Planning for the Best: You Won’t Find Greg Andersen Bragging about a Deck at a Cocktail Party
Greg is probably the only advertising executive in America who has been on both the stages of Cannes Lions and the Nebraska State Duck Calling Contest (sadly, a second-place finish). A Nebraska native, after 26 years at some of the world’s top agencies in New York City and Los Angeles, Greg returned home to help write the next chapter of Bailey Lauerman and sharpen the agency’s expertise around The Everything In-BetweenTM. A strategist by trade, Greg challenges the agency to dig deeper and bring forward a complex understanding of America between the coasts.
Prior to BL, he served as both president of RAPP US and managing director of RAPP Los Angeles. Before that, Greg was CEO of BBH US, where the agency earned 4A’s Midsize Agency of the Year five out of the seven years of his tenure there. Greg also served on the global board of Effie Worldwide for 11 years. Greg spent his early career in account management and strategic planning at DeVito/Verdi, Euro RSCG, Merkley+Partners and Lowe Worldwide. His client experience ranges from Bosch Automotive, GMC Trucks and Saab to Google, Axe Men’s Grooming Products, Miller Lite, Foster’s Lager and Johnnie Walker.
LBB> What do you think is the difference between a strategist and a planner? Is there one?
Greg> The labels are both the same and different. As vernacular they tend to be used interchangeably inside agencies, but practitioners can be better at one than another. A good strategist is creating upstream value for clients outside of the product of advertising. A good planner is in it with the creative teams, helping make the work better and weaving insight and ideas together across agency disciplines.
LBB> And which description do you think suits the way you work best?
Greg> One of the things I love about being at an indie shop like BL is that I get to be a practitioner again. In addition to my job as CEO, I’m also the head of strategy. In that role I often operate as a strategist with clients. Inside the agency, I’m a planner engaged in the work. I’ve never bragged about a deck I wrote at a cocktail party, but I have talked about great work I’ve been a part of.
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?
Greg> I’ve spent the majority of my career at what are seen as creatively driven agencies. But the reality of those agencies is that they also have a really strong planning culture. In those places I learned that writing a great brief is the first act of creativity in the process. Boring brief…boring work. Interesting brief…interesting work. There are so many historic campaigns underpinned by great strategy. Johnnie Walker’s ‘Keep Walking’ campaign was built on the idea that the journey was more motivating to driven professionals than the destination. When Axe launched, they didn’t sell physical product efficacy; they sold confidence to young guys entering the ‘mating game’. I think the recent work BL has done for Bosch Tools is a really compelling departure from the category, focusing on benefits to the user instead of just the power or durability of the tool.
LBB> When you’re turning a business brief into something that can inform an inspiring creative campaign, do you find the most useful resource to draw on?
Greg> I think the most useful resource great planners have is relentless curiosity. With that, they explore the entirety of the world a brand exists in.
LBB> What part of your job/the strategic process do you enjoy the most?
Greg> Seeing for the first time what you know is going to be a great idea. It may not be there yet, but you know that’s the one.
LBB> What strategic maxims, frameworks or principles do you find yourself going back to over and over again? Why are they so useful?
Greg> I hate strategic frameworks and preestablished “proprietary” processes. I think they make for lazy, fill-in-the-box behaviour. I was very fortunate to spend a number of years at BBH. The thing I keep going back to is something John Hegarty said. These aren’t the words, but the gist is that he knows he is working from a great brief when he can put the strategy line up on a board and know that’s the bar to beat.
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?
Greg> The best creative-plus-planner dynamic is one where, as a strategist, you’re seen as part of the creative team and welcomed into the messy parts of the process. Those relationships are built through time, trust and a shared sense of purpose. Demonstrating that you care about great work as much as they do. You don’t ever get there by just giving creatives information. I want to give them inspiration. I want to help them see the potential of their idea and have confidence in it.
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?
Greg> At BL we don’t let research write strategy for us. As a strategy team we are idea-led. That sort of goes back to the idea that writing a great brief is the first act of creativity. We use research as one of many inputs into our thinking. And once we have the work, we’ll use research to give us a diagnostic understanding of what is working and what isn’t—not to validate an idea and make the decision for us. If you want to break the conventions of a category or stand out in the culture, I’m not sure adhering to the public’s average preferences or characteristics is the best way to get there.
LBB> What have you found to be the most important consideration in recruiting and nurturing strategic talent?
Greg> When I’m looking for strategists, I’m looking for a couple of things. The first is passion for our industry and our product. I want strategists who know what won at Cannes and the Effies, and I want them to be able to articulate why. If they can deconstruct work that is seen as the benchmark for creativity and effectiveness in our industry, then there is a better-than-average chance they can write great briefs. The second is relentless curiosity and the ability to gather up a bunch of seemingly disconnected bits of information and insight, and bring them together into a unique and compelling narrative for a brand.
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?
Greg> Having sat on the global board of Effie Worldwide for nearly a decade, I tend to think that effectiveness awards have always had prestige. Whether it’s an IPA or Effie, it is the recognition of the complete effort of the client and agency working together to do the job we set out to do: turn marketing investment into value in whatever form is defined upfront. Obviously the world is awash in data. This has set expectations for measurable effectiveness in near real-time. But I think too much data is also a trap for brands and agency planners.
LBB> Do you have any frustrations with planning/strategy as a discipline?
Greg> There’s an overpopulation of different types of strategists and planners. I get that there are some aspects of data science and system design that require deep specialisation. But strategists are supposed to be strategists, not tacticians. Those who will lead the discipline are more T-shaped.
LBB> What advice would you give to anyone considering a career as a strategist/planner?
Greg> In a world of data, don’t forget to be a human being thinking creatively about how to persuade other human beings to think, feel or do something beneficial for the brand.
