What It’s Really Like To Be A Digital Strategist
What makes everybody want to be a strategist or think they could be one? Grant Flannery, Senior Lead Strategist at The White Agency, ponders this question and suggests that next time you’re sitting in a presentation, think about all the work that didn’t make it into the final slide deck.
As I walk around the office I often get asked ‘how did you get into strategy?’ Maybe this is because I am new, maybe because I just had a shave and people think I’m 14 years old and a work experience kid, maybe because walking around is all people see me do, or maybe (and I would like to think this is the reason) because everybody wants to be a digital strategist.
The conversation starts off in a fairly boring way with me describing how I moved from client side strategic marketing to being a suit agency side and then into strategy. But once I start explaining what we do in strategy, suddenly everybody wants to be a strategist, or as I often hear them say, “could be a strategist”. That’s what my colleagues say, usually after I have spent days or weeks working on a keynote or brief that I feel will change the world, but in reality probably just sits in someone’s inbox once they’ve read the summary slides or first three lines of the brief.
So it begs the question, what makes everybody want to be a strategist or think they could be a strategist? Is it because they see us ‘strategists’ staring out a window to see if the perfect customer value proposition will pop into our head? Or is it because they think all we do is surf the Internet at the pub, look at cool stuff and come up with amazing ideas that the client will buy on the spot.
To be honest I’m not really sure. Perhaps it’s because a strategist’s output can often look so simplistic when laid out in a perfectly designed Keynote or brief template. But what most colleagues (and clients) don’t know is that we have:
- Researched 12 different target markets
- Understood consumer behavior and brand perception
- Gone through rigorous user testing with the UX department
- Trawled through pages of media consumption documents only to realise everyone consumes media in different ways and we are all just people
- Compared the best brands in the world just to work out that Nike kick ass at everything
- Looked at data and realised we didn’t have enough or the right type
- Spent countless hours working on how we could bring a campaign to life and convince the client to sign off the brief
- Get the creative started
- Then at the very end of all of our (as a friend would put it “strategisation”), showed our designers the Keynote we prepared and they nearly threw up in their mouth!
It is true that most people probably could be a strategist or think very strategically but it’s also true that it’s easy to look at the final product and think “Is that all? It’s pretty simple, I could’ve done that.”
The hard part is making it so simple! So I ask all my agency friends, the next time they see the PowerPoint or Keynote their strategist has put together, think about the words and pages that are not in the presentation and not only about the ones that are. As a very wise man once said “It’s not what is said in the meeting, it’s about what isn’t said in the meeting”.
So I have had my little rant and hopefully given some interesting insights and I want to encourage everybody that has an inkling that they could be a strategist in digital or traditional to really give it a shot. The life of a strategist is both fun and painful, both understood and misunderstood (that’s just they way we talk), but overall it really is a great area to be in and to be honest, it’s so hot right now.
Latest News
Kantar: AVOD Subscribers Double In 12 Months
Study finds Aussies happy to watch ads on their streaming services. Or, are they just putting the kettle on more often?
Val Morgan Digital Exceeds All Campaign Uplift Benchmarks Via A 12-Month Brand Metrics Study
Val Morgan announces it has exceeded all its campaign benchmarks. Still can't get under an hour for the City To Surf.
Australian Retirement Trust launches monster of a campaign, by M&C Saatchi and Bohemia
Get offered a seat on the bus today? Knees creak like an old pirate's galleon? This retirement ad may be of interest.
Print Audits To Discontinue As Audited Media Association Of Australia Pivots To Support Influencer Marketing
Is it just B&T or are audits in the media industry suddenly becoming murkier than Roxy's husband's tax returns?
News Corp Australia Launches 2024 National Education Advocacy Initiative With Expanded Program
News Corp set to shine a light on the nation's schools in new series, giving illegal bikie gangs a well-earned rest.
Decoding The Consumer Maze: Urban List Report Reveals How Modern Shoppers Spiral From Discovery To Purchase
Latest report unravels a shopper's journey from the joy of discovery through to a nasty letter from a debt collector.
Cosmo Returns To Australia!
Ever get the feeling we've weirdly warped back to 1988 at the moment? Confirm it with the relaunch of Cosmo in print.
People & Culture Consultancy Human Kind Collective Launches To Plug HR Gap For Media Agencies
Does the very mention of HR have you struggling to remember last year's Christmas party? Get the sweats with this news.
‘We Want To Be A Growth Partner, Not Just A Media Buyer Or Someone That Makes Ads’ – Bohemia Boss On Agency’s Ambition
B&T's chatting with Bohemia boss Paul ‘Hutch’ Hutchison. Although we do think 'the dagger' a far superior nickname.
Initiative’s Geoff Clarke: ‘Youth Hits Targets With Enthusiasm, Experience Hits The Targets You Can’t See’
Initiative’s CCO Geoff Clarke on the value of experience in agencies. Not to mention quoting lines from Pulp Fiction.
The Iconic Teams Up With 5 Aussie Athletes For Latest Campaign
Fashion label brings in the athletes for new campaign, many of whom appear to have prepped with re-runs of Zoolander.
Seven West Media Secures New Director Of News & Current Affairs
After a tumultuous few weeks, Seven unveils director of news & current affairs. And B&T never uses tumultuous lightly.
Seven Network Expands NSW Sales Team With Two New Group Business Directors
Seven ramps up its NSW sales team. Both of whom are well versed in pronouncing Manu Feildel's croque-monsieur.
New PR Subscription Changing The Game For Aussie Start Ups
Need better PR? You can now buy it via a monthly subscription. Price does not include a fascinator or Moet piccolos.
Paul Kent At Centre Of Fresh Scandal After Alleged Street Brawl
Do you long for the fights, gouges & testicle grabs of footy's glory years? So too, it appears, does Paul Kent.
DiDi Taps Disney’s Tim Farmer For Head Of Brand Marketing Role
Disney's Tim Farmer shifts over to rideshare company DiDi. Taking with him his Donald Duck coffee mug & mouse ears.
As Sure As Night Becomes Day, The End Of Third-Party Cookies Has Been Delayed
The question remains: what will we see first? The end of cookies, alien invasion or Jesus's second coming?
Fast 10: Scoundrel’s Tim Bullock Explains What Shane Warne & Salt-N-Pepa Have In Common
It's a Fast 10 with Scoundrel's Tim Bullock. Make it sound even faster by sucking on helium while reading it.
Outbrain Snatches Chris Oxley From Foxtel Media
Foxtel's Chris Oxley shifts over to Outbrain, but not before having his press photo taken in the wilds of the Daintree.
oOh!media & POLY Partner With Greening Australia For OOH Awareness Campaign
Like to quell the road rage with super cute pics of fluffy marsupials? This outdoor's just the ticket.
Are Media Cares For The Carers In Its Latest Social Change Campaign
Are Media calls on the government to add super payments to carers' payments. Remains silent on AUKUS, however.
In A Fragmented World, Engagement Is King
Today, B&T TV's talking fragmentation & engagement. But not in a down-on-one-knee sense of the word.
Kyle Sandilands On Advertising: “We Want Return Business. It’s No Good Just Taking Someone’s Money”
Kyle & Jackie O finally arrive on Melbourne radio. As yet, no sign of the monotonous and bitter AFL-NRL debate.
Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]
Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]
Is Meta’s New AI Chatbot Too Left-Wing?
Meta's chatbot accused of being left-wing after being caught wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt & listening to Billy Bragg.
TV Ratings (23/04/2024): Why Did No One Tell Angela That Farmer Wants A Wife Is Set On A Farm?
As wonderful as this headline is, let's face it, we all know an 'Angela', don't we?
PubMatic Unveils New AI Partnership To Turn Social Posts Into Ads For Any Digital Channel
Here's some nifty tech for turning social posts into ads. Assuming said posts aren't one-star character assassinations.
Intuit Mailchimp Makes A Splash With Its First Australian Brand Campaign
Ever laugh along at a gag you didn't get so as not to appear dumb? Get ready for more feigning with this new work.
GumGum’s Rob Hall: Advertisers Can No Longer “Rely On Binary Descriptions” Of Consumers
If anyone's got their finger on adtech's pulse, it's Rob Hall. He also avoids using the good paper in the office printer
Mastercard Nabs Florencia Aimo From Marriott International
Marriott International's Florencia Aimo jumps from the hotel business to the exploitative credit card one.
Bastion Agency Appoints Cheuk Chiang As New ANZ CEO
Cheuk Chiang takes the reins over at Bastion Agency. But not the rains down in Africa.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Major Sponsorship Wins After A Disappointing Week In Sport
B&T continuing our deep dive into local sport sponsorships & that's despite not a single offer of a free ticket as yet.
Macca’s Marketing Director, Samantha McLeod On Big Mac Chant: “What Was Once Old Is Now Cool Again”
Macca's using the power of nostalgia in latest Big Mac campaign. Well, only for those who've ever eaten one sober.
World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024
Oil's biopic to open Sydney Film Festival. Here's hoping Molly Meldrum will take his pants down at the premiere.
Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards
The Brandies are, of course, a prestigious marketing gong and not the mystery tipple favoured by nannas everywhere.