Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

Gareth Kay co-founded Chapter after a stint as CSO of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and leading planning at Modernista! in Boston. However, he's originally from England where he achieved a MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford. So his planning bonafides are well bonfided. In this 40-minute interrogation, I hit Gareth with 150 questions. OK. Maybe 30. It's fast-paced. We cover a lot of planning topics that some people might think are below them to discuss. Not us! - What is planning? - Planning vs strategy - does it matter? - Does planning work? - Has planning always had a credibility issue? - What makes a good planner? - Why does planning struggle in agencies? - Are there nuances in the USA that make planning harder? You can find Gareth at http://twitter.com/garethk Video: http://www.sweathead.co Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Vikki Ross copywrites. That means she finds words for brands to help those brands express themselves in ways that are unique and compelling. Vikki Ross also trains, mentors, and judges. She does these things with the School of Communications Arts 2.0, SheSays, Creative Equals, Who’s Your Momma?, and D&AD. And she co-runs an event for copywriters in London called Copy Capital. Yes, she keeps busy. Mad busy. In this interview, we discuss: - What makes good copywriting - Giving feedback to writers - Respecting the craft You can find Vikki at http://www.vikkirosswrites.com and http://twitter.com/VikkiRossWrites Video: http://www.sweathead.co Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Why have so few women progressed into senior roles within creative departments? Dr Kasey Windels has researched this. In 2008, she analyzed the 1984, 1994, and 2004 issues of the Communication Arts Advertising Annual, and learned that only 3% of the creative directors across those issues were women. She's also spoken to a lot of female creatives. This is an important discussion. We cover: - What the 3% number actually means - What gets in the way of women moving ahead - How Kasey approaches qualitative research - Her coming work on mental health in advertising You can find Dr Windels at http://kaseywindels.com and https://twitter.com/windels. Video: http://www.sweathead.co Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Sweathead newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Know Vice? RG Logan works for their agency Virtue. He's worked in advertising, social, and digital agencies, but now spends his days helping brands to create content worth watching. We discuss: - What a publisher agency even does - Creating ideas of importance - "Branded content" - doing it good, doing it bad - Feeling comfortable doing something drastic Video: http://www.sweathead.co RG Logan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rglogan Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Sweathead newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Jocelyn Lai has assembled teams at Droga5, R/GA, and GSD&M. She now does this for companies all over the place through her own consultancy in Pittsburgh, JSL Talent Consulting. We discuss: - Ways to re-energize your career - Reflecting on whether advertising is for you anymore - How to move beyond your advertising career Video: http://www.sweathead.co Jocelyn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jocelynslai Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

The Drum's Bennett D. Bennett once worked as a copywriter inside a large New York agency but now writes about agencies and the media world in which they live. He's also hosting a free portfolio program over summer: https://www.theconceptingclass.org/ We discuss: - What's going on with agencies right now? - The Upfronts and New Fronts - Diversity in the key of "real talk" (The Pipeline Is Blocked, Progress Isn't Cute, Roadblocks Ahead) - Career burnout - Where does a hybrid work? - The American idea "Everything is up for grabs" Video: http://www.sweathead.co Bennett on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theacecapade The Drum: http://www.thedrum.com Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

CSO Adam Pierno thinks you think too much, not too well. This was Hamlet's problem. Adam also thinks all your social media looks the same. Hamlet would have killed at social media. Straight out of Pheonix, Arizona, where Adam CSO's for Santy, podcasts 'The Strategy Inside Everything', and recently released his book 'Under Think It', we discuss: - Agency culture in NYC, Boston, Atlanta, and Arizona - How everything looks like Pinterest on Pinterest - A framework for thinking about making unique social media - Dealing with depression Video: http://www.sweathead.co Adam on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/apierno 'Under Think It ' on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Think-Adam-Pierno/dp/0999399004 Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Meet Chelsea Coleman and Rachelle DiGregorio. They recently formed Flock, a community of women from the University of Oregon that helps each other get jobs, get paid, and shine. Flock is a gang and chances are that if you think for a living you spend too much time alone and you need a gang. Get a gang. In this interview we discuss: - Making that running jump from college to agency - Common problems with internships - Starting salaries - Making mentorship work - Communities organized around gender - The WAIT RUle (Why Am I Talking?) - #TimesUp Video: http://www.sweathead.co For more: Flock website: http://hey-flock.com/ Flock Twitter: https://twitter.com/hey_flock Flock Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/hey_flock/ Flock Email: heyflock@gmail.com Chelsea: http://twitter.com/chelseaLcoleman Rachelle: http://twitter.com/rachelledigreg Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Rachel Mercer is an Executive Strategy Director at R/GA in New York City. In fact, she just started the job. Three weeks ago. And we discuss this but we also discuss: - American culture shock in London - Finding a way into strategy - The short eras of digital agency work - Managing teams - Pressures on doing good work - And a lot of other stuff Video: http://www.sweathead.co Rachel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelmercer Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Whenever someone working in strategy or marketing says, "I just want to do work that has more meaning," Malaka's face is one of the faces that rushes through my head as an example of someone who is building a life and career around meaning. After a flirtation with the music industry and the agency world, Malaka has spent much of her career writing about some of the most challenging topics our world confronts - conflict and poverty. Based in Washington D.C., Malaka has worked for ONE.ORG, the Malala Fund, and is now an editor at NPR. She is also working on a graphic novel "I Was Their American Dream," in which she's capturing stories about growing up in some fourth dimension straddling Egypt, America, and the Philipines. Video: http://www.sweathead.co Malaka on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malakagharib Malaka on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalakaGharib Mark: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5