Nika Worlund (00:00)
I think what's very important to understand for this mindset shift is that actually back in the days, designers did brand strategy and it was only in 1968 where those two practices split. And it was when JWT, which was a huge advertising agency back in the days,
invented account planning,
Nika Worlund (00:22)
Welcome to Design Bigger, the podcast for designers and studios ready to think bigger, design bigger brands and land bigger projects. I'm Nika Worland, an Exbig agency brand strategy director who took her blue chip client expertise and built a freelance career helping independent agencies around the globe. This is the podcast where I share the tricks of the trade for lean design thinking to set you up as a world-class creative talent. As a translator between business and creatives, I'll show you how to speak client, hack top agency frameworks and think like the best studios out there.
If you're ready to design bigger, hit subscribe and let's get started.
Nika Worlund (00:57)
Hello, designers. It's Nika, your host here, your brand strategy mentor for all freelance designers, design studios, creative directors who want to become more strategic. Today, we are talking about...
syndrome. Everyone feels that brand strategy is this scary thing. There's one way of doing it. And because they haven't gone to school and they haven't necessarily been properly taught how to do it, there are a lot of gaps in their mind. They maybe have seen brand guidelines. They have read an article about brand purpose, but there are huge gaps in between.
And that's scary when you go in front of a paid client to say that you do brand strategy and then when the client question your thinking.
and you don't have the answer, that's scary.
So, because I help agencies and designers to establish brand strategy practice that makes sense for them so they can sell this offer.
we talk about imposter syndrome in the first 10 minutes of our conversation. And I thought I'll record an episode on it
Because a mindset shift is really the first step to become a good strategic designer.
I think what's very important to understand for this mindset shift is that actually back in the days, designers did brand strategy and it was only in 1968 where those two practices split. And it was when JWT, which was a huge advertising agency back in the days, has since then merged multiple times and is now like a huge global.
agency, I think it's now Wonderman Thompson, they invented account planning,
and account planning
was actually created to bring the consumer's voice into the creative process, right? That's kind of how they pitched it. It was supposed to bridge the gap between market research and creative teams
because back in the day, the clients didn't necessarily know how to write a creative brief
they would come to the agency with all of this market research, which as you have probably seen is very uninspiring most of the times. And creative teams just didn't know what to do. So it was a very logical solution to create account planning. And then in 1970s and 80s, it spread from the UK to the U S major global agencies picked it up. And then.
In 1990s and 2000s, it actually reached design agencies as well.
And so once consultancies like Wolf All-Ins and Future Brand and Intrabrand appeared,
and they structured their agencies as account planning or brand strategy, design, production, new business, then everybody started doing it this way.
And then what happened that now we know that this is how it's done in a perfect world in a big agency.
But then outside of the big agencies, independent studios, freelance designers feel this imposter syndrome. They feel like they're not brand strategists and so they're not supposed to do brand strategy. And so they avoid it altogether, which only makes things more difficult for them, right? It makes your...
Quotes smaller. It makes it hard to sell ideas you want. It makes it hard to get the clients you want. All of the things we talk about. So, this is the first thing I want you to know. That actually, this split is sort of a new thing. This was the birth of marketing as we know it and branding as we know it. And ultimately, I think this is a very good, effective way to work on a brand.
But if you're a small team, you can do it because that's how it's been done before.
Okay, the second point that I hope you're gonna love and that really will give you this sense of relief is that actually the vast majority of strategists didn't go to school for this, right? Well, firstly, there aren't really schools that teach brand strategy. I have a master's in brand development, which was...
sold to me as brand strategy, I genuinely found the master's degree not very helpful. Everything I know was taught to me on the job.
But
every brand strategist I have ever worked with had a background in something different. A lot of people I know had degrees in English literature or anthropology. You know, the studies that help you speak, articulate your thoughts, research. There were journalists, but they weren't
data analysts, that's not who brand strategists are.
Most data analysts probably ended up at Mintel and Ernst & Young doing business consulting and market research. That's not what brand strategy is. Brand strategy in a design agency or in an advertising agency is much more creative.
You have to be able to read market research documents, but you don't produce them, right?
So, yes, it's not like if you want to sell brand strategy, you need to have a degree in it. You don't. Because most of us don't.
On top of that, I actually was just listening to Jess's branding podcast.
They did an episode with Mark Ritzen and I don't remember the exact quote, but he said that actually only 45 % of clients, like people who manage brands, right? Who give you the creative brief went to school for this. And that's why he's selling his mini MBA, which
is aimed at filling this gap.
But the only way to really learn brand strategy right now is on the job. Unless you go and you find a course that's tailored to it, which there are a few, but not many. I've said, D &AD has one that looked pretty good. And I'm sure Mark Ritson's mini MBA is spectacular. It's just not necessarily tailored for designers. I think it's tailored more for
Marketer is like the client side of it. But the reason why I'm telling you all of this is just to say that just because you didn't go to school doesn't make you a fraud. Just start doing it, reading about it, trying it out, and you will learn on the job like all of us.
Okay, so the third point that I want to convey in order for you to kick your imposter syndrome out of the door is that in a big agency even, when the client gives you a brief and then starts coming for all of these presentations, they don't necessarily know where strategy starts and where creative begins.
And actually one of the most common issues that creative agencies have is when strategy and creative are not linked. That's the big issue. When a strategy department created a strategy And then the design department did their work.
and they put it together in one presentation, but they're not interlinked. They're not speaking to each other.
That's why in the recent years, what I see agencies have been doing is really blurring this line, making sure that strategy works with designers. And when you present an insight, you know, it's kind of supported by a creative thought. then when you're presenting ideas, they are supported by some strategic thinking. So it's really...
interwoven. So when you present to the client, you don't need to do this formal split, like title, part one, brand strategy, you know, and then present brand strategy and then do part two, design.
It is interwoven. And so when you talk about it, when you talk about your brand strategy insights, and when you look at competition and culture, and then kind of start suggesting what it might mean for design, for the tone of voice, that for the client is all one thing, and it's just creative thinking. And so I hope that presenting it this way takes the edge off you, because
For what you know, you're just talking about your creative ideas and where you found them and how they've been affected by what competitors are doing and consumers needs and
for the there is no split.
Okay, and the last point I want to make is about how we deliver and present our work in general. Designers perceive brand strategists as these cold-blooded nerds, I think, and a lot of us do look like that, you know, like shirts and glasses and stuff. we like looking smart, okay? That's okay.
Mainly because we're also inside like a little scared to present to the client sometimes and we just need to beef up our authority through our wardrobe, okay? Guilty, but who's not guilty,
And it looks sometimes that strategists have the answer for everything. And there are these incredibly smart machines who analyze data and know everything about the market and know the right answer.
And that's why I think brand strategy is also seen as this kind of very concrete piece of research that you deliver and it's either right or wrong. And it couldn't be further from the truth. When I present brand strategy, obviously I have a point of view. I have the direction that I want the client to take and that I believe in, but I make it very collaborative, right? In the end of the day, the client knows the business.
and you have only started learning about it a couple of weeks ago. And even though you have a very good understanding of the aesthetics and the consumer and how brands work, you need to work together. So the way I present brand strategy is I always over deliver and under present.
Make sure that everything you put on the page is supported by.
some research or an article.
from a trusted source.
or your personal story and your personal experience if you, for example, the target audience.
So if they ask you, you are ready, right? And your thesis is bulletproof.
But the way you present is very casual, We thought this, a couple of jokes, a couple of personal stories. We found this very interesting. If the client challenges you on something, don't feel offended to change something right on the go. I change my slides as I present all the time. If a client says, I don't think this image really represents what we're trying to achieve, I just delete it.
I pull out another one. What do you think about this one? Yeah, a little better.
If they don't like a certain word, that's not a problem. You delete it, you put another word in. Does this one work better? Yes. Okay, cool. Next slide. So if you make it collaborative, if you make it more casual, then brand strategy is not as scary to share.
So these are my four thoughts that I really wanted to share with all of you. And hopefully understanding that brand strategy and design were in split before 1980s and
knowing that most brand strategists actually don't go to school and learn it on the job by doing just as you are.
and understanding that there's no really a big clear split between brand strategy and creative thinking in big agency design presentations in general. And so you don't need to feel that you are presenting something that's outside of your
job description. And finally, that if you understand that strategists actually not like scary machines and present it in a way that's very casual and personable and over deliver and undersell, all of that should really take the edge off when you.
start presenting brand strategy and start charging more for it, which is the ultimate goal, right? We want you to get out there and get paid for your thinking and deliver better creative, better work.
for your clients.
If you want more practical tips like this, go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. I will be sharing podcast episodes like this so you don't miss one. They're all very short and sweet so you can just listen to it.
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Until next time, go create something big and beautiful and remember the best designers are always strategic.
