

Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast
Mark Pollard
How do you get good at strategy? Whether you’re into brand strategy, advertising strategy, digital strategy, social media strategy, or you just love doing strategy but you get frustrated at how people use the word, Sweathead will help you delve into the practices and minds of some of the world’s most wonderful strategists. We're in our sixth year and have surpassed 1,500,000 listens! Hit SUBSCRIBE, tell your friends, and leave a kind rating. Real-time action is @markpollard and @sweathead.
You can find strategy classes and "Strategy Is Your Words" here: http://www.sweathead.com.
You can find strategy classes and "Strategy Is Your Words" here: http://www.sweathead.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 16, 2024 • 36min
How To Deal With Feeling Stuck In An Advertising Career - Iuren Ramiro
Iuren Ramiro, Strategy Director at Agência WE and member of prestigious councils, shares his insightful journey through career stagnation in advertising. He discusses common feelings of being overlooked and the anxiety of comparing oneself to others. Iuren offers ten practical steps to regain momentum, including self-assessment, seeking honest feedback, and reducing comparisons. He emphasizes the importance of celebrating small victories and pursuing new experiences. Dive into actionable strategies while navigating the complexities of career progression!

Sep 11, 2024 • 45min
Persuasion - How To Sell Your Ideas - Maytê Carvalho, CSO
Maytê Carvalho won a special version of Brazil’s The Apprentice television show when she was 18 years old. People told her she was persuasive. They told her to write a book about it.
But, first, Maytê decided to study persuasion and ended up getting a Master’s degree focusing on it. She also became a Research Fellow at the Berkeley Global Society.
Simultaneously, Maytê worked in the Grey Group and Accenture Song in São Paulo and TBWA\Chiat\Day in LA then CUBOCC in New York as their Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.
She’s just moved to LA and set up her own company.
We talk about all of this.
Here, you can find…
Maytê: https://www.instagram.com/maytecarvalhos
Mark: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard
Sweathead: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead
Strategy classes and books: http://www.sweathead.com

Sep 4, 2024 • 1h 9min
What Thousands Of Strategists Whisper - Georgetown, DC - Walk & Talk
Come for a walk around Washington DC as I discuss the ten things strategists whisper to me and debrief you on 14 events in 5 countries for 700 people over the past two weeks.
Find our classes here: http://www.sweathead.com
Find me here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Aug 13, 2024 • 30min
Leaving New York, Impostor Syndrome, Teaching Strategists - Walk and Talk, NYC
Join me on a walk from Times Square to the Flatiron District as we discuss some big life changes, my masterclasses in Asia, impostor syndrome, and teaching strategists.Find me @ http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Aug 5, 2024 • 45min
Are Fractional CMOs Tiny - Or Do They Just Do A Fraction Of CMO Work In A Fraction Of The Time? - Fractional CMO, John Lyons
John Lyons is a fractional CMO. This might mean that he's a fraction of a CMO and that he's either very small or only does a fraction of what a CMO usually does.
Well, that's what I think when I see the title "Fractional CMO" - Oh, it's a thumb-sized CMO doing 10% of the CMO job.
But, in this chat, John puts me straight while also sharing his thoughts on why B2B service-based companies - especially agencies - struggle with marketing.
And John gives us a brief mental health update because, last time we spoke on Sweathead, John shared a lot about his battles with a mental health crisis.
You can find John here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpaullyons/
You can find details about our upcoming masterclasses and accelerator here: http://www.sweathead.com

Jul 30, 2024 • 34min
The Present Of Strategy - WARC's Lena Roland
Lena Roland is Content Director, Strategy at WARC. This means she's dealing with all of you as she explores and gathers the smart minds in the world and what they're doing to market and advertise effectively.
In this episode, we chat about the present of strategy - what we're both hearing from strategists around the world.
If you'd like to share what you're thinking about the future of strategy, WARC is collecting opinions for their Future Of Strategy report until August 2, 2024.
Find it here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7914889/Future-of-Strategy-2024
And find Lena on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenaroland/
For details about our upcoming accelerator as well as masterclasses in Los Angeles, Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, and Sydney, visit http://www.sweathead.com

Jun 23, 2024 • 39min
Reflections About A Week At The Cannes Lions Festival Of Creativity
Join me by the river Vitava in Prague for a beer and a chat about the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival.

May 29, 2024 • 48min
Simple Ways To Fix Your Strategy Work - Sit and Talk
- The power of paper
- Summarize stingily
- Digging into problems
- Fixing presentations
Find out about my masterclasses:
http://www.sweathead.com
Download the ebook "How To Do Strategy"
http://www.sweathead.com
Find me on Instagram:
http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

May 20, 2024 • 35min
Artificial Intelligence In Advertising - Toygun Yilmazer, CSO TBWA Istanbul
Toygun is Chief Strategy Office at TBWA in Istanbul, one of my favorite cities on the planet. He recently presented his thoughts about artificial intelligence at SxSW.
We discuss these thoughts as well as Turkey.
You can find Toygun here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toygun-yilmazer-29810267/
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For details about our upcoming strategy masterclasses and free ebooks, go to http://www.sweathead.com
🇨🇿Prague
🇩🇪Berlin
🇺🇸NYC, LA
🇸🇬Singapore
🇮🇩Jakarta
🇵🇭Manila
🇦🇺Sydney

May 13, 2024 • 43min
Are Strategy Frameworks Dumb? - Joe Burns, Group Strategy Director, Quality Meats Creative
Joe Burns, a Group Strategy Director at Quality Meats and former Head of Strategy at BBH in New York, shares his insights on the advertising industry. He discusses the challenges of transitioning between agency environments and the cultural differences in UK and US advertising. A significant topic is the debate around strategy frameworks, with many strategists believing they hinder creativity. Joe also speculates on the future of advertising amidst the influence of tech giants, emphasizing the need for innovative approaches to strategy.


