Being asked to define what you do is usually a pretty loaded question. Most people either cockily spout off an answer that makes them feel like the tits or they fumble, awkwardly, and never really get the first sentence out. The latter I understand happens for two reasons: 

1. You have a confusing job
2. The person you are trying to answer is stupid

Personally, I am asked to define what I do on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes, when the questioner is more informed, I am specifically asked, “what is strategy?”. Sometimes that question has been asked by other strategistsor people I work with. Since strategic thinking can be pretty ambiguous and applied to any endeavor I figured now would be a good time to divulge what I think it is as I was once the person fumbling to answer.

So what is strategy?

The invention and implementation of strategy is widely disputed. There is an incredibly rich and war-influenced history that marks its inception. At a glance, strategy was created by militaries. It was a way for them to organize the chaos of theater and develop advantageous and concise plans that helped fuel victory. Rather than recounting its creation or referencing the pages of Sun Tzu, I figured it best to state my opinion on the application of strategy today. Particularly - strategic thinking in advertising and brand communications, how it happens, and the shape it takes.

I believe strategy is:

• the art and science of options.
• the act of developing a plan of action to accomplish a specific goal. 

In most functions good strategy requires research, consideration for many options and outcomes, and thoughtful audits of strengths and weaknesses. 

If you’re still questioning what the fuck it is i do, then here:

Basically my job is to concisely define an objective (or be given one) then take an inventory of every possible variable that matters. I weigh the pros and cons, ask a shit ton of questions and ultimately make an educated decision on how to best accomplish the defined objective. It’s a weird consortium of research and problem solving.

In real life the best way I can describe it is using a sports example because I’m a jock and when you add pads and competition the equation is simplified.

Imagine you are the head coach of The Philadelphia Eagles. You are playing the Buffalo Bills December 11th.

The game is scheduled for 1PM and is in Buffalo. It will be freezing cold and windy.

As the head coach of The Eagles you have an obvious objective. Win the game. Or more specifically, beat the Buffalo Bills.

You start by being objective and doing your du diligence. You watch film of your team, watch film of the Bills, watch film of your team playing the Bills. You research statistics of the games they’ve played -  particularly the more recent ones and especially any in inclement weather. You internally audit your team, too. You conclude what your strengths and weaknesses are, how those strengths and weaknesses will effect the outcome of the game and how you’ll protect your weaknesses and leverage your strengths. 

After doing all this research you realize a few things.

1. Your team sucks at passing.
2. Their team has awesome corner backs.
3. Your team is decent at running.
4. Their team just lost their star middle linebacker to an injury. A rookie, who has never started before, will be taking his place. 
5. The crowd is going to be loud. Slowing the game down will make them quiet.
6. The weather will make passing difficult.
7. Their offense becomes anxious after sitting awhile. They make mistakes if you keep them out of the game.
8. Your linemen will kick the shit out of their lineman.
9. Their center is playing on a horribly sprained knee.
10. Your team has more stamina then theirs.
11. You get the picture….

After all this research, you consider how the previous 10 realizations will effect the game. They are your insights. From these insights (and a few assumptions) you then decide the most advantageous plan of attack. This plan of attack is your strategy.

So in this case, the strategy is: RUN THE BALL

By RUNNING THE BALL you will take the crowd out of the game, keep possession in cold weather, make their offense play poorly and exploit their biggest defensive weaknesses while leveraging your strongest offensive strengths. 

Now, you go to your offensive and defensive coordinators to get granular. Typically, in my line of work, they are the designers. 

Basically what you’ve done is given your coordinators a sandbox to play in. Every play designed to run the ball is “on strategy”. Plays that don’t run the ball aren’t “on strategy”.

Now the coordinators construct a playbook, or design the ad, website, commercial, etc with some parameters in mind. 

Organizationally speaking, strategy helps everyone get on the same page and move forward cohesively. Objectively speaking, strategy devises a plan for your team to accomplish the defined goal.

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