notes on strategy vol. one
about Notes on Strategy is an evolving zine from a lifelong learner. Curated by strategist Hannah Lewman, this collection features professional information, cultural inspiration, tangible tools, borrowed wisdom and lessons gleaned along the way.
contents 04
[profession]
17 [culture]
30 [tools]
44
[smart folks]
57 [wisdom]
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 3
[prof
fession] NOTES ON STRATEGY | 5
what a strategist is -
Business consultant Researcher Psychologist Hybrid thinker Problem solver Storyteller Numbers person Order maker Judge of effectiveness Futurologist Swiss army knife Anthropologist Creative sounding board UX planner Empath Truth seeker
Credit to Alex Morrison, Natalie Kim, Erika Bridges and Saeid Vahidi for helping shape these definitions.
what a strategist isn’t -
Creativity killer Post rationalizer Left brained data geek Know-it-all The client’s lackey Campaign roadblock
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 7
jobs strategists do -
Writing briefs Compiling decks Running briefings Putting together trend reports Analyzing data Writing white papers Building experiences Overseeing focus groups Conducting interviews Creating ethnographies Advocating for the client Reading (reading reading) Helping creatives Analyzing culture Thinking about channels Building systems Designing comms architectures Using numbers Understanding people Monetizing social Solving problems Looking for truths
Credit to Alex Morrison, Natalie Kim, Erika Bridges and Saeid Vahidi for helping shape these definitions.
strategy lessons from_ An Anthropologist Objectively observe how people act. Don’t impose your own narrative. Be curious about a range of cultures and subcultures. An Architect Learn the rules and conventions of your work, but balance structure with a liberal serving of creativity. A Meme Admin Know how people talk. Have an intuitive sense of the unwritten rules of the internet. Keep your finger on the pulse of today and tomorrow. A Psychologist Understand how the brain works. Learn why people behave the way they do. A Sketchbook Artist Learn to see. You can create an accurate sketch just by selecting the right details.
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 9
badass strat slides How to (not) Fail https://tinyurl.com/gs8gjuq A-Z Culture Glossary 2017 https://tinyurl.com/zraepa7 Salmon vs. Lamposts: The Use and Abuse of Research https://tinyurl.com/ju39756 The Conquest of Indifference https://tinyurl.com/j8xg3zf What Would Steve Do? https://tinyurl.com/jnecyuc Marketing Crack https://tinyurl.com/zp5uqlz Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling https://tinyurl.com/jkn7nc7
celebrating smart strategy -
Effie Awards Jay Chiat Awards Pick of the Litter Competition APG Awards Clio Awards Webby Awards
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 11
strategy lingo Brief (noun) A document that establishes the strategy and states the objectives of creative work. To Brief (verb) The art of delivering the strategy to creatives in a way that will inspire them to create their best work. Deck (noun) A nice looking presentation. A great deck will serve as a point of reference throughout the creative process. KPI (noun) A key performance indicator. Something you measure to see how successful the work was.
types of strategy -
Comms strategy Creative strategy Product strategy Digital strategy Social strategy Data strategy Brand strategy
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 13
finding a strategy gig City
Domestic
International
Agency Size
Small
Midsize
Credit to Natalie Kim for providing these criteria for finding a job in the ad industry.
Large
Agency Type
Full Service
Specialized
Other Factors
Leadership
Growth Opportunity
Environment
Benefits
An Informed Search On: The Creative Ham, Adbrands, Redbooks, Dexigner, Digital Buzz Blog, Network sites
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 15
top u.s. agency cities 1
2
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3
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1. Seattle 2. Portland 3. San Francisco 4. Los Angeles 5. Boulder 6. Minneapolis 7. Chicago 8. New York 9. Atlanta 10. Miami 6 8 7
9
10
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 17
[c
culture] NOTES ON STRATEGY | 19
morning ten daily news -
The Atlantic The New Yorker The Verge Wired Magazine Bloomberg Technology Adweek Slate Fast Company NPR The Economist
trend watchdogs -
K-HOLE Think with Google Sparks & Honey JWT Intelligence PSFK ConsumerLab DMI Trends Carat Global Cassandra Daily Ogilvy Key Digital Trends Ad Age Springwise The Wall Street Journal Forbes Frog Design Trends Be&DO Brand Guide Marketing Insider Group Future Today Institute Nielsen Fjord Gartner Mintel Tableau
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 21
insta inspo: feeds to follow -
@33thirdmedia @iprc_pdx @streetsofbeige @katebingburt @openingceremony @draplin @themuseumofmodernart @broadly @acnestudios @icysigns @rookiemag @lianafinck @themuralco @brooklynmuseum @hifructosemag @hyperallergic @vetements_official @sirjoancornella @juxtapozmag
spice up your inbox -
Good Fucking Design Advice We Are Next NextDraft Cassandra Daily Internet Brunch Significant Digits OZY News theSkimm Just Another Crowd PSFK Future of The Content Strategist Google Best Practices
brain food buffet -
Briefly on Vimeo Broadly DesignTAXI Wallpaper* Bitch Media Uncrate Brain Pickings GOOD Abstract on Netflix Feltron Dezeen The Dieline Hampton Creek Manifesto toolbox.hyperisland.com Designspiration Chef’s Table on Netflix Pitchfork Outside Magazine Amazon Launchpad Dexigner CityLab 99u It’s Nice That
proven ways to get weird - Find a community event on Craigslist - Ride the bus for two hours - Try a form of alternative medicine you’re skeptical about - Pick a concert poster on a light pole and attend - See a movie in a language you don’t speak - Dive deep into an internet subculture - Sketch people you see in the park - Go to something in your local paper’s event calendar - Attend a trade show - Start a conversation with a stranger on Instagram - Go to the bookstore and pick out a nonfiction book on something you’ve never even heard of - Hit the float tanks - Travel on foot for four hours without stopping - Be a fly on the wall in an unfamiliar coffee shop - Attend a town hall for any local government subcommittee - Loiter around the nearest tourist trap - Spend time in a store that makes you uncomfortable
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 25
movers & shakers - @reshmasaujani Founder of Girls Who Code - @logangreen CEO of Lyft - @joshtetrick CEO of Hampton Creek - @ylecun Director of AI Research at Facebook - @j_l_kelly Data Director of Buzzfeed - @yasmind Head of R&D at Google’s Jigsaw - @aliciagarza Co-founder of Black Lives Matter - @AOborne Vice President of Food & Farms at Ecotrust - @kimbal Co-founder of The Kitchen - @evachen212 Head of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram - @dnag09 Head of ResearchKit at Apple - @RRRAH Community Director of Imgur
digital culture tickers - Culture Dashboard - YouTube Trends - 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced on the Internet I & II - Imgur - BuzzFeed - reddit - Mashable - Refinery29 - Know Your Meme - The Daily Dot - Digg
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 27
mind blowing essays “A Geography Lesson for the Tea Party” Colin Woodard, Washington Monthly “How ‘Game of Thrones’ Became the Most Viral Show on Television” Michael Calia and Mike Ayers, The Wall Street Journal “The Elements of Value” Eric Almquist, Harvard Business Review “Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC2016)” Rowan Jacobsen, Outside “The Coolhunt” Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker “My President Was Black” Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic “How Hampton Creek Sold Silicon Valley on a Fake-Mayo Miracle” Olivia Zaleski, Bloomberg Businessweek
essential ted talks “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” Simon Sinek “My Stroke of Insight” Jill Bolte Taylor “Your Elusive Creative Genius” Elizabeth Gilbert “The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives” Jonathan Haidt “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” Amy Cuddy “How Schools Kill Creativity” Ken Robinson “The Danger of a Single Story” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “4 Lessons in Creativity” Julie Burstein
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 29
[tools]
free data tools -
Google Analytics Bitly Hootsuite Piwik Open Web Analytics Clicky SimilarWeb SEMrush Moz Keyword Explorer Cyfe Google Search Console Optimizely SizeUP Yesware SumAll Sidekick
newsfeed wisdom -
@natalieykim @jonathanmwise @goodvertising @comms_lab @faris @neilperkin @thomaskolster @katiedreke @hklefevre @debkmorrison @mikearauz @uberblond @thaz7 @Alex_Z_Morrison @brainpicker @Ben_Phillips @colleddy @juliancole @rosieyakob @bud_caddell @dnrobinson @lionelrecruits @jinal_shah @heyitsnoah @malbonster
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paradigm shifting books Idea Industry Brett Robbs & Deborah Morrison A New Brand World Scott Bedbury Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! Luke Sullivan The Idea Writers T. Iezzi Culture Jam Kalle Lasn Zag and The Brand Gap Marty Neumeier Culture Code Clotaire Rapaille The Practical Pocket Guide to Account Planning Chris Kocek Brain Surfing Heather LeFevre
handy chrome extensions -
Momentum Pinterest Grammarly Pocket Buffer ColorZilla WhatFont Feedly Todoist
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 35
ways to shape strategy -
Figure out the business problem Create a SWOT Find the Zag Identify a need Ride a trend Listen to what people are saying about you Establish a long-term vision Look at culture Look at the category Look at the competition Look at the consumer Mine the data Create a brand positioning Figure out the brand’s purpose Tell the brand’s story Confront the brand’s weakest point
Credit to Heather LeFevre, Marty Neumeier and Chris Kocek for shaping these ideas.
comms architecture Main Idea
Beat
Asset
Beat
Asset
Credit to Saeid Vahidi and Erika Bridges.
Asset
Asset
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 37
finding the tension
People
Brand
Culture
*Tension
The place where the human insight lies.
Credit to Kunal Merchant.
good questions - What’s the best thing about this job? - What’s the worst thing about this job? - What are the responsibilities of this power? - What does a strategist have to offer the world? - What in culture are you paying attention to? - If you could start over from the day you decided on this job, what would you do differently? - If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? - How has this job changed since you entered the field? - What are you reading? - What are the first sites you check in the morning? - What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten? - What’s been most important in making you who you are? - What do you look for in a collaborator? - What’s the most meaningful project you’ve gotten to work on? - What’s the closest you’ve come to quitting? - What do you want your legacy to be? - What’s the most important part of your routine? - When have you “failed harder?”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 39
1
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best thinking spots in eugene 1. Skinner’s Butte 2. Perugino Cafe 3. The Willamette River 4. Smith Family Books 5. Eugene Pioneer Cemetery 6. Hendricks Park
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5 NOTES ON STRATEGY | 41
the creative process
The best ideas come in the strangest places. Research, hone your craft, but most importantly live. This spread was made possible by two novels, American Crime Story, Cafe Roma, The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 30 laps in an Olympic sized swimming pool, a very bad soy latte, some posters on the second floor of Friendly Hall, a weird rock, The Economist and my elderly cocker spaniel. Creativity is born from human experience.
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 43
[smar
rt folks] NOTES ON STRATEGY | 45
alex morrison 1. Stagnation is your worst enemy. 2. Crying gets you nowhere. 3. Embrace the stress. ______________
“Data is just people in disguise.” “Don’t mistreat the privilege of working in this industry.” “You are literally learning how people THINK, ACT, DO because you want to see better in the world.”
natalie kim 1. You may be a mentor and not even know it. 2. Mentorship is a two-way street. 3. Send an innocent ask based on genuine interest. ______________
“Do what you think is right until someone tells you it’s not.” “Not to spoil the ending for you, but everything is going to be okay.” “Understanding people who are not like us is more important than ever right now.”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 47
erika bridges 1. Be approachable for anyone in any situation. 2. Know what a win looks like 3. Compassion leads to useful and inspiring qualitative research. ______________
“I just did it because it didn’t occur to me that I couldn’t.” “You have a responsibility to use these huge budgets to inspire people.” “Sometimes your job is to give structure, but sometimes your job is to fucking light shit on fire.”
saeid vahidi 1. Think about research selfishly. 2. Be what your team needs. 3. Trust your curiosity. ______________
“Don’t be a buzzkill. Be what your team needs.” “I need to feed my creativity, and research is one way I do it.” “Find the heat.”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 49
leslie ziegler 1. Don’t think things are below you. 2. Don’t let feedback destroy you. 3. Learn to be self-sufficient. ______________
“Be a laser beam. Be a person who gets pointed at problems and makes them go away.” “I don’t really care about being wrong.” “Learn how to think, not what to think.”
brock kirby 1. You should be nervous about your best work. 2. Learn to disconnect from the job. 3. Find your voice. ______________
“Sometimes it’s crap but you just have to do it.” “It’s not enough to inspire everyone by talking about it.” “A good idea alleviates all pressure from every angle.”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 51
tara dubbs 1. Pursue what you’re passionate about. 2. Challenge perspectives. 3. Find your allies. ______________
“When you’re trying to test a human truth, ask “Did you ever realize?’” “A human truth is so much better than a product truth.” “Make time and capacity for passion projects.”
corey dubrowa 1. It’s about the people. 2. Random works. 3. Make people proud and have a social conscience. ______________
“Share your success with your people.” “Wrap global social impact strategies in strategies for growth.” “When the system is failing, companies must do more.”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 53
heather lefevre 1. Find a mentor to help you learn and build. 2. Go abroad. Do lots of random things. 3. Pursue a quest. ______________
“A mentor is great for a learning mindset and for creating a feedback loop.’” “I’m working on the meta level of strategy.” “The future of strategy is experiential.”
kunal merchant 1. Go where people are consuming content. 2. Data helps brands feel braver. 3. Make thumb-stopping work. ______________
“Complexity and confusion make a good opportunity for people who know how to solve problems.” “It’s our responsibility to look deeper. To be braver.” “You have to fight for the right idea.”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 55
[w
wisdom] NOTES ON STRATEGY | 57
follow your gut One of the themes I’ve heard again and again from people in the ad industry is the importance of intuition. For some this means grounding research in intuitive feelings, for others it’s about speaking up when something seems unfair, and for others still it’s about following innate curiosities and pursuing new interests. Above all, following your gut is about having the confidence to take risks.
screw up (sometimes) There’s a reason Wieden+Kennedy has an enormous mural that reads “Fail Harder.” Good things never come from playing it safe. When Leslie Ziegler talks about risk tolerance and Heather LeFevre says doing the same thing for too long gives her itchy feet, they’re talking about the importance of putting caution aside and taking a chance.
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 59
use your platform Most people don’t get to work with multimillion dollar budgets or send their messages out to millions of people. Working in advertising is a pretty unique privilege. But you know what they say about great power. It should be served with a healthy helping of great responsibility. The best people in the industry are acutely aware of this. They understand they should use their platforms to inspire and amplify important messages.
appreciate every minute Working in advertising is undoubtedly stressful. Staying for late nights, meeting tight deadlines and perfecting high visibility projects isn’t easy, but doing those things is still incredible special. Not everyone is lucky enough to get paid for their ideas. Recognize what a rare opportunity it is to sell ideas for a living, treat it as such and in the words of Alex Morrison, “Don’t mistreat the privilege of working in this industry.”
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 61
learn from everyone So many of the people I’ve talked to in the ad industry have credited mentors for pushing them to where they are. Many of these people, though, have found mentors in surprising forms. People have cited partners, interns and even students as major fountains of wisdom. You should never miss out on a chance to learn just because your teacher isn’t a senior-level strategy guru.
be good The world is small. The ad industry is smaller. The number of crossing paths is enormous and the speed at which news spreads is astounding. This means that a good reputation is essential. Or, in the words of many people in the industry, “Don’t be a dick.” Work hard, be accountable and always be kinder than necessary.
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be up for anything You’ve gotta walk before you can run. Everyone wants to do fun, high-budget, high-visibility work, but first you have to prove you can handle the small stuff. For Brock Kirby, this meant dressing up in a bagel costume. For one of Leslie Ziegler’s interns, it meant sticking her hand down a garbage disposal. Not being above any work is a great method for paving the way to your dream projects.
make magic from nothing Equipped with tons of resources and large sums of cash, most half-decent thinkers could make something cool. But making something awesome with no budget? A boring client? Less than ideal circumstances? That’s not a creative death sentence; it’s an opportunity to shine against the odds. It’s a quest that takes brains, grit and imagination. The most amazing people I’ve met are the ones who have forged their own opportunities.
NOTES ON STRATEGY | 65
give what you can Being a smart, effective communicator is a rare thing. If you have those superpowers, you should be using them to do more than just sell shampoo. So many of the people I’ve talked to in this industry have such incredible side projects. Some focus on empowering young people, some make art and others do kickass political work. These skills are a gift you should share generously.
it’s not just “advertising” Thinking of yourself as someone who makes ads is such a limiting perspective. The smartest people I’ve met see how their skills translate to other parts of life. They see themselves as problem solvers, connection makers, truth seekers, people who can help make sense of the world. They don’t confine their skills to agency walls. They challenge themselves to think deeply about the world’s biggest problems and imagine how they can be part of the solution.
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