Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

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

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

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

Lots of updates and a list of things I wish I knew before becoming a strategist. My book “Strategy Is Your Words” is available this week on Amazon Kindle in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. I hope you’re well out there.

Erick Apuy is building an empire from his home base in San Jose, Costa Rica. His agency, Interaction, is one of the most awarded in the region. Their love of problems and context help them help their clients in ways that involve advertising but only if they have to. For instance, they helped a hydroelectricity company make money from crypto. In this episode, I chat with Erick and Monica Gonzales, Interaction's strategic planning lead, to find out how they go about their work. You can find Interaction here: https://interaction.cr/ ** You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: ⁠https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want⁠ ** Next strategy event: The Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp - Starts July 18, 2023 Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up for our newsletters: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** 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/⁠

Dave Collins is Strategy Director at The Monkeys in Melbourne, Australia. The Monkeys have been a prolific creative agency ever since they launched and they were listed in the Effie Index in 2022. In this interview, Dave share the special sauce plus a few case studios. We also talk about his year in New York and how he's thinking about approaching his 30s in the industry. You can find Dave here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-collins-b5b15357/ ** You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: ⁠https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want⁠ ** Next strategy event: The Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp - Starts July 18, 2023 Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up for our newsletters: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** 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/⁠

Raluca Kovacs is Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Worldwide in Romania. Romania is a competitive advertising country. It seems like one of those hotbeds that not enough of us know about. It's a hotbed that has created several agencies that frequently feature in award shows and in the Effie Index. In this episode, Raluca shares with us the culture at Publicis in Romania. You'll hear a big emphasis on learning and self-improving. You can find Raluca here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raluca-kovacs-6987464/ ** You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: ⁠https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want⁠ ** Next strategy event: The Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp - Starts July 18, 2023 Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up for our newsletters: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** 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/⁠

Mario Morby is Regional Head of Strategy at FP7McCann. He's based in Dubai. In case you didn't know, Dubai is very different from Birmingham in the UK, where Mario was working before joining FP7McCann. FP7McCann is prolific and Mario takes us on an intellectual tour of what makes the agency so good. You can find Mario here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariomorby ** You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want ** Next strategy event: The Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp - Starts July 18, 2023 Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up for our newsletters: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** 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/

Javier Quintero is Chief Strategy Officer of GUT in Buenos Aires. Every decade a handful of agencies appear and then tear up the industry as we know it and GUT is currently doing this. In this episode, Javier explains to us how GUT does creative briefs and how they put pressure on their work so that nothing crap leaves the building. You can find Javier here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javiquintero/ ** You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: ⁠https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want⁠ ** Next strategy event: The Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp - Starts July 18, 2023 Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up for our newsletters: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** 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/⁠

Zahra Ali runs strategy at Ogilvy in Karachi. She's helped the agency win so many awards that the agency is listed in the Effie Index. In this episode, Zahra explains the culture of Ogilvy Karachi to us and takes us through some award-winning work. You can find Zahra here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahra-ali-037bb616/ ** You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: ⁠https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want⁠ ** Next strategy event: The Sweathead Strategy Summer Camp - Starts July 18, 2023 Details: http://www.sweathead.com. ** Sign up for our newsletters: https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/ ** 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/⁠