LA's Jack Appleby is a Director of Creative Strategy. He has touched projects for Beats by Dre, Microsoft, Rockband, and more. Almost a decade into a career that has focused largely on whatever social is and with a title that now suggests a broader remit, we chat about the challenges facing social strategists at a time when few get training.

We discuss:
- Best Practice Machines
- What's up with "engagement"?
- What is social strategy?
- Could other types of strategists do social work?
- The skills social strategy folks need
- The Los Angeles agency zeitgeist
- Video game marketing
- What is a creative strategist?

You can find Jack at https://twitter.com/JuiceboxCA

For more internet:
Facebook group: http://www.sweathead.co
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Rhiannon Stroud is Head of Strategy at McCann Synergy in Bristol. She works with companies on how they interact with their employees. It's an interesting field to work in, a field we don't hear much about because... no Superbowl ads. It can be a very meaningful field, too. We discuss all these things.

You can find Rhiannon here https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhiannon-stroud-50787a75

Sweathead strategy class is in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Julian and I have just launched Season 2 of The Strategy Megaclass. It's called F**k Yeah Rainbow Cannons. And it's coming to NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle in March and April. It's a full day of strategy training covering words, briefs, ideas, and strategy frameworks.

Details and tickets are here http://www.strategymegaclass.com

We thought we'd use the occasion to talk through some work by S'well, Burger King and ClassPass, as well as discuss strategy practice work that Harriet (@minimalstrat), Bram Draaijer (@DraaijerB), and Sanika Tilway (@tillwaytweets) have posted on Twitter to #ShowYourStrategy.

Hannah Molly Baker's ClassPass case study
https://www.hannahmollybaker.com/classpass-positioning-campaign

Harriet - Selling fountain pens to office workers
https://twitter.com/minimalstrat/status/1226120048902918144?s=20

Dram - Selling wall paint to new house owners
https://twitter.com/DraaijerB/status/1225792494018887681?s=20

Sanika - Selling speed dating to introverts
https://twitter.com/tillwaytweets/status/1223692880826568704?s=20

The Strategy Megaclass -> http://www.strategymegaclass.com

Julian https://www.planningdirty.com/
Mark https://www.instagram.com/markpollard/

In this episode, I share some thoughts about the past couple of weeks, some real talk from a recent Instagram story about your work life and WHAT ARE YOU DOING, as well as run you through 10 strategy exercises and answer a bunch of questions. Thanks for hanging out with me.

You can find 10+ hours of training videos here for the next week or two: http://www.sweathead.co

Nicole Landesman is Head of Business Development at BBDO in New York, where she helps potential clients navigate everything BBDO has to offer. And she was once a planner.

We discuss:

- The BBDO new business process

- What’s going on inside a marketer’s mind during a pitch

- What makes a useful pitch brief

- Moving form planning to business development

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Yo! It's Natalie Kim from We Are Next. After 10 years in the agency world with her last role being Director of Strategy at Firstborn, Natalie now runs We Are Next where she helps people new to the industry navigate how to get into it and thrive once they are there.

We discuss:
- Studying advertising in college
- The most common question of new strategists
- Informational interviews (what are they and what's the point?)
- Recent strategy job trends
- Patience

You can find Natalie at http://www.twitter.com/natalieykim and http://www.we-are-next.com/

For the video, visit http://www.sweathead.co

You can find Mark at http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

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

An update about all things Sweathead as well as the talk from Google Firestarters in London mid-November. It's not the actual talk. It's a reading of an 11-page script of the talk. If you like it, let me know. Otherwise, maybe I'll delete it in a few days.

Instagram http://www.instagram.com/markpollard
Strategy class http://www.skl.sh/markpollard
Articles http://www.markpollard.net

Julian Cole was formerly the Head of Comms Planning at BBDO in New York. We've known each since around 2008. We've blogged, taught Skillshare, and spoken at conferences side by side. And now we're doing a strategy class in a bunch of different cities side by side. It's called The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass. 

We discuss:
- Revenge-astroturfing a bank by walking into it and yelling at it
- The value of writing and putting yourself out there
- Giving useful feedback about ideas
- Working better with media agencies
- An impromptu strategy for saving lamps from hypothetical extinction

You can find Julian and his Planning Dirty newsletter here: https://twitter.com/juliancole
And you can find out about the MEGACLASS here: http://www.strategymegaclass.com

Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

There's something pure and powerful about pitches - largely because the thinking rarely reaches the public and the time pressures force fast decisions, but they can be wrought with bad behavior. How do you deal with the bad behavior? Do you just have to put up with it?

Tim Dunn is an English Executive Strategy Director in Canada. He loves pitches. He has a way with them. And, in this interview, we discuss how he has his way with them. 

You can find Tim here https://www.linkedin.com/in/timdunn/ and here https://twitter.com/timmcdunn

For more strategy talk:

1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Dos Toros is a Mexican food joint. They are lunch-sponsoring the first occurrence of The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass in New York. So we thought we'd throw around some ideas like the last episode Julian and I did together. Can we think out loud and messy and try - just try - to find a thread from problem to comms idea and tactics in less than an hour and then draw it up? Will any of it make sense? This time, we brought in Davis Ballard who provided research support (Thanks, Davis!). This is hypothetical thinking. And it's an unedited pod. If you think you can beat it, beat it!

Julian and I will do a Live Action Strategy sesh live in our Megaclasses (NYC, Chicago, LA). You can find Julian's newsletter Planning Dirty (not Dirty Planning or Planking Dirty) and his Tweets here: http://www.twitter.com/juliancole. You can find Davis here: https://twitter.com/mrdavisballard.

The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass: http://bit.ly/StrategySuperSizer

The deck for the last Live Action Strategy sesh (Lamps): http://bit.ly/LiveStrategyLamps

The deck for this Live Action Strategy sesh (Dos Toros): http://bit.ly/LiveStrategyDosToros

Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

We're about to hit 100,000 listens. Seems like a solid number. Thank you for listening and sharing it with your friends. It means a lot to me because this podcast is how I trap people into deep conversations. If you'd like to rate the podcast, which is something you've probably been contemplating, please do.  Recently, I finished the second draft of this strategy book I'm writing and I wanted to read out the first chapter - Fighting Words. There's still work to do but it will give you a sense of the attitude of the book.  There are two main sections to the book. The first half focuses on 24 words that I find strategists and account planners using (or needing to use) in their work (clarity, meaning, truth, impostor, lonewolf, etc). It's surreal philosophy of sorts. I want it to feel like I'm in your head because I'm channeling hundreds - maybe thousands - of conversations, emails, and meetings. The second half of the book is more practical. It compiles frameworks from my "Strategy! The Workout" training sessions, helps you understand how to apply them, while also breaking down what ideas, problems, insights, and strategy statements are.  I want to get "Strategy Is Your Words" onto desks and walls (posters) around the world. There will be a digital version but... I want you to touch this and be able to point to it.  I'm just starting on launch and marketing plans. I'm open to ideas :) Enjoy.  Mark 

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Natalie Burns - Brighton, UK

Annalie Killian - New York, USA

Sheldon Lawrence Tarpey - Birmingham, UK

Jesse Alleva - Alaska, USA

Siddharth Seth - Chicago, USA

Alexandra Suarez - Puerto Rico

Dillon Key - Arkansas, USA

Join 9,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

Rob Schwartz is CEO of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY New York. A big agency brand name, TBWA in New York was a shining star then it faded. When Rob arrived, the culture had been decimated and clients were either leaving or very unhappy. 

In this interview, we discuss the turn-around story. Rob shares with us the business plan he shared with global CEO Troy Ruhanen and he discusses what they discussed before he took the role. He also describes what he focused on in his first few months.

 It's a very candid interview - although I can tell Rob is comfortable in candor. 

You can find TBWA NY here https://tbwachiatdayny.com

Rob is here: https://twitter.com/Schwartzie14

Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

This might surprise some of you but there are experienced marketers out there who really love creativity. Josh Dean is one of them. 

He's been the CMO at S'well (post-plastic bottles and containers), he's CMO'd Tommy John, he had a ten-year stint at Unilever, and he was VP of Brand Communications at Chobani.  

I've sat in meeting rooms with him wondering, "What's he doing here?" I've wondered that because the wrestle with Josh is usually over ideas - to get to better ideas, instead of wrestling a marketer into believing in ideas. And this is what we discuss. 

You can find Josh here https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjoshuadean/

Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Have you ever wanted to ask a recruiter... "Like, come on now, could you tell me what's really going on?" Well, I just did. And - BONUS - Erin Noel who's currently Director of Team Operations at Stink Studios was a strategist for 13 years before doing recruitment so she can speak to both sides.

In this interview, we discuss:
- How to honor yourself in your career
- The 2 most common crossroads in a strategist's career
- The art of compromise
- Getting a job, keeping a job, and career twilights
- Working with recruiters (and specific recruiters Erin recommends)

You can find Erin on LinkedIn.

Related article: Give Me That Strategy Job (Can you passion your way into a job?) https://mailchi.mp/mightyjungle/give-me-that-strategy-job

Video: http://www.sweathead.co
Mark on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard
Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

Ben Shaw is Head of Strategy at BBH London. As an eleven-year veteran of one of the world's best agencies and one of the world's favorite homes to agency strategists, Ben believes that strategy is a creative role and that strategy departments need to contain more people from different backgrounds to be as creative as possible. We discuss both topics, including BBH's year-and-a-half mission to open itself up to people who wouldn't normally get access to an advertising career in London.     

You can find Ben here https://twitter.com/benshaw

BBH's Homegrown program is here https://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/careers/internship-homegrown

Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Philosophy is dope. Sure, some of the books are dense and the words longer than a giraffe, but we all have philosophies and can improve our lives by learning how to debate them with ourselves.

Meet Rob Estreitinho, senior strategist at VCCP in London, and maker of Salmon Theory, a newsletter about the philosophy of strategy.

We discuss:
- Having A Thing - not just a CV
- What philosophy is
- The philosophy of freelancing
- The philosophy of expectations versus reality
- Going full-time

You can find Rob at https://twitter.com/restreitinho
And his beautiful newsletter Salmon Theory at https://tinyletter.com/estreitinho

For the video, visit http://www.sweathead.co

You can find Mark at http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

How do you learn strategy? In this episode we look at 15+ questions from strategists around the world and we discuss deliberate practice, sets, and practice as sanity. Ask questions here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

For more strategy talk:
1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/
2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard
3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard
4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Derek Walker is a creative director turned agency owner. He writes and reflects extensively about the industry and he believes the advertising industry is operating in the face of constant fear. And he believes a big part of this is because agencies haven’t fought hard enough for themselves.

You can find Derek here https://twitter.com/dereklwalker

For more strategy talk:
1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/
2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard
3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard
4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co
The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.