As the advertising industry evolves—how is strategy evolving along with it? We interviewed 550+ senior strategists around the world to get an inside look at their challenges and opportunities during a time of fierce competition. Get the sample report: http://bit.ly/2BgdzqU.

1. The Future of Strategy 2018
Where strategy is –
and where it’s headed
Strategy teams and
influence growing
Planners and strategists are gaining influence both
within agencies and among clients. Despite this
optimism, planners’ skills are not always applied
effectively, largely due to the pace of change and a
client focus on tech rather than sustainable strategy.
“Right now I believe everybody’s
excited about strategy. Clients
want us in meetings. Client service
departments want us on every brief.
Creatives appreciate our input. But
our departments remain too small
for the amount of work everybody’s
throwing at us.”
Faster and cheaper,
but not smarter
Most planners believe that client-side budget cuts
are impacting strategy teams, from short-term
thinking to lack of training − putting the ‘craft skills’
of strategy under threat.
TREND 1 TREND 2
As the advertising industry evolves – how is strategy evolving along with it?
We interviewed 550+ senior strategists around the world to get an inside look
at their challenges and opportunities during a time of fierce competition.
of strategists agree they spend too much time at their
desks and not enough time out in the ‘real world’
75%Senior Strategic Planner, Romania
“‘Faster. Cheaper. Smarter.
Pick two.’ I fear today’s marketer is
getting comfortable with fast and
cheap at the expense of smart.”
Head of Planning, Canadaof planners expect their
teams to expand in the
next 12 months
56%
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More competition
More and more, consultancies, tech and media firms, and in-house
client teams are offering strategy services. That means greater
competition for agency planning teams, but it may also mean more
varied career opportunities for individual planners.
“Consultancies are not our biggest competition
– in-house client teams are, even though they
lack the skills and experience to deliver the same
quality of product.”
Upstream vs downstream remains
crucial divide
Planners’ desire to be a ‘Grand Strategist’ is at odds with the reality of
their day-to-day spent on tweaking over strategizing. That said, many
believe that a link between strategy and execution remains vital.
“Agencies need to get over
their view of ‘big picture’
planning as just being
about a ‘big idea’. The
lack of clarity over actual
application of these terms
is important in providing
an honest and transparent
understanding on both
agency and client.” of planners say moving
their role upstream is
one of their biggest
opportunities
Chief Strategy Officer, UK
Strategy and Planning Director, US
CONTRIBUTING
EXPERTS
Ben Shaw
Head of Strategy,
BBH London
Ian Edwards
Planning Director,
Facebook, UK
Paula Bloodworth
Brand Strategy Director,
Wieden + Kennedy,
London
Shekhar Deshpande
Global Planning Director &
Strategy Consulting Director,
J Walter Thompson
Adrian Ho
Founding Partner,
Zeus Jones
Rob Campbell
Chief Strategy Officer,
Deutsch
Frank Reitgassl
Director of Brand Strategy
& Creative, Mondelēz,
Switzerland
Caitriona Henry
Group Global Strategy
Director, PHD
Dan Burdett
Chief Marketing Innovation
Officer, EMEA, eBay
Leo Rayman
Chief Executive Officer,
Grey London
TREND 3
TREND 4
44%
71% of digital agencies
55% of creative agencies
Feel the
consultancy
threat