Wavemaker’s Summer Treseder is fast becoming one of the industry’s most exciting strategists. From her game-changing work with Cancer Chicks to her regular Psyched column for B&T, she has built a reputation for combining sharp strategic thinking with a playful, can-do spirit.
Or as she likes to put it: she’s a “peli-can, not a peli-can’t.” It is this spirit that solidified her the win in the Strategy category at B&T’s Women In Media Awards, presented by Are Media.
Chatting with B&T after her win she joked that that line has followed her around the office (and now the industry as a whole).
“Oh, this is really embarrassing, because it’s come up a few times. I know it’s meant to be like an internal thought, but everyone paid me out in the office about it,” she laughed.
“Pretty much what it means is, having a can do attitude. Being more positive versus pessimistic and just going for it. And if you fail, you fail. But just at least you know you’ve tried”.
It’s an attitude that has served her well. Her leadership on Cancer Chicks’ first above-the-line campaign not only secured significantly more pro bono media than targeted but also doubled the organisation’s sign-up goals.
For Treseder, good strategy comes down to mindset as much as methodology.
“I think it’s a combination of the willingness to think deeper and have the patience to connect to that strategy, connect to that insight, to lead to the strategy”.
Backed by a growing list of accolades and a “peli-can” attitude, Treseder is setting the pace for the rest of the industry.
