The State of Strategy: Building More Responsibility

IAN Dives Into How and Why Strategy is So Crucial to Building Better Brands–and a Better World

They may not always be the focus of rhapsodic editorial features, or celebrated as loudly as their creative peers during the many glitzy industry award shows, but strategists are unquestionably the unsung heroes behind some of the most impactful work and many of the most memorable brands.

After all, a brand needs to know their “why” before they figure out the “how” when it comes to attracting and connecting with their desired audience in order to grow. But what else can great strategy achieve beyond the world of consumerism and KPIs?

IAN spoke with strategy pros Reza Rostampisheh and Alex Morrison to highlight the importance of strategy and its critical role in gleaning the insights that inform how creative campaigns are crafted, where the media plan should run and who is receiving the brand’s message loud and clear. They also talk about how it can be used to solve greater challenges being faced in the world, and why now’s as good a time as any to use it.

Whether you’re an industry newbie or a seasoned vet, we hope this discussion sparks your curiosity further and gives you a renewed appreciation for the strategists on your team (or prompts you to add some STAT).

But just to be sure…we’ve included an awesome exercise for you called “Take the Brief and Run” to get your strategic juices flowin’!

It’s a good thing IAN’s Doug Zanger got a nifty new pair of headphones from our sponsor, Technics (courtesy of Left Off Madison), because he heard some gems being dropped with clarity!

Take a listen…

Get the gear here