Great campaigns don’t just happen by accident. They’re the result of strategy and creativity working hand in hand.
In a recent lecture put together for Advertising Council Australia’s AdSchool Advanced Strategic Planning course, Nancy Hartley (writer, ECD, and co-founder of Rumble) and Lew Bentley (Head of Strategy, Research & Insights) brought to light how strategy fuels creative brilliance and why this relationship is essential for campaign success.
Strategy isn’t just about Powerpoints and diagrams. It’s all about providing clarity, building client confidence, and opening up fresh creative possibilities. Strategy is the anchor that keeps a creative leap on target. In a world overflowing with opinions and “I reckons,” strategy maps out a clear, evidence-based path, ensuring everyone stays on track and shows why a creative concept is right for the challenge.
Using classic campaign examples - like Tourism and Events Queensland’s “Best Job in the World”, De Beers’ “A Diamond is Forever” and a Life360 darkly funny ad – Nancy and Lew showed how the secret is connecting product truths to genuine emotional insights in an unexpected way creatively.
Success begins with a well-crafted creative brief that boils down complexity, clarifies the aim, and acts as a thought starter for imaginative thinking. Above all, briefs and the resulting work are strongest when strategy and creative minds collaborate and share ideas together.
Strategy gives a campaign clarity, confidence, and potential; covering the “what, why, and who” of a challenge, while creativity brings the “how” to life in a distinctive, powerful and compelling way. Creative is the storytelling. Strategy is the plot.
Learn more about the course here: AdSchool - Advanced Strategic Planning
Or contact us for an in-person strat chat.
