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Planning for the Best: Sarah Oberman on the Freedom of a Tight Brief

04/01/2023
Advertising Agency
London, UK
328
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Co-founder and strategy partner at The Or on why you should hire for a good attitude and curiosity about the world

Sarah joined the industry after studying behavioural economics and psychology, and first worked at  BBDO New Zealand, running big clients (food and beverage, charity, FS) for several years.

She then moved to London, “the home of strategy”; worked at TBWA and with Chiat/Day (LA) on Airbnb, before subsequently joining Grey for five years.

She got approached by Mother to set up The Or, where she looks after the strategy.

Her priorities include ensuring clear strategic direction for clients’ brands that can also apply to strategy & creative in the modern world; that lives, breathes and changes across culture rather than simply being one big idea for TV.


LBB> What do you think is the difference between a strategist and a planner? Is there one?

Sarah> I think to most agencies it means the same thing.


LBB> And which description do you think suits the way you work best?

Sarah> Strategist. Because it gives a better hint at what we actually do.


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?

Sarah> There are too many too choose from.

I love a lot of the early Droga5 (New York) work. ‘Help I want to save a life’ is a personal favourite. Probably because it leaned into the truth about human behaviour. They needed to boost the number of people registering for bone marrow donation. But registering to donate was a hassle and painful. So instead of trying to convince people, they removed all the barriers, by catching people while they're already bleeding. They put a marrow registry kit into a box of over the counter bandages and turned an everyday act into a chance to donate… and maybe even save a life.

Avis, We Try Harder launched in the early 60’s and is still referenced today. They took a negative and turned it into a positive. But what really made this great was the fact that the business backed it up, by improving their customer service.  And the commercial return was impressive.

Lurpak for not getting in the weeds and talking about product benefits or origin, instead positioning itself as a tool for people cook, Good Food Deserves Lurpak

 

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?

Sarah> There is freedom in a tight brief. And the most inspiring thing you can give creative is a clear and directional brief.

Assuming that exists, then it’s about trying to understand the mindset of the people we want to speak to.  That means getting as close to understanding their perspective as possible. Whether that’s watching what they do on Tiktok, speaking to them or going to the places and spaces where they hang out.

We like to think about what communities or micro communities the brief has a role in. Because nothing happens in isolation.


LBB> What part of your job/the strategic process do you enjoy the most?

Sarah> The messy bit. When you’ve just been given a big problem. And there are a few different ways you could go.


LBB> What strategic maxims, frameworks or principles do you find yourself going back to over and over again? Why are they so useful?

Sarah> A strategy usually needs the whole business to understand it and use it. So, anything more than a page, probably isn’t a strategy. For that reason, I tend to not rely on models that get in the way of clear strategy.

However, I do go back to the book (strategic bible?) Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard P. Rumelt. It has very useful thinking and frameworks to help businesses get clear on strategy versus objectives.


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?

Sarah> For me, it’s less about type and more about attitude.

Good things happen when you work with creatives who come to a brief curious, with an open mind and a willingness to figure it out together.  The more you work together the better the work and relationship tends to get, as you build trust and can challenge one another, without it being personal.


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?

Sarah> I’ve haven’t worked in a place that only uses strategy to validate creative ideas.

Sometimes creative sees something that strategy missed. Sometimes the creative solution is the strategy. There is no right way. There is only the right way for the brief you’re working on and the people working on it.


LBB> What have you found to be the most important consideration in recruiting and nurturing strategic talent?

Sarah> Hire for a good attitude and curiosity about the world. You can teach the rest.

Then it’s about seeing people as individuals, who come with completely different strengths and areas of improvement. But also, with different ambitions and drive. Spend time up front understanding what really matters to that person and find out how you can best support them. Because you get the best out of people when they feel heard and supported.


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?

Sarah> They matter. They’re helpful to learn from.

But they’re expensive and time consuming to write. So, it tends to be that big agencies and big clients that enter awards. Which means we don’t always get the full picture on what is effective.


LBB> Do you have any frustrations with planning/strategy as a discipline?

Sarah> Every blessing has its curse. And the thing I love about strategy is that you’re exposed to so many different categories and ways of doing business. You need to apt at many different skillsets. From commercial strategy, through to creative craft. However, that does means you can at times feel incredibly stretched and skimming lots of different things, versus getting deep into an area.


LBB> What advice would you give to anyone considering a career as a strategist/planner?

Sarah> Attitude beats titles.

Having the right attitude will get you noticed. And keep you there.

It gets harder before it gets easier.

Up until you get to around strategy director level, you will oscillate between thinking ‘I’ve got this’ and ‘I know nothing.’ That’s normal. Confidence will come.

Just do it.

It teaches you a varied and transferable skillset. And you’ll get to work with interesting people.


Credits
Work from The Or
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