Christmas and strategy

Most strategy is, to some level, interacting with or understanding people and their motivations.

Strategists are instinctive by nature and are responsible for finding the most effective way to use a current set of resources. Glenda Wynyard, CEO of Media Precinct, is a media strategist and has always had a fascination with creative strategists so it is no surprise that creative strategists are the focus of our latest Pending Approval podcast, the last for 2020.

Waqas Tahir leads strategy in the in-culture agency LOUD and Glenda Wynyard talks to him about his role. He is the guy that gets to tell the creatives what to make, what insight to use and why.

And it wouldn't be the final podcast of the year without discussing the odd Christmas ad. Particularly when a terrific Christmas campaign for the giant UK retailer, Sainsbury, has been marred by racist backlash.

It is also time for us to stop and think about the year that 2020 was. So far this year, as a nation, we have faced drought, bushfires, whole populations wearing masks, a global pandemic, shut downs, the introduction of job seeker, working from home, hospitality closures (and then reopened ... and restricted), a return to watching the 6pm news, sneaking to the office to work with real humans, toilet paper shortages, flooding, the rise of TikTok, Zoom parties, live streamed weddings and funerals, technology issues, the introduction of job keeper, endless video meetings, sore eyes from the endless video meetings, fake backgrounds, no travel, border controls, no dancing on dancefloors and movement restrictions across cities. No matter what beliefs you have, this is a time to celebrate our ability to survive whatever has been thrown our way. Best wishes and we will see you in 2021.