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Of frames and feelings – why empathy is the difference maker
I recently stumbled into a quarrel in the comment section below a provocative but uncontroversial LinkedIn post. It was as unnecessary as it was predictable. (I’d tell you to read it for yourself but the comment in question has since been deleted.) It was an iteration of a popular debate in marketing strategy: how valuable […]
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The value of community for brands and businesses
It’s easy to be cynical, important to be cautious, and worth being curious about the idea of community – and how it can help brands and businesses create more value and make better stuff (products, services, and ideas.) Disclaimer: I’m leading brand strategy at ScienceMagic, a creative and strategic company helping businesses and talent build […]
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Strategy Off A Page
A while ago we’ve been working on one of those briefs that are mainly exciting because they’re so open. So the strategy team went to work. We took apart the brief, scrutinised it, and reassembled it. All with the good intention of bringing some clarity to the task. Needless to say that a fair amount […]
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Nine things to do to grow as a strategist
One theme, nine things There are few topics that are as relevant for ambitious strategists as personal growth. It’s a topic that never gets old. Unsurprisingly, in a discipline that is only vaguely defined, there are hardly any frameworks for personal growth that are widely available. Every agency handles growth differently – and, to make […]
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Getting to Great Creative Work and how the Brief can help
This is the second article of a mini series exploring how we can overcome the barriers that get in the way of great creative work. In the last article, I explored the elements that make creative work great from the perspective of the people who make it (account managers, writers, designers, strategists, and all other […]
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The Barriers of Getting to Great Creative Work
If you’re reading this, chances are that you are one of those people who spend hours, days, weeks, weekends, holidays, anniversaries, and your partner’s birthday in pursuit of great creative work. And even though we might know it when we see it, it’s interesting to see that great creative work is different for all of […]
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The Creative Work We Consider Great
A couple of months ago I have sent out a survey to advertising professionals to find out more about what they consider to be great creative work. I wanted to find out what constitutes great creative work in their opinion – and what they think stands in the way of it. While I’m finalising that article, […]
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The Great Creative Work Survey
How do we get to great creative work? I’m launching a new side project to explore opportunities and obstacles on our way to great creative work – and I need your help. After months of faffing and idling around and keeping the blog dormant, I realise it’s time to get back into this: the thrill […]
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Unfollow. Why following each other won’t get us nowhere new
Over the past weeks I tried to get back a bit more into my old “reading interesting stuff the industry is talking about” routine. Staying up to date on strategy, planning challenges, the industry and their thought leaders is, after all, part of what enables a strategist do to their job. Or at least that’s […]
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The Risk of the Customized Agency
And here it is: another ‘customized agency’ It’s been in the press for a while, but today it got some more exposure. ThyssenKrupp and Thjnk (where I’ve worked before moving to Amsterdam) are launching a new agency, a customized agency. Which seems to be the latest rage among bigger brands, not only in Germany (McDonald’s, […]