Why strategy can save the agency
Why strategy matters more than any creative department
I was reading the recent great response by
, written in reply to Adam and Gerry’s provocative post ‘Did the Strategic Planner Just Kill the Advertising Agency?’ While she makes many brilliant points — most of which I agree with — I wanted to throw my own perspective into the mix. Simply because it’s an issue I’ve been pondering a lot myself lately.To lay out my own point of view, I think it’s helpful to first go back to the beginning.
How it all started
As many of you will know, strategy was born in the late 1960s in the UK — simultaneously by Stephen King of JWT and Stanley Pollitt of BMP. Interestingly, the birth of planning, despite Adam and Gerry’s misgivings, was intended to make the creative process easier and simpler.
What’s most fascinating, however, is the two very different definitions each arrived at. Stanley Pollitt belonged to the “Ad Tweaker” school — a more tactical, creatively-led approach embedded in the work itself. Stephen King, by contrast, believed planners should be “grand strategists” — high-level thinkers shaping all aspects of a brand, from segmentation to product innovation.
It’s this latter definition which — to be provocative — not only reveals why strategy is now more important than the creative department, but also suggests why it's more willing and able to embrace change.
Why strategy matters more than ever
Change is nothing new — but the pace of change today is unlike anything we’ve experienced before. The long-term cultural and technological shifts are now, in 2025, being deeply felt.
From a world where…
We had a handful of media channels
We had high levels of attention
We engaged with ads
We had a fairly uncomplex world
To a world where…
We have an endless array of media
We have record-low levels of attention
We turn away from ads*
We live in an infinitely more complex world
*65% of people skip an ad as soon as they get a chance to do so
Understanding these shifts reveals why creative departments now matter less. And why strategy matters more.
You only have to look at Adam & Gerry’s post, big agency CCOs and our industry press to see how inward-looking we are. Oh how the creative department loves to pat itself on the back for another long copy ad crafted, or multi-million pound TV ad produced. And whilst there are pockets of brilliant work, let’s be brutally honest with ourselves. Most of it…
Isn’t cutting through in an endless array of media
Isn’t capturing attention
Is getting skipped
Don’t believe me? Then do the only test that really matters. No, not Millward Brown. Not System1. I’m talking about what I call the pub test.
Next time you’re down the pub, ask your mates, your girlfriend, or the barman what ads they’ve liked — or even remembered — recently. You’ll get blank stares. Because when you ask people who don’t work in our industry — who couldn’t care less about Cannes or D&AD — you realise something brutal: almost nothing sticks.
And that’s important. Like, really fucking important.
Why? Because we all know fame is the single biggest proven driver of brand value. And if the general public isn’t remembering your work — let alone liking it, quoting it, or sharing it — then guess what?
Your fame score isn’t great. It’s non-existent.
Stuck in the past
The problem with most old-school creative leaders (and yes, there are some brilliant younger ones coming through) is that they’re stuck in the past. Stuck in a world with a handful of media channels, where the ads were often more entertaining than the shows themselves. Which, let’s be honest, wasn’t hard when you were watching the third re-run of Only Fools & Horses or the local weather report.
What people forget or choose not to remember is how the current creative department even came to be. As any Mad Men viewer will know, the modern creative team was a response to the rise of TV. It was about pairing copywriting with a visual eye, to craft the best telly ads possible.
An agency adapting to the times? God forbid.
But that origin story actually shows us something useful: the creative team was built to meet the moment. And now, that same spirit of adaptation is exactly what we need. Because that original pairing hints at what a better-shaped agency might look like today — one that doesn’t just survive the great Adpocalypse, but actually unlocks bigger, more valuable growth.Why Strategy can save the agency
How strategy can save the agency
I have the unfortunate pleasure of having a few mates who, after uni, made the far wiser decision to go into management consultancy instead of advertising. It’s unfortunate because a small part of me dies every time I hear what they earn (nearly three times what a planner makes at every level). But it’s also a pleasure - because if our industry can get its shit together, it gives me hope.
As a former Droga5 alum, I’ve seen the inner workings of Accenture up close. I’ve also seen the decks consultants at Deloitte and PwC toss around. Want to know the truth? Most of it is painfully unoriginal and utterly devoid of creativity.
Now, this isn’t a hit piece on consultants. They’re the smart ones. They get paid properly. They’ve secured a seat at the boardroom table. They wield real influence. They don’t give strategy away for free in pitches. And they sure as hell don’t spend time worrying about infantilising creatives.
But despite all their wins, they’ve got a weak spot. And in the world we’re heading into, that weakness is about to get even more exposed.
In a world where AI makes anything instantly imitable - and where we’ll eventually have access to the same data, for free, as said consultants - the game is up.
You see, in a world where anything can be copied fast, creative thinking is your last defensible moat. And I’m not talking about the kind of planner creatives love to hate - the frustrated creative type writing bad headlines or half-baked thought starters. I’m talking about the kind of ‘grand strategist’ Stephen King envisioned -someone who steps far beyond the confines of an ad agency.
This isn’t about writing creative briefs or filling out fucking frameworks. It’s about influencing brand strategy at a business level. It’s about identifying new markets for growth, new products to develop, new audiences to reach, and what innovation to pursue.
And it’s about defining a vision, mission, and purpose that can guide the business through all of it.
I’ve seen this future coming for a while, to be honest. It’s the very reason I set up my own strategy-led agency, Defiant. And it’s working. We’re already winning big pitches against the agencies still led by old-school creatives.
Anyway, creative department - it’s past your bedtime.
Time for the grown-ups to take control.
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I appreciated Zoe Scaman's perspective as well. And for strategy to save agencies we have to get back to having a deeper understanding of the consumer. Big data's importance (and I agree that it is important) seems to have come at the expense of qualitative research. In doing so, consumers became percentages versus people. For strategy to be successful, a balance between the two needs to occur.