

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

Nov 10, 2023 • 40min
Shocking Truths About Insights In Advertising (I'm joking - but, yeah, "insights")
You can download a free 45-page ebook on insights, including a chapter from my book "Strategy Is Your Words" here:
https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/mastering-insights
You can find out about The Insight Masterclass that I'm teaching on Wednesday, December 6, online here:
http://sweathead.com/the-insight-masterclass-mark-pollard

Nov 6, 2023 • 40min
The Marketing Sciences Suggest: Make Your Brand Think And Act Broad - Julien Normand, Publicis
Julien Normand is Global Strategy Lead for Publicis LEON @ Publicis Media in Singapore. Recently, he wrote a piece called "The Silent Ascent Of Super Light Buyers," in which he shares research that suggests marketers need to pay attention to people who don't buy them very often.
You can find Julien here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-normand-101/
His article is here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7061959692071141376/
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https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/
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Sweathead is a support group for strategists and account planners around the world.
We host conferences, online courses, live events, and podcasts. We also train companies.
Find out about our company training here: https://sweathead.com/teams/

Sep 29, 2023 • 41min
I Got A Hair Transplant In Turkey - Istanbul, Walk and Talk
I was going to keep it private but people started to find out. I got a hair transplant. And I had a second operation to get a lipoma removed. At the end of this episode I talk a little about functional versus emotional advertising. But most of the episode is about hair and Istanbul. You can find videos about the experience on my Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Sep 18, 2023 • 25min
A 1AM Interview With The Team That Got Women’s Names Onto Street Signs In Tbilisi - Ad Black Sea
Watergunz won two golds at the recent Ad Black Sea festival for a campaign called “Women Who Don’t Exist”. They won in the Impact category for Creative Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals. Their campaign managed to get the Tbilisi government to change street names to the names of accomplished women. I was fortunate to be the one who handed them their trophies in front of well over one thousand people and a few stray dogs that had wondered into the Summer Theatre in Batum, Georgia. I grabbed the team at 1am just after the ceremony had finished to find out how they were feeling. Find out more here: https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/stories/feature-story/2023/06/women-who-dont-exist-a-campaign-against-stereotypes

Sep 16, 2023 • 48min
So This Head Of Strategy Just Quit His Job At JWT On Stage - Ad Black Sea, Batumi, Georgia
It’s the final day of the Georgian advertising festival Ad Black Sea. The campaign winners will be announced soon. In this episode, I talk with fellow speaker Marie Reig Florensa, Ad Black Sea and agency Winfors founder Vato Lavtaradze, and Lado Malazonia who quit his job on stage during one of my sessions and in front of perhaps 800 people…and his wife. You can find out more about Ad Black Sea here: https://adblacksea.com

Sep 9, 2023 • 49min
4 Students Share Their Work And Experience From The Sweathead Strategy Accelerator - Dulce Vazquez, Rodolfo Andres Estrada, Sarah Mahoney, Victoria Gates-Fleming
The next Sweathead Strategy Accelerator happens in October, 2023. It's a 4-week program that will teach you about The Four Points framework, linear and lateral thinking, the importance of problems, how to write insights, and how to write strategy.
This next accelerator is our fifth public accelerator so we thought we'd invite some previous students to share their work and experience with you. You'll hear from:
- Dulce Vazquez- VP, Strategy Director, Wildtype Health
- Rodolfo Andres Estrada - Senior Brand Strategist BBDO, Guatemala
- Sarah Mahoney
- EVP, Healthcare Communications, Strategy & Planning, Weber Shandwick
- Victoria Gates-Fleming- SVP, Creative Strategy & Insights at Day One Agency
For more details about the accelerator, visit:
https://strategyhome.sweathead.com/products/the-sweathead-strategy-accelerator/
For 15 examples and 70 pages of student work, visit:
https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/9vtxjz2jqq

Sep 4, 2023 • 45min
How To Fix Your Presentations - Sit And Talk, Hell's Kitchen, NYC
In this episode, I share some of the student work from the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator as well as dive into some tips on how to improve your presentations. You can download 70+ pages of student work here: https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/9vtxjz2jqq

Aug 24, 2023 • 31min
When To Quit Your Strategy Career - São Paulo, Sit And Talk
In this episode, I discuss a couple of recent essays—when it’s time to quit and how to help a strategy team that’s swirling all over the place. If you enjoy it, share it. And come say hi on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Aug 19, 2023 • 57min
Hard Truths About Strategy Careers - Hacktown, Brazil
In this episode, I share my experience at Hacktown as well as some uncomfortable truths about strategy careers. I’m doing a masterclass in São Paulo on Wednesday, August 23. DM me on Instagram for details. http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Aug 14, 2023 • 31min
Check Your Next Creative Brief For These Things - Monologue, Hell's Kitchen
I'm going to do a few solo episodes over the coming weeks. This episode's topic I've touched on a lot and I've even read out some of these words before. But I thought I'd start here as I share some of my most engaged-with social posts in voice format.
You can download a free ebook How To Do Strategy here: https://zaap.bio/sweathead