. With the explosion of professional social networks it's become increasingly easy to spot some of the more visible ones, but what can we do ourselves to burst our bubble and go find the amazing talents that might not always the most visible to us?

Personalisation has become the name of the game in most marketing boardrooms, often discussed as the inevitable future paradigm of our industry. But as with every shiny new toys, it's never a bad idea to ask ourselves how far can we go, but also how far should we go?