Planning for the Best: Denasia Hamilton on The "Art and Science" in Strategy
Denasia is an inquisitive strategist and brand planner who is deeply passionate about consumer behavior, cultural trends, DEI, and storytelling in all forms. She excels in research tool usage and knowledge, data visualisation, and relationship building; constantly digging in deeper to humanise her work. She is committed to cross-team collaboration and thinking strategically to produce creative solutions for brands who want to push culture forward. In the past, she has written communication and brand strategies for brands like NBCUniversal Pictures, Peacock, Target and Best Buy. At MONO, she lends her talents to clients like Thrivent Financial, LIDL and Power Home Remodeling.
LBB> What do you think is the difference between a strategist and a planner? Is there one?
Denasia> The core expectations of strategists and planners are similar: mine qualitative and quantitative research to understand the consumer and culture, craft compelling insights, keep a pulse on culture and report on trends, and ensure that the work meets business goals.
However, the role of strategist and planner can differ in that strategists are often responsible for coming up with the what (big strategic idea or platform) and making sure the work is memorable, whereas planners enforce the how (guardrails), ensuring the work is effective. When the responsibilities are split this way, campaigns rely heavily on both roles working closely together throughout the entirety of its lifecycle.
LBB> And which description do you think suits the way you work best?
Denasia> Thus far in my career, I've always had 'strategist' in my job title, but I’ve learned to be flexible and adapt my skills, approach, and inputs to what the team and work need from me. In my first role at a media agency, I was a communications strategist working on more granular and tactical-focused plans.
In my current role at MONO, I work on brand strategies and developing ways for the brand to scale in significant, impactful and ownable ways. I’m finding that while coming up with big ideas can be fun and fulfilling, I love going beyond that idea – being able to explore and explain how it comes to life and what makes it successful within the context of specific channels and moments.
LBB> We’re used to hearing about the best creative advertising campaigns, but what’s your favourite historic campaign from a strategic perspective? One that you feel demonstrates great strategy?
Denasia> For many reasons, I'm a big fan of Google x the U.S. Black Chamber Inc.'s Black-Owned Friday campaign.
1. It shows Google's commitment to diversity and inclusion by amplifying and supporting Black businesses beyond Black History Month and Juneteenth. By rebranding the popular sales event from Black Friday to Black-owned Friday, Google is not just making a statement but taking a
stand.
2. It’s also not just a regular campaign, it's an ecosystem with multiple touchpoints for both the consumer and business owners. I love that the content and information on the landing page is accessible year-round.
3. It's an enduring campaign, innovating and adding new capabilities year after year.
4. The team was strategic about the talent choice (usually pairing an up-and-coming artist with a music/entertainment legend), wanting to reach and resonate with different generations.
5. The campaign celebrates the many businesses, talents, and marketers who worked on the campaign, giving credit where it's due.
6. All of the tactics are measurable.
7. It can easily flex between being a digital or IRL campaign (or something in between).
All of these moving parts seamlessly work together to bring the very important strategy — make it easier for people to search, shop, and support Black-owned business — to life.
LBB> When you’re turning a business brief into something that can inform an inspiring creative campaign, what do you find the most useful resource to draw on?
Denasia> I often turn to people for inspiration when writing a creative brief — listening, understanding and putting myself in the shoes of others. I've been watching YouTube channels like Jubilee, CUT and Soft White Underbelly, whose goals are to illuminate human experiences since high school and college.
I view their content as well-produced and entertaining focus groups/1:1 interviews. Seeing how vulnerable people get and how others react to those vulnerabilities and truths (in the video or the comments section) is incredibly insightful. The channels have grown rapidly over the years and have a very diverse audience base and casting selection which is great for hearing different perspectives.
I also use social media (TikTok videos, IG, Twitter/X comments, and Reddit threads) to gain insight into culture and consumers. I stay up-to-date with trends and include them in briefs and “inspiration conversations.” They're a great signal of awareness and indicator of human behaviour: what people are paying attention to and choosing to participate in.
LBB> What part of your job/the strategic process do you enjoy the most?
Denasia> I've always been drawn to strategy's "art and science" nature and enjoy using data to write interesting audience profiles, personas, and consumer journeys. Some strategists dread sifting through Excel sheets with hundreds of thousands of data points, but I love the challenge of finding patterns within the numbers and turning them into a comprehensive and compelling view of an audience's lifestyle, behaviours, affinities, and values.
Furthermore, I enjoy leveraging multiple data sources like YouGov, Helixa, and MRI-Simmons to paint a fuller, more nuanced picture of an audience. I'll often have a hunch about a particular audience, and it's satisfying when I can validate those observations with specific data points.
LBB> What strategic maxims, frameworks or principles do you find yourself going back to over and over again? Why are they so useful?
Denasia> The role of a strategist is to interrogate everything (especially the 4Cs), and I find the 5 Whys exercise helpful in quickly moving from an observation to a clear and concise insight. The deeper you dig into the problem, the more interesting and provocative the truths tend to be, which can then translate into more attractive and creative campaigns and solutions.
Also, as an intern, a mentor told me it’s imperative to be a “strategist with conviction,” which has always stuck with me. Internal teams and external stakeholders are always looking for their strategists to have a firm opinion and act/speak with clarity, which leaves no room for indecisiveness, unsureness, or timidness. People tend to lean in, feel energised, and “trust the process” more when strategists present their work confidently and with certainty.
LBB> What sort of creatives do you like to work with? As a strategist, what do you want them to do with the information you give them?
Denasia> I like working with easy-going, flexible, and collaborative creatives — it truly takes teamwork to make the dream work. It’s also really helpful when the creatives can apply a strategic lens to their work, grounding their ideas in the business goals and audience needs. Another plus is when creatives understand media and can anticipate how the work will show up across, and be interacted with, in different mediums/channels.
As a strategist, I want creatives to feel like I’ve given them direction and have identified viable, exciting white spaces for them to play in. Ideally, they then create work that transcends the brief while keeping the most important parts identifiable. I encourage them to question or challenge me if they need more inspiration or guidance along the way.
LBB> There’s a negative stereotype about strategy being used to validate creative ideas, rather than as a resource to inform them and make sure they’re effective. How do you make sure the agency gets this the right way round?
Denasia> We start strategic thinking very early on at MONO, with or without a complete marketing brief from clients. This early strategic thinking and research can sometimes manifest into a “get smart” deck that informs the team at a high level what the task, situation, and intended results are before we officially kick-off the full strategic immersion and begin building out the strategic brief/framework.
When working against very short timelines, strategists will come up with a quick brief or present the “get smart” deck, and then build out the strategy in parallel to the creative development.
The key to getting this the right way round is proactiveness and clear communication on behalf of the strategist – making sure the creatives are looped in and have access to resources from the very beginning of the workstream.
LBB> What have you found to be the most important consideration in recruiting and nurturing strategic talent?
Denasia> When it comes to nurturing strategic talent, it’s important to bring them into the room so that they have exposure to the “magic” (aka process and thinking). It’s valuable for them to hear feedback and learn how to navigate constructive conversations with clients or the team. Also, I’ve found that many strategists learn best by doing, so give them opportunities (and grace) to explore their style and voice.
LBB> In recent years it seems like effectiveness awards have grown in prestige and agencies have paid more attention to them. How do you think this has impacted on how strategists work and the way they are perceived?
Denasia> This is a good question since effectiveness is top of mind for everyone right now and is a huge priority for many, if not all, of the clients I’ve worked with.
In short, measuring the effectiveness of campaigns is good for holding strategists accountable in ensuring the work is driving business results and isn’t just entertaining or leaning too heavily into the “art” side of things. Winning awards is nice, but I would caution agencies and clients in assigning value to strategy (or strategists) based on these effectiveness awards alone. We all know that the awarding process can be subjective and competitive.
LBB> Do you have any frustrations with planning/strategy as a discipline?
Denasia> Given the nature of strategy with busy timelines and typically smaller teams, it’s normal and expected for strategists to work in isolation. While some strategists prefer that way of working, I like to workshop my strategic thinking with other people (creatives/strategists/account planners, sometimes non-advertising people) to get out of my head, get early reactions, hear other POVs, and make sure my ideas and thought process tracks.
I find it to be an easier, efficient, and more enjoyable experience to collaborate instead of doing a hand-off, where things can get lost in translation.
Also, as a discipline, we need to celebrate strategists at all levels more for their contribution to the work. Period.
LBB> What advice would you give to anyone considering a career as a strategist/planner?
1. Do it! You won’t know if you like it unless you give it a try. Even if it ends up not being how you want to spend your time, there’s a lot of transferable skills you’ll learn and can apply elsewhere.
2. Trust your intuition, but also check your biases and know that you’re creating beyond yourself. You’re the consumer or client’s voice when they’re not in the room.
3. Ask questions, and don’t be afraid to challenge things (ways of working, existing frameworks, creative ideas, etc.). Be open and prepared to be questioned and challenged, too.
4. Ask for help when needed! It can be intimidating, given the stereotypes of strategists as “lone wolves” and the “smartest person in the room,” but I firmly believe that more strategic minds are better than one. Having a sounding board is helpful for validating or pushing your ideas further.
5. Identify “your people” or people whose work and brain you admire early on and try to foster a genuine, trusting relationship with them. I’ve been very fortunate to have great mentor-mentee relationships with more senior-level strategists and the amount I’ve grown (personally & professionally) since starting my career three years ago is more than I could’ve ever anticipated.
6. As culture shifts and tech advances, so does strategy as a discipline. Explore different types of strategy (media, brand, comms, content, etc.) and find what interests and works best for you. Going off of point 6, know that it’s perfectly okay to start out as a generalist and then become a specialist (or vice versa). For example, someone might start off as a brand strategist and then decide they want to focus on a specific lane within brand strategy like partnerships, activations, or influencer marketing. Your path doesn’t have to be linear or traditional.
