Thomas Kolster is a former ad agency copywriter who when the climate conference came to his hometown, Copenhagen- asked himself some serious questions and went off to investigate how advertising could do more good. The result was the book "Goodadvertising" which was a bold attempt to change the role of advertising from just selling to being able to promote good. In 2020, Thomas wrote another book "The Hero Trap" which argues that brands need to understand how they can motivate people to change and become better versions of themselves. Thomas is a globally recognized keynote speaker featured at events like SXSW, TEDx, Eurobest, D&AD, Epica, ad:tech & Sustainable Brands, a columnist for publications including- Adweek, The Drum, The Guardian and several other publications and a regular judge at international award shows. 

Lidiya is currently in Lviv and up until a week before the war began was working as a strategist at TBWA in Kyiv.In the conversation, we talk a little about her background and where her attention is focused right now- on the "Information War"- most advertising and marketing professionals who are not fighting are now working on the Information War and working together on specific assignments and issues relating to this war. In addition, to this work, Lidiya mentions the constant barrage of requests for contacts that she receives on social media be this help for refugees in Warsaw or transportation help for people in Ukraine. We talked about the help that those overseas can give she feels that obviously giving to help humanitarian efforts is critical, but she believes the biggest problem that needs the smartest strategic and creative minds to solve is communicating the real story to Russians. She even mentions the challenge within her own family which has cut ties with their relatives over the war.

Proto is a consultancy that was founded just over a year ago by some of the leadership of R/GA.'s business transformation unit. In the episode, I talk with Rachel Mercer- the Chief Experience Officer, and Mike Rigby- Chief Design Officer.The conversation covers their background and experience, the types of work that Proto is involved with, and the importance of clearly defining your own brand and living its values.It's a fascinating conversation that shows how creativity can move upstream in the world of consulting and how a valuable mix of skills and experience can help clients shift and transform their businesses for the digital age and beyond. 

In a world where every marketeer is talking about purpose, it is interesting to find an agency that has been working in this domain for over a decade.In this episode, I talk with Rob Holzer- the founder and CEO of Matter Unlimited.Rob is something of a digital pioneer and was the co-founder of Syrup- a digital agency that worked with the likes of Puma and GE and got acquired by LBI.Matter Unlimited works with a mix of non-for-profits, foundations and large clients and it's the experience they have on the ground with the non-profits that helps inform how they advise and the strategies they create and build for brands.In a world of short-term projects, Rob is especially proud of his long-term client relationships including one that spans over a decade with Merck.

Connor Moore and Paul Amitai are the Executive Creative Director and Executive Strategy Director of Listen. Listen is a sound agency that helps companies and brands create and build audio and sound strategies. Connor designed the sound of  Tesla's Model 3  engine tone to a family of alerts and notifications for Uber's Drivers App.  He helped define Google’s audio design language for Google Glass, Waymo, and Google PayIn the podcast, we talk about both their backgrounds, the types of work they are engaged in, and the process and approach behind the work.

Ben Dietz led commercial partnerships at VICE Media and is now a consultant for media and consumer brands. He publishes the [SIC] Weekly newsletter and is the co-host of the Culture Club Show on Clubhouse on Wednesday nights. Ben has spent time advising brands on how to reach into unfamiliar and potentially risky spaces through his work with VICE and youth culture.In the podcast, we discuss his experience and what we learned from it, and how it applies to understanding the new worlds that are forming the foundational building blocks of the metaverse- as in bitcoin, digital currency and NFTs 

Neil Parker is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of co: collectiveOver a decade ago co: collective was born- founded by Neil, Rosemarie Ryan, and  Ty Montague.  Rosemarie and Ty had run the NY office of JWT and Neil had been the global strategy head of design firm Wolff Olins.co: collective's arrival on the scene caused something of a stir because it wasn't the typical start-up from senior ad agency figures- it wasn't an ad agency- it was a brand consulting company with a difference.As I learn in the conversation with Neil he brought something very different to the table from a strategic perspective. He wasn't your classic ad strategist, his background was in management consulting- so he brought more of a business perspective to the world of brands and branding.We talk about what this means, how co works, how it works with others, and discuss various developments that we see in the world of brands and branding in 2021. 

One of the best things strategy-wise to come out of the last couple of years is the 30-minute University of Planning which was the brainchild of Dr. Gordon Euchler. The university does 2 things..1- Connects mentors to mentorees 2. Organizes talks/learning sessions. This platform has allowed strategists from all over the world to learn for mentors and for mentors to learn from the mentorees. We are in a world where in-house training and mentoring are hard to come by- not that this is a replacement, but it's a nice addition. In this podcast, I talk to Gordon about his career trajectory, the challenges of strategy in Germany, learning from John Lowery, the origins of 30 Minute University, where it is headed, working at Deloitte with the opportunity to make ideas real businesses and Shakespeare. 

Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler are freelance strategists based in Melbourne, Australia who have created a consulting service to help clients construct better briefs. The idea is fueled by an extensive research project that found up to 33% of marketing budgets are wasted from the inefficiencies created by bad briefs- Matt and Pieter-Paul are on a mission to change that.In our conversation, we talked about their backgrounds, the catalyst behind Better Briefs, the reception so far, the disparity between agencies and clients over briefs and where Better Briefs is headed in the future. 

Lindsay Stein is the new chief of social impact at Havas in NY. Havas has been making some big moves around social impact recently and Lindsay is freshly installed in the New York office with the charge to make a difference inside the agency and with clients.Lindsay's started her career in sports journalism but has a deep knowledge of the US marketing communication scene from her stints at PR Week, Advertising Age, and Campaign US.Her last role was with the non-for-profit organization-  "Today, I'm Brave" which unlocks bravery in underserved youth around the world and helps them become our next generation of leaders. Her role will encompass the breadth of social impact including diversity and sustainability and she is keen that this isn't seen as an opportunity to seize competitive advantage and plans to share learnings and findings with agency competitors and even host events on the topic.These are clearly early days, she is less than a month into her role, so it will be very interesting to see where this goes. As we discussed in the conversation this is about having a serious commitment from the leadership of the organization and recognizing that this is a long-term effort- things will not be solved immediately and there will doubtless be numerous challenges that need to be overcome. Her take is to keep things optimistic and positive.