On Strategy Showcase

We talk about how the world's greatest e-comm site considers category entry points. Also about the story behind this year's holiday ads campaign, including Benedict Cumberbatch's 5-Star Ratings Theatre, and what the now full-funnel marketer is still trying to better understand. I'm joined by Chris Marchegiani, Head of Brand Planning Insights and Creative, and Garett Levy, Sr. Global Brand Planner.

Planning's greatest Holiday Ads Party returned live to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. A packed house watched and debated some of the best holiday ads from the US and UK. On stage were Nimisha Jain, CSO at Highdive, Pedr Howard, Head of Creative Excellence at Ipsos, Samantha Cescau, CSO at Leo Burnett and Mark Gross, Co-Founder and Co-CCO at Highdive. Love to hear what your favorite Holiday spot was this year. Thanks to Ipsos, The Effies and Tracksuit for supporting our 2025 live tour. Happy Holidays everyone.

Join Alex Grieve, Chief Creative Officer at BBH, Chris Gallery of Mother London, Mel Arrow of McCann, and Paula Bloodworth, co-founder of Alien Baby, as they reflect on the lessons from 2024. They discuss how cultural moments, like Taylor Swift's impact, shape brand strategy. The panel debates the challenges of creativity in advertising amidst organizational layers, and the need for long-term partnerships. They emphasize the importance of authenticity in brand storytelling, showcasing examples from Burberry and Neurofen's innovative campaigns. Exciting ideas for 2026 also emerge!

The odds were stacked against Indeed in India. Late to market and up against behemoths whose combined market share crossed 90%, they had a fight on their hands. We hear the backstory of how they build a B2B beachhead as a way into the broader B2C market. Thanks to the Effies for making this international episode possible.

Helene Dick, Head of Strategy at Special LA; Tom Kenny, CSO at Courage; Vanessa Chin, SVP Marketing for System One; and Matt Herbert, Co-founder of TrackSuit, delve into the intersection of AI and beauty. They dissect Claude AI's emotional appeal and its B2B focus compared to consumer-targeted AI like ChatGPT. The Ordinary's minimalist branding and Neutrogena's nostalgic campaigns are highlighted, showcasing the different strategies in beauty marketing and their performances in driving brand growth, with insights from tracking data and creative effectiveness.

Our interviews with UK winners as their amazingly effective work gets recognized on Effie night in London. Xbox, Uber, Smarty Mobile, Irish Tourism, Walkers, CALM, and the Grand Prix winning Nurofen from McCann London. What a night for McCann. They also won Agency of the Year and took home a total of seven awards. You can see all of the creative work from these interviews on our website at onstrategyshowcase.com.

We brought together planners and creatives to talk about epiphany moments - those times when you know you've just unlocked the idea. We talk about what they ultimately led to in the work. Joining me are Ryan Lehr, Co-CCO at Deutsch, John Deschner, Head of Brand at Maximum Effort, Jill Burgeson, CSO at TBWA/Chiat/Day/LA, Amanda Shapiro, EVP Strategy at Deutsch and Jason Karley, ECD at Artist's Equity. Thanks to Tracksuit, The Effies and Ipsos for supporting our live tour.

Chris Beresford-Hill, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at BBDO, reveals the insider story behind the innovative CeraVe campaign featuring Michael Cera. He discusses how the initial pitch idea sparked from a casual conversation and the challenges of securing Cera’s participation. Chris also highlights the importance of irreverent humor and strategic influencer partnerships leading up to the Super Bowl. Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes creative integrity amidst brand requirements, showcasing how a well-executed prank can captivate audiences.

Unilever brand leader Tati Lindenberg and MullenLowe's Rachel Stets dive into the innovative partnership between Persil and Arsenal Women’s soccer. They discuss the campaign 'Every Stain Should Be Part of the Game,' aimed at tackling the stigma around period leaks in sports. Tati shares insights on aligning brand performance with the growing sports fandom, while Rachel reveals the creative process that led to their impactful messaging. Together, they explore how to engage and educate both women and men in breaking down societal norms.

Five NY strategy leaders reflect on our topic and share their points of view on where we are today and how strong the future looks for what we do. Joining us are Jeff McCrory of Mischief, Tass Tsitsopoulos of W+K, Anibal Casso of Ogilvy, Emily Portnoy and BBDO, and Tom Morton of Narratory Capital. Thanks to our live tour sponsors: The Effies, Tracksuit and Ipsos.