I'm a New-York based independent strategist.
I have worked for great companies over the years, but a couple of years ago I decided to go independent.
Why?
Our industry is going through an exhilarating, shift. The ground is shifting under our feet. Old rules no longer apply.
I figured the best way understand these changes is to jump right in. To speed-learn, to steal, to invent and to take risks, alongside fearless, curious people - and to have enough time left over to experiment with life itself - to make stuff, volunteer, learn new skills.
Fast forward to right now. I am still learning something new every single day. And I want to bring this learning, these new ideas and this passion to as many brands, people and projects as anyone will let me.
Recent co-conspirators
Droga5, co:collective, Project: WorldWide, BBDO, Publicis, Redscout, Headmint, cooke & co, Trollback, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Special Forces NY, Vice/Virtue and a few secret projects.
The kinds of projects I love
On almost every single project I've worked on recently the solution to the problem was not advertising. The solution was a product, or a tool, or an action, or an idea the whole brand or organization could own. Increasingly this is how brands and agencies are thinking, and these are the kinds of ideas I am most attracted to.
Tough cases: brands down on their luck or facing big challenges; when more of the same is no longer working.
Anything playing in a supposed 'low interest' category, born from the firm belief that any category can and should be interesting.
Brands that are appreciated by their audiences but don't know how to tap into broader cultural changes and opportunities.
What I’m good at
Defining a brand's cause, its fight, its stance, its story. And I strongly believe that this should not be rooted not just in a category opportunity, but in the brand's role in people's lives and in culture at large.
Finding the big idea, fast. I distrust insights that need six weeks of research to get uncovered.
Tracking down interesting stories within big piles of boring data and information.
Using human language to evoke human truths - I hate marketing jargon and business-speak.
What gives me no joy
Large teams where everyone has a say. I go quiet in rooms with 20 people talking over each other. Maybe because I grew up in a large family?
Standard brand templates, with their endless tweaking of words. Trying to decide between 'refresh your life, every day' or 'refreshing vitality, daily'. We've all been in those meetings ... I have found that large brand documents that ladder up to very broad 'higher order benefits' often become the enemy of doing something bold and interesting.
All-day meetings. Does anyone enjoy them?