Gettherightpeoplein

thesameroomandsweat

theproblem.Develop

hypothesesitera,vely,shareandimprove.

RobAlexanderGlobalPlanningDirectorJWT

Writedowneverything

youknowonpost‐itnotes

ands,ckthemuponawall…thentry

andmakeconnec,onsbetweenthem.

BridgetAngearHeadofPlanningAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO

Themostimportant

behaviourstendtobe

ritualised.Findtheritual

andyou’vefoundthekey

toabe9eridea.

KevinAllenWorldwidePlanningDirectorProximityLondon

Don’tbescared.Beliberated.

Toomuch,megetsthelifepummelledoutofastrategy.So…workoutwhatthereal

problem(orinupbeat‐speak,

opportunity)is.Onceyou'vedonethat,you'reoff.Butonlyiftheteam'ssmallandtheytrusteachother.

JoannaBamfordIndependentConsultant

Lookcarefullyatwhat

compe,torbrandsaredoing.Whataretheysaying?Howaretheysayingit?Whenaretheysayingit?Then,takeagooddeepbreath,anddosomethingcompletelydifferent.

TomBazeleyPartnerLeanMeanFigh9ngMachine

AskyourMum.

AlistairBea<eHeadofDigitalStrategyAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO

Exerciseruthlesssacrificeintheestablishmentof

asingularobjec,ve,acleardes,na,onmakesthejourneyquicker.

MikeBentleyGlobalPlanningDirectorofFordTeamDetroit

Forgettryingtochange

loyaltyorproductusage–

you’llprobablyfail.Justaim

tomakeeveryoneinthe

marketslightlymorelikely

tochooseyourbrandeach

,metheymakeapurchase.Andthemainwaytodo

thatistomakethemfeel

something,nottotell

themsomething.

LesBinetEuropeonDirectorDDBMatrix

Askhowwouldyoutry

tostoppeoplefrom

doingwhatyouwant

themtodo?

LukeBozeatStrategyManagerMediaCom

Whateveryoudo,thinkofit

asyourbusiness,whatwould

youdoifitwasyourmoney.

Thinkthroughtheline,

encouragenewconsumers

andbuildvaluefromthe

exis,ngcustomers,astheseareoJentheeasiesttoconvert.Alwaysremember

adver,singneedstosell,sostartwiththeac,vitythat'sgoingtodeliverthebestROI.

LucasBrownManagingDirectorTotalMediaDirect

Workouthowyour

communica,onswillworkandinhowmany

differentways.

JaneyBullivantBoardPlanningDirectorLeoBurne$London

Knowthedifferencebetween‘Doh’and‘Oh’;aninsight

isnotanobserva,on.Alwaysinterpretresearchinrealis,ctermsandkeepasking‘why’un,lyouhaveacoreinsightthatfeelsright.It’squickerandeasierwhenyouhaveagoodone.

StuartButlerStrategicPlanningDirectorMediaedge:cia

Rememberthatourown

livescanoJenbebestunderstoodbymappingthe

thingswedidn'tdo,the

wordswedidn'tsay.

Alwaysconsiderabrand's

unspokentruth,quietregret,

pathnottaken.Becausein

itssilenceandinac,onmayresideitsstrength

andiden,ty.

JimCarrollChairmanBartleBogleHegarty

Getafewbrainstogether

fortenminutes–thegenius

oftheunpressured,

uninterestedpartycan

onmanyoccasionsgiveyou

theinspira,onorplaPormforgeQngtoagreatanswerinashort,me.

SarahClarkPlanningPartnerCHI&Partners

Apreciselydefinedgoalleadstomorecompellingstrategy.Keepques,oningun,lyouhavesomethingreallyspecific,like‘getpeopletoputHellmann’sonchipsaswellasonsandwiches’ratherthan‘increaseHellmann’svolumesales’.

WillCollinFoundingPartnerNakedCommunica9ons

Generatesolu,onsbysurroundingyourselfwithpassionatepeople.Include

ayouthelementthatisbrutallyhonestandwhosethinkingisyettobeprejudiced...experienceis

whatyougetwhenyoudon'tgetwhatyouwant!Alwayscomeawaywithaclearac,onplanandassignedresponsibili,es...theexperiencedpeopledothis!

StuartCorkeDirectorofCustomerInsightTimesMedia

Youcan’ttakeshortcuts.

Stopthinkingaboutstrategy

asabrand‐by‐brandjobbutas

alife’swork.Itisaboutbeing

open,culturallyconnected

andaware.Eachpieceof

informa,onyoucollecthasthepoten,altosparkamilliondifferentstrategicideas.Remember,cherishandsave

them,itmightbetherocket

fuelyouneedtogetyou

somewherefast.

NikkiCromptonExecu9vePlanningDirectorEuropeMcCann

Startwiththeac,on.Focusonthebigchangethatneedstohappeninthemarketplaceasaresultofpeople’sbehaviourinordertosolvethebusinessproblem.

Ma$DykeFoundingPartnerAnalogFolk

Formulateachallenging

hypothesisaboutthebrand

andwhereitneedstobe.

Getveryexcitedaboutit.

Calmdown.Pullitapart.Ifit

survivesthenyoumayhavea

halfdecentidea.Proveit.

S,cktoit.Aligneveryoneinthatdirec,onandtrytogetthereasquicklyaspossibleoritmaybetoolate.

RobForshawFoundingPartnerGrandUnion

Dothe‘extremescenario’test.

Choosesomethingquite,but

notcompletelyimprobable,

andcomeupwithideasforthat

situa,on.E.g.Whatifcreditcardswerebanned…Whatifpeoplehadtokeeptheircars

forfiveyearsminimum…Whatifbroadcastadver,singwasnotallowed…Whatifone‐to‐onecommunica,onswasnotallowed…etc.

PaulGagePlanningDirectorProximityLondon

Don'ttrytodoitonyour

own.Gettogetherwith

severalpeoplewhose

opinionsyourespectand

haveaproperdebate,

phonesoff.Startwithapointofviewandthenhope

itgetstorntoshredsand

rebuiltasabigger,be9er,brilliantone.

DavidGoldingFoundingPartnerAdam&Eve

Keepabreastofthelatest

brandthinkingfromthe

industry'sleading

prac,oners–justthebasictenetswilldo.Aquickflickthroughthismental

rolodexwon'ttellyouthe

answer,butit'ssurprising

howoJentherudimentsofyourstrategyare

lurkingthere.

NeilGoodladManagingPartnerCHI&Partners

Learntotrustyourins,ncts.TheideaorplaPormyoucameupwithonthetraintothebriefingmee,ngisrightnine,mesoutoften.Spendyour,meworkingoutwhyratherthanfindingtennewplaPorms.Thenbringittolifeininteres,ngways.

JamesGordon‐MacIntoshDirectorSeventySevenPR

WhatdoesFASTstandfor?

FlexibilityAssures

StrategicTriumphs.

TimHamesAssistantEditor&ChiefLeaderWriterTheTimes

Ifthereareonlysevenplots

inliterature,theremust

beafinitenumberofstrategies.Con,nuouslythinkofinteres,ngstrategiessowhenabrief

comesyou'vegotabeauty

that'sreadyandwai,ng.

TrevorHardyStrategyDirectorLunar.BBDO

Sizeisn'teverything,

speedis.

PaulHayesManagingDirectorTimesMedia

Projectyourselfintoan

endpointinthefuture

andworkbackwards.

AdrianHoolePlanningPartnerProximity

Intoday’scommunica,onsenvironmentitisfarmore

importanttobeinteres,ngthantoberight.Andthefastestwaytopotentcrea,vestrategiesissimplytothinkaboutthesinglemostinteres,ngthingyoucouldsayaboutyourbrand,

itssectororthewidermarketandbackthatins,nct.

RichardHun9ngtonDirectorofStrategySaatchi&Saatchi

Giveyourproblemtoa

celebritysuperstar.Imagine

Madonnahadthebudget–

whatwouldshedo?What

aboutHitler?Some,mesameglomaniaccanbeyour

bestfriendwhentryingto

thinkdifferently.WhataboutJordan,Beckham,

Gates(BillnotGareth)?

Goextreme:thenbringit

backtoasensibleidea.

ClareHutchinsonHeadofPlanningWCRS

Extractasmuchoutofthe

exis,ngdataasyoupossiblycan.ThisiseasierifyourememberthatdataislikeaVictorianchild–itwon’tspeakunlessspokento.Ifyougeneratelotsofhypothesesbeforelookingatthedataitquicklyyieldslotsofinteres,ngstuff.

OliviaJohnsonPlanningPartnerHooperGalton

Swipesomething

that'sbeenusedin

anothercategory

butnotyourown.

AlexLewisPlannerAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO

Keepitsimple.Abrilliant

strategythatcannotbe

easilyacteduponby

everyoneinyourclient's

organisa,onwillsitinacornergatheringdust.

EdLingFoundingPartnerAnalogFolk

Spendthe,metofindonebook/paper/commentator/expertthatwillprovidethebestandfastestshortcuttothe‘fountainofknowledge’.

DamianMcKeownHeadofPlanningDDBLondon

Thekeytofindinggreatstrategicanswersquicklyistofindyourselfa'fixedpoint'inthestrategy.Afixedpointisanunchanging,fundamentalforabrande.g.increasefrequencyofconsump,on,a9ractanewgenera,onofusers,orjus,fyapricepremium.AJerthatitisalldownhill!

GuyMurphyWorldwidePlanningDirectorJWT

Thebeststrategiesaresimple;

somakesureyouspendyour

,mestrippingawaycomplexityratherthanaddingtoit.

Thebeststrategiesarealso

'safedangerous':somakesure

thatyourthinkingmarries

rigourwithrisk.Finally,thebeststrategiesaregenerous:

somakesuretoleavegaps

forconsumersandotherdisciplinestoshapethem.

AndyNairnPlanningDirectorMCBD

Comeupwithamore

ambi,ousdefini,onofthemarketthe

brandoperatesin.

AndrewPhillipsPlannerAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO

Yourbraingetsintheway

offaststrategy.Don’tthink

thingsthrough,justask

yourself…WhatdoIfeelis

therightthingtodo?

Thenpickit,plumpitup,

playitoutandtrustyourgut.

EngageyourbrainaJerwardstopost‐ra,onalisethebrilliantsuccess...orthemessyou

andyourgutsmade.

IvanPollardPartnerNakedCommunica9ons

Pointthegunintheright

direc,on,beforefiringthebullet!Baseyourstrategyaroundtherightbusinessobjec,ves.

GurdeepPuriHeadofEffec9venessLeoBurne$London

Take,metotalk–lookingatthechallengefromsomeoneelse'sperspec,vealwaysbringsnewclaritytooldproblems.Ialwaysmake,metospeaktonewpeoplewhethertheyareintegralorperipheraltotheproblemasthereisnothinglikeahumanvoicetobringyourthinkingintofocus.

Sa9nReidHeadofStrategyCarat

Findoutwhatthe

brandfana,csthink.

MirandaRossPlannerAbbo$MeadVickers.BBDO

Dovetailyourstrategyand

crea,ve.Developcrea,veideasfromdayone,whilst

developingthestrategicbrief.Don’tbeproud,turfistorold‐schoollinear.Allowearlycrea,veideastoinspirestrategy,whichinturninspirebe9ercrea,vity,whichinturnrefinesanddevelopsbe9erstrategy.Inshortiterate,dovetail,succeed.

StuartSmithHeadofPlanningWieden&KennedyLondon

Youdon’tgeneratestrategy

fromastandingstart.

Asenseofstrategyshould

beapermanentpartofthe

brain,butalwaysopento

challengeandmodifica,onbychangingcircumstance

orunforeseenopportunity.

It’swhatyoutestnew

thoughtsagainstandthat

canbedoneveryquickly.

SirMar9nSorrellGroupChiefExecu9veWPP

Thekeytofaststrategiesis

notthespeedatwhichthey

aredeveloped,butthe

speedwithwhichtheyare

agreedandimplemented

acrossabusiness.Themore

youinvolveallsenior

decisionmakersinthe

strategycrea,onprocess,theless,meyouhavetospend'selling'ittothem.

BenSouthgatePlanningPartnerCHI&Partners

ThesecrettogeQngagood,faststrategyistoallsittogetherandkeepyourarsesonyourchairsun,lyou'vegotone.

RichardStoreyChiefStrategyOfficerM&CSaatchi

WritedownONEwordper

compe,torwhichdefineswhattheyareuniquelygreatat.WritedownONEword

foryourowncompany.WritedownthetopTENtargetconsumermo,va,ons.IfyourWORDisuniqueandisintheconsumer'stopTEN,executethethemeinallyourac,vi,es.Strategycomplete.

SimonThompsonChiefMarke9ngOfficerLastminute.com

Today’smostinteres,ngstrategiescombinebusiness,brand,dataandmediathinking–Ilikeworkingwithagroupofpeoplefromdifferentdisciplines:unusualconnec,ons,makesforunusualideas.

JohnTownshendCrea9vePartnerRapier

Strategyshouldn'ttake

long.It'slikeplanninga

journey.Startwiththe

des,na,onandworkbackwards.

CharlesVallanceFoundingPartnerVallanceCarruthersColemanPriest

Don'tleadapredictablelife,

staysensi,vetoeverythingaroundyouatall,mesandbepassionateaboutmakingthingshappen.

DylanWilliamsStrategyDirectorMotherLondon

Giveyourselfamedia

budgetofzeroandsee

whatyoucomeupwith.

Ma$WilliferPlanningDirectorM&CSaatchi

Ialwaysstartwithasource

ofbusinessfunnel.Bythe

,meI'veaskedalltheimportantques,onsaboutwherethebusinesscouldcomefromanddugupsomenumbers,I'venormallyiden,fiedmostofthekeyissuesandhavearangeofstrategicop,onstoconsider.

MaxWrightCommunica9onsPlanningDirectorRapier