Recruiting for Strategists can be difficult, rarely is it as simple as posting an advert and finding the right person who has worked on the right projects, for the right business with the right clients with all the information clearly listed on their CV. It usually requires a conversation to really understand what projects someone has worked on to find the right alignment.
But Strategists roles attract talented professionals from a variety backgrounds, the work is interesting and fulfilling and we find a number of professionals reach out to us who are keen to build their careers in this area, but don’t match the brief provided to us for our search.
So we spoke with a number of professionals to find out how they started their strategy career, what they feel are the fundamental competencies a strategist should possess and their recommendations for anyone looking to build their career in strategy.
Ally Waring, Strategy Director, BBH
Ally kickstarted her career working as an international journalist in areas such as Russia and Colombia. Upon returning to London, Ally completed internships covering Account Management and Strategy, including at VCCP where she took part in the Ad School bootcamp which provided her with hands-on experience in writing strategies and applying business use cases.
Although she began her advertising career as an Account Executive, she soon moved into a hybrid Account Management and Strategist role before joining another business within a pure strategy position.
This experience gave her lots of exposure to Below-The-Line (BTL) campaigns working on a range of different projects. Since then, she has worked at a range of different agencies, some focused on Above-The-Line (ATL) and more recently working on a range of integrated campaigns.
As well as working as a Strategist, she is a University Lecturer on Advertising and plays an integral role in helping junior professionals to start their careers within strategy.
Core Competencies for a Career in Strategy
Humility: Know why you want to enter strategy and at what level you operate. Explore early talent programs to build foundational skills and knowledge or explore working in SMEs where you are exposed to more and understand marketing in business planning.
Curiosity: Ask questions and delve deeper to understand business challenges and how marketing can resolve them.
Critical thinking: Analyze facts to create an unbiased opinion.
Openness to learning: Constantly learn and take on new ideas.
Find the link between Theory and Practice: Understand how conceptual thinking is applied in the real world and assess its success.
When it comes to strategy, Ally emphasizes asking critical questions. Whether you are sitting on the tube train or a bus, look around at the adverts and consider:
“Who is the audience?”
“What is the problem?”
“How are they addressing the problem?”
These questions help formulate opinions, build critical thinking, and develop a passion for the industry. She also recommends taking pictures of campaigns and beginning to analyse them critically. These are talking points in interviews that demonstrate both your passion and knowledge of the industry and show how you stay up to date with industry trends.
Ally is open to hiring different types of strategists. The key is their ability to demonstrate or acknowledge how their lateral experience aligns with the role. Personalizing their application through a tailored portfolio can be advantageous, but she really wants to see their passion and knowledge of the industry.
Ally also recommends anyone looking to start a career in Strategy to explore platforms like group-think.co.uk, a community for strategists. It allows people to build foundational knowledge, facilitate discussions on various strategic approaches, network, and access free training sessions on topics such as pitch writing, approaching strategy, and more.
Daniel Deeks-Osburn, Head of Strategy, Mischief
Daniel kickstarted his career in journalism in NYC. He initially came to the UK for 6 months but ended up staying on, studying an MA when the economy hit the ropes in 2008.
Initially he thought to pursue a career in the publishing and media industry, as it was naturally aligned to his journalism experience. During this time Apple launched the iPad and Daniel noted how screens were changing people's behaviours and reading habits were evolving. At this time, he was encouraged to explore opportunities with Advertising Agencies, which hadn’t been on his radar prior.
He worked at Grey during a creative renaissance. As a new business exec, he had exposure to the leadership. In his own words, his only useful new business skill was compiling and writing case studies, which exposed him to strategists and set his sights on joining them.
Although he wanted to actively pursue a career in strategy, it wasn’t as simple as applying and moving across. Daniel actively began to socialise more with strategists, understand how they communicated, what drove them and built an understanding of what made a good strategist.
Daniel eventually secured his first strategy role just over 10 years ago and has since built his career working for different Advertising, Branding, Creative and PR Agencies, and in order to make his move he needed to build the foundational knowledge to get his foot on the ladder, then embrace a range of challenges to allow him to develop a wide and varied skillset.
Fundamental Skills of a Strategist
Daniel emphasises several core skills essential for a successful strategist:
Analytical Thinking: The ability to dissect information and derive insights is crucial.
Communication: Clear and persuasive communication, both written and verbal, is key.
Creativity: Innovative thinking helps in developing unique strategies.
Research Proficiency: Being adept at gathering and interpreting data from various sources.
Collaboration: Working well with diverse teams to bring ideas to fruition.
“Strategy is not about selling in a diagram; it’s about solving a problem.” Daniel feels at times people may have the wrong perception of what a strategist does or how to actually approach strategy.
When hiring for a strategist he is looking for someone who listens to the challenges a client faces and really understands the core problem, compose their thoughts and present them in a compelling way.
“You can train skills, but you can’t train taste.” People’s tastes differ, but in order to be a good strategist you need to have an opinion that you can articulate to others with influence, even if it may be contradictory. It also needs a well-reasoned take.
If someone from an in-house role who is looking to move into strategy, Daniel advises they should show a holistic view of understanding a business’s challenge and how they helped to resolve them. They should reflect on their process of identify problems, how they went about resolving them and what was the outcomes, not only in resolving the issue but the overall impact this had for the business in other areas too.
From people from Account Management roles, Daniel advises that they need to demonstrate how they help client resolve issues and challenges, not just getting work signed off, their approach to strategy and beneficial outcomes they’ve delivered to clients.
If a Media strategists wanted to move in to Brand strategy, they can contribute to campaign effectiveness and planning, but they must demonstrate they can work at the front end of a campaign with a creative idea.
Anyone considering moving in to strategy should have the ability to work with research teams, brief them, and delve deeper into findings.
When evaluating individuals aiming to build a career in strategy, Daniel looks for:
Curiosity: A natural inclination to ask questions and seek deeper understanding. At times this can be to challenge preconceived notions or even what clients have presented.
Resilience: The ability to handle setbacks and stay motivated.
Adaptability: Being flexible and open to change in a dynamic environment.
Empathy: Understanding and considering different perspectives.
Strategic Vision: The capability to see the bigger picture and long-term goals.
Daniel is open to hiring people from other areas or industries, as they can bring dynamic and effective ideas from another perspective, but they need to demonstrate the right aptitude and inclination to work in this area.
Tom Langan, Strategy Director, The&Partnership
Tom fell into strategy, growing up in the world of social media and content marketing. Starting as the youngest member of his team, he was given ownership of social media, handling operations, creative output, and new business. This role made him a generalist by nature, involving creativity, strategy, research, design, copywriting, and community management. Tom's broader outlook and holistic view have helped him excel as a strategist.
Tom's approach is driven by natural curiosity rather than a scientific method. He believes, as Mark Pollard describes, that a strategist is someone with an informed opinion on how to win. The key is to understand how this opinion is informed and why it matters, and to articulate this convincingly. Tom emphasizes the importance of cutting through the noise to find ideas that stand out and excite clients.
Fundamental Skills of a Strategist
Natural Curiosity: At the heart of being a strategist is a deep-seated curiosity about the world and how things work. This drives the quest for informed opinions and innovative solutions.
Holistic Perspective: A good strategist must have a broad outlook, capable of seeing the bigger picture and integrating various elements seamlessly.
Storytelling Ability: Crafting compelling stories that draw people in is essential, particularly in social media, where consumer control over content is high.
Communication Skills: Being able to articulate ideas convincingly and get clients excited about those ideas is key. This involves selling the idea and its value effectively.
Critical Thinking: Strategists need to be the smartest in the room—bright, ambitious, and driven to change the status quo, not just follow it.
For someone looking to move into Strategy, Tom wants to see a unique personal profile that showcases original thinking and highlights natural curiosity about the industry and broader world. He looks for candidates with a unique perspective and varied viewpoints rather than those with a narrow focus.
It's crucial to embrace natural curiosity, as the role is less about finding the correct answer and more about discovering the brilliant one.
A Strategist should develop a broad outlook and holistic view that will enable you to see the bigger picture and connect various elements of a campaign, so try to build diverse experiences and viewpoints that will enrich your strategic thinking, providing a wider array of perspectives to draw from. Additionally, being able to articulate why your opinion matters and getting clients excited about your ideas is essential. This ability to sell your ideas convincingly can set you apart and make your strategies more impactful.
Navigating the noise to find ideas that stand out is another key skill. With so much information available, a good strategist must be able to sift through the clutter to identify valuable insights. Being ambitious and curious can drive you to push boundaries and continuously improve.
Finally, being self-aware of your knowledge gaps and striving to understand broader challenges will help you grow and adapt in the ever-evolving field of strategy.
Tom is open to considering people moving across from other areas. Although he sees a divide between Media and Creative strategy, he feels the gap is narrowing and the future will require more holistic strategists.
Throughout his own career he constantly took on additional responsibilities, and tried to learn more, taking a leap into the unknown at times and feels this has given the rounded experience to take on broader roles now.
He looks for people who are aware of the gaps in their experience, but work towards overcoming this. He wants to see people who are ambitious in their approach, and want to have an effect or the wider world or society. His own ambition is to overhear people speaking about one of his campaigns in a pub, knowing that his work has transcended the marketing world, and feels people similar ambitions will want to push boundaries are who he would look for. The types of people with the ambition to work on exceptional campaigns.
Charlie Elliot, Freelance Strategy Director
Charlie began her career in strategy over 13 years ago as a Social Media and Community Manager at a media agency. Her role involved filming, editing video production, and event management, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of various roles and teams. As she worked closely with TV and radio partnerships, she gained valuable insights into advertising, including early programmatic buying and ad placements.
At a time when Instagram became available on Android and blogging surged in popularity, Charlie initiated the first influencer campaigns at her employer. The success of these campaigns led to her secondment to the Australian office to continue pioneering influencer campaigns as a new service offering.
Since then, she has worked in-house for advertising, influencer, and PR agencies, as well as a publisher. She’s built teams, managed P&Ls, and worked on a variety of projects.
She also took time to complete a marketing diploma and continued to learn and develop throughout her career.
Fundamental Skills of a Strategist
Platform Knowledge: A strong understanding of different platforms, their uses, capabilities, and how they fit into the broader media landscape.
Insight vs. Observation: The ability to distinguish between mere observations and actionable insights is crucial for developing effective strategies.
Objectives and KPIs: Clear understanding of client objectives and key performance indicators to guide creative and strategic direction.
Inquisitive Nature: The ability to dissect briefs, ask probing questions, and serve as a bridge between objectives and creative execution.
Curiosity and Openness: A keen interest in algorithms, trends, and inspiration from diverse sources beyond one's immediate areas of interest.
Charlie values diverse experiences and backgrounds in potential strategists. Junior strategists need time to develop through coaching and practical application. She believes in hiring individuals who have started their careers in various roles such as community managers or ad account executives, as they bring unique perspectives and valuable skills to the strategy team.
To build a successful career in strategy, Charlie emphasizes the importance of developing a broad skill set. Gaining experience in various roles within media, PR, advertising, and influencer strategy is essential to understanding the full scope of strategic work. This varied experience not only provides a comprehensive view of the industry but also equips aspiring strategists with the necessary tools to adapt to different challenges and opportunities that may arise.
“Start with your gut instinct – then spin off in a weird direction then bring it back and prove it.”
Curiosity is another crucial trait for aspiring strategists. Always ask questions, seek new insights, and be open to inspiration from different sources. This constant quest for knowledge and understanding allows strategists to stay ahead of industry trends and develop innovative solutions that can set their campaigns apart.
Learn the difference between an observation and insight. Charlie gives the great example: “Ladies' handbags have got bigger over the past 20 years.” This is an observation. “As mobile phones have got bigger and ladies' pockets have remained the same, handbags have to get bigger.” This is an insight. Show the rationale behind your thoughts.
Also, show you know how to connect with audiences and question what impacts the behaviour of audiences and customers.
For social media-focused roles, an understanding of different social media platforms and their unique capabilities is vital for effectively leveraging them in campaigns. Each platform offers distinct features and reaches different audiences, so knowing how to use these platforms to their fullest potential can greatly impact the success of a strategy. This knowledge enables strategists to craft tailored approaches that resonate with specific target audiences.
Finally, Charlie believes in embracing diverse experiences and perspectives within a strategy team. Diverse backgrounds bring unique viewpoints and ideas, fostering a creative and innovative environment. This inclusivity not only enhances the quality of strategic planning but also ensures that strategies are well-rounded and consider multiple facets of the market and audience. Embracing this diversity and allowing for inspiration from multiple areas can lead to more dynamic and successful strategies, making it a critical takeaway for anyone looking to build a career in strategy.
Charlotte Mulley, Head of Strategy, MullenLowe London
Charlotte's journey into strategy began in account management at Iris, where it was a startup environment where everyone wore multiple hats, giving her an introduction to strategy and the role of a strategist. As the accounts grew, she gained exposure to more areas and began to learn more about the role of Planners in advertising agencies. She actively decided to pursue a career in this area.
She moved across to TBWA, taking a step down into a planner role to deepen her understanding of what a strategist does, how to really understand brand challenges, and create strategic frameworks to support clients in solving problems.
Since then, she has worked in a broad range of agencies of different sizes and with different focuses. This diverse background has given her a holistic view of strategy and its application across various domains.
Core Competencies for a Career in Strategy
Big Thinking and Problem Solving: A strategist needs a foundation of big thinking to tackle brand challenges and develop comprehensive solutions. This involves understanding the broader context of the brand and its market environment and being able to devise strategies that address complex issues.
Adaptability and Application: The ability to apply strategic thinking in a nimble and flexible way across different agencies and contexts is crucial. Strategists must adapt their approach based on the unique needs of each situation and be able to leverage their experience in various domains such as content strategy, brand strategy, and integrated campaigns.
Curiosity and Continuous Learning: Being inherently curious about culture, brands, and people is essential. A good strategist is always learning, reading, and thinking critically. This continuous pursuit of knowledge helps them stay inspired and turn insights into actionable ideas.
Effective Communication and Clarity of Thought: Strategists must be able to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. This includes writing well, structuring presentations, and articulating thoughts in a way that is easy for others to understand. Clarity of thought is key to conveying strategic concepts convincingly.
Empathy and Relationship Building: Understanding and empathizing with the audience, clients, and creative teams is fundamental. Building strong relationships, earning trust, and adding value to collaborations are vital for successful strategy implementation. A strategist must work well with others, integrating different perspectives to achieve the best outcomes.
Charlotte believes that gaining diverse experiences is invaluable. She notes that some agencies are "open church," meaning they embrace people from various backgrounds, nurturing them into brilliant thinkers. However, other, typically more traditional, agencies might struggle with this adaptability.
A strategist should love to read and learn about an array of subjects and excel in communication both in writing and presenting ideas. Clear articulation of thoughts and structured presentations are vital skills. Moreover, balancing analytical thinking with creativity is essential. Successful strategists can integrate left-brain analytical skills with right-brain creativity to develop and communicate innovative ideas.
Charlotte stresses that although being literate is integral to the role of a strategist, possessing a degree isn’t.
Aspiring strategists should look for opportunities to work in environments where they can wear multiple hats and gain a broad understanding of different aspects of the business. Embrace a squiggly career and try things rather than focusing on a corporate ladder. Charlotte's journey began as an Account Manager, which sparked her interest in strategy and planning.
“Be empathetic.” Strategists must be curious about culture, brands, and people. This curiosity drives the ability to understand and empathize with the target audience, which is crucial for developing effective strategies.
Charlotte is open to hiring strategists from various backgrounds, valuing the unique perspectives they bring. She believes in developing juniors through coaching and practical experience. Self-starters who demonstrate their passion through projects are particularly appealing to her, and anyone aspiring to become a strategist should look to build a strong network. She highlights the importance of apprenticeships and junior roles as effective entry routes into the strategy domain.
“What makes a strategist unique or someone the perfect fit for strategy is to be able to bring together critical and conceptual thinking to create strategies that are built from truth but exist in the art of the possible.”
Charlotte’s journey underscores the importance of curiosity, holistic thinking, effective communication, and diverse experiences in building a successful career in strategy. By embracing these principles, professionals can navigate the path to strategy with confidence and purpose.
Alastair Green, Chief Strategy Officer, Accenture Song
Alistair Green's career journey is a testament to the value of diverse experiences and unconventional paths for building a career within strategy. Working as a Stylist before starting at BBH in 1999, he was an untraditional hire from the fashion world, brought in to work on Levi’s rebranding and product launches. His work on this flagship account not only won awards but also highlighted his knack for blending fashion insight with branding and advertising.
Whilst searching for his next move, Alistair disconnected with traditional ad agencies, and transitioned to the media side at Mindshare in 2009. Here, he embraced the birth of social media, focusing on building brands and audiences by understanding new behaviours on emerging platforms. His role extended beyond planning and buying to educating clients on media utilisation and best practices. This could also be considered an unconventional move at the time.
Seeking creativity, Alister moved to a luxury fashion agency, before joining Grey, returning to the creative agency space to work on fine fragrances.
After he Grey, he has consulted with multiple businesses ranging from agency, consultancies and in-house teams, working across industries but predominantly with more luxury brands.
Fundamental Skills of a Strategist
Alistair Green emphasises five fundamental skills for strategists:
Curiosity – Alistair has always been curious about people and culture, more than even products or brands. He was fascinated by what influenced and drove behaviours and why. To be a successful strategist you need to be curious about people.
Left Brain and Right Brain Combination: A strategist should be rational, analytical and logical, but it needs to be blended with creativity and Blue Sky thinking and doing things that haven’t been done before. To many strategists focus on the planning part, but the creative element is integral to the role.
“It’s about finding something to say, then figuring out how to say it in an interesting way.”
Embracing Change: The human condition means we’re naturally adverse to change. However, when Alistair reflects on the level of change in the industry from when he began in 1999 to now in 2024, there has been a continuous flux, human cultures and behaviours have evolved beyond what he could’ve imagined. in 1999.
Interested in the new or next generation: With trends and behaviours constantly changing, younger generations generally indicate the future of marketing, what channels are rising and how audiences are behaving. Spending time with younger people can be enriching, understanding their perspectives and why they see the world differently helps to build better plans going forward.
Don’t take things personally: As a strategist you put a lot of yourself into your work. Your ideas and concepts contain an element of yourself, so when it receives criticism or isn’t met with excitement or enthusiasm it can feel like a personal attack. “Yes, there’s an audience, and yes there’s a brand, and yes this is how culture behaves, but even with all that research the strategy is ultimately based on your personal take of the factors”. Be okay with your idea being rejected and find ways to improve it.
Alistair recommends anyone moving into strategy to find commonalities between what they’re currently doing with that of a strategist, and to make strengths out of weaknesses. He has witnessed people from Account Management people making the move and doing extremely well, they knew how the businesses work, how the advertising industry works and what a strategist does within the agency. They leant into this aspect of their roles and built the right breadth of experience to move across.
“You need to demonstrate you have a strong enough strategic foundation to become a strategist, and the other skills can be learned on the job.”
Alistair was a stylist, and although he understood brands, branding, marketing and art direction, ultimately, he wasn’t an experience strategist. However, he was recommended for a Senior Planner role at a lauded agency, to work on a flagship account for a role he hadn’t done before. He took the time to really understand what planners and strategist do and during interviews he provided perspectives and answers to what he could do but didn’t present himself as knowing more than what he did. Being inauthentic can easily be spotted.
So, if you’re looking to move really understand what you do and where it overlaps with the role of a strategist.
He would still consider hiring from other areas as long as they could showcase they had enough of the right skills, experience and attributes to become a strategist. Yet they should have a self-awareness of what areas they’re lacking.
If you lack certain skills or experience, then it comes down to you to demonstrate that you have ability to move across. Find ways to compensate for the short-comings, improve your CV, create a portfolio, take a course – none of this guarantees you’ll get a strategy job but it evidences why you should be considered for a role. Take an interest in the industry, what brands are doing well and why. Form a view of the world, consider campaigns or different ways brands communicate and assess it through a strategic lens, what makes a strategy strong or weak, or why do some messages miss the mark and others don’t.
Alistair entered the industry without experience with no guarantees that he would succeed, and 25 years later he is working at the highest of levels across the world’s most enviable brands.
Conclusion
Embarking on a career in strategy or transitioning from another role can be a fulfilling journey if approached with the right mindset and skills. Each strategist's path shared here underscores the importance of curiosity, critical thinking, effective communication, and a broad, holistic view of the industry.
Curiosity and Continuous Learning: Embrace a mindset of constant learning and stay curious about various aspects of the industry and beyond.
Adaptability and Diverse Experiences: Gain experience in different roles and be adaptable in applying your skills across various domains.
Effective Communication and Empathy: Communicate your ideas clearly and effectively, and build strong relationships through empathy and understanding.
Critical and Analytical Thinking: Develop the ability to think critically and analytically, distinguishing between observations and actionable insights.
Left Brained & Right Brained: To be embark on a successful career as a strategist, you require a creative spark to work in tangent with your analytical approach. Packaging disparate concepts together to create a cohesive message that will resonate with audiences.
For those looking to break into strategy, leveraging internships, entry-level roles, and specialised training programs can provide a strong foundation. Additionally, building a unique personal profile and a broad skill set will help you stand out. Engage with professional communities, network with industry professionals, and continuously seek opportunities for growth and development.
By following these guidelines and drawing inspiration from experienced strategists, you can successfully navigate your career in strategy, making a meaningful impact on the industry and the clients you serve.
Here at Solis we work with Strategist of all levels, and have experience partnering with branding, digital, creative and integrated agencies. Find out more about how we support agencies hiring top professionals here.
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