

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

Jun 8, 2023 • 40min
How Strategists Work In One Of The World's Most Effective Advertising Agencies - Victor Stroe, Leo Burnett (Effie Index Series)
Victor Stroe is Associate Director and Head of Strategy at Leo Burnett in Bucharest, Romania. His office was ranked the eleventh most effective in the world according to the 2022 Effie Index). Romania has a prolific and competitive advertising industry–it's just not that internationally known.
In this episode, we discuss Leo Burnett's mindset and culture, what helps the agency win so many awards, and how strategists fit in.
You can find Victor here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-stroe-5511979/
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You can find the Sweathead report What Strategists Want From Work here: https://bit.ly/what-strategists-want
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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/

Jun 5, 2023 • 42min
Interesting And Useful Is The Way To CSO Ryan O’Connell’s Heart - Ogvily (Effie Index Series)
Ryan O'Connell is Chief Strategy Officer of Ogilvy in Sydney, Australia. His office ranked in the Effie Index and we wanted to find out why.
In this episode, Ryan talks about the need to be interesting and useful while also comparing notes between the two agencies he's spent the longest time in: Clemenger BBDO and Ogilvy.
You can find Ryan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-o-connell-43854212/
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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/

Jun 1, 2023 • 37min
Is Niche Marketing Making It Harder To Reach People? - Amber Chenevert, PhD, VMLY&R
Amber Chenevert is Managing Director, Strategy & Insights as well as Global Culture Studio Lead at VMLY&R. She's a PhD and has taught advertising.
In this episode we discuss a question that's been on her mind recently: "Is niche marketing making it harder to reach ppl?"
You can find Amber here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-chenevert-phd-027a4b1/
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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/

May 29, 2023 • 38min
A Gentle Comparison Of Strategy At BBDO And VMLY&R - David Moreno, BBDO (Effie Index Series)
David Moreno recently moved to BBDO, Atlanta, where he's EVP, Strategy Lead. Prior to this, David was Managing Director, Strategy and Insights at VMLY&R. Big titles in big agencies doing big things.
In this episode, David gently compares the two and gives us his first impressions of BBDO and what makes the agency so good at making effective advertising.
You can find David here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-moreno-577b928/
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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/

4 snips
May 8, 2023 • 36min
The First Decade+ Of A Career (And Putting Yourself Online) - Aisha Hakim, ACD, 72andSunny
Aisha Hakim is an associate creative director at 72andSunny. She's also prolific online. Aisha will be hosting a masterclass called "The Art Of Deck-Making" for us on May 17. Aisha originally published a deck about deck-making to Twitter and then to LinkedIn. The deck went a little viral and it still pops up every few months.
In this episode, we discuss all of this.
You can find Aisha here: https://aishamadeit.com/
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Next strategy event:
The Art of Deck-Making with Aisha Hakim
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/

May 4, 2023 • 43min
What Strategists Want From Work, Best Places For Strategists To Work, And Getting Old In Advertising - Monologue, Hell's Kitchen, NYC
It's May 4. Today marks three years since Sweathead launch its first online class. And, to celebrate, we've published a new report "What Strategists Want From Work".
In this report, you'll learn:
1. What strategists want from the companies they work at,
2. What strategy bosses want from their strategists,
3. What makes a strategy career happen,
4. The top strategy bosses that people want to work for, and
5. The companies strategists most want to work at.
Find it here: https://mailchi.mp/sweathead/what-strategists-want-2023

4 snips
May 1, 2023 • 35min
Unleash Your Weird Self - The Secret To Better Strategy - Bonnie Wan, AdAge 2022 CSO Of The Year
Bonnie Wan is Head of Strategy at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, an agency she's worked at for thirteen years. In 2022, she won a big award: AdAge's CSO of the year. And she's about to publish a book through which she's going to put all of her strategy nous into a shape that can help you in your life. It's called "The Life Brief."
In this episode of Sweathead, we discuss how to become more of who you are–How do you work out who you are? How do you be that?
You can find Bonnie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniewan/
**
Next strategy event:
The Art of Deck-Making with Aisha Hakim
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/

Apr 27, 2023 • 37min
The Visibility Mindset (Get Yourself Seen) - Bernice Chao, Asians In Advertising
Bernice Chao is author of "The Visibility Mindset". Her agency experience includes R/GA, Zambezi, TBWA, and David&Goliath.
While navigating her career in the creative department, Bernice found herself longing to be able to connect with more people who understood her experience. So she set up Asians In Advertising with Jessalin Lam and has amassed a community of over 4,000 people who identify as AAPI from around the world.
And this is what we discuss.
You can find Bernice here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernicechao/
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Next strategy event:
Aisha Hakim's Masterclass The Art of Deck-Making
http://www.sweathead.com
**
Sign up for our newsletters:
1. For Friday's Sake–a weekly laugh at the marketing world
https://sweathead.com/newsletter/for-fridays-sake/
2. Strategy 4 Life–inside the working lives of strategists
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.

Apr 24, 2023 • 43min
A New Brand Strategy For Sofia, Bulgaria - Live Workshop With Adriyana Mihaylova
Sofia, Bulgaria. It’s the capital of one of Europe’s poorest countries, a country that spent decades behind the iron curtain, a country after which the Bulgarian Split Squat is named, and a country that wants you to visit it. I’m speaking at Digitalk on May 18 and I’m teaching a masterclass on May 19.
And to whet people’s appetites for the eccentricities I’m going to bring, this episode features a live workshop with Adriyana Mihaylova, a local strategy mind who’s spent the last couple of years developing a new strategy for Sofia.
You can find out more about the Bulgaria masterclass on the Sweathead website: http://www.Sweathead.com
You can find Adriyana here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriyanamihaylova/

Apr 18, 2023 • 1h 2min
A Strategy For Sriracha, Get/To/By, Tensions Facing Strategists And Advertising News - Hell's Kitchen, NYC
Yikes. I think I squeezed four episodes into one here. We discuss:
1. Advertising industry news and breaking campaigns from Dodge, Icelandair, KFC, and Lawn Doctor
2. Natalie Brinkman's strategy for Sriracha
3. How to improve Get/To/By
4. Tensions facing strategists right now
And a bunch of Sweathead news including masterclasses and conferences.
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Subscribe to our newsletters here:
https://sweathead.com/newsletter/strategy-for-life/


