Planning for the Best: Taking the Collaborative and Strategic Approach with Franny Quirsfeld
Franny Quirsfeld is an associate connections strategy director passionate about helping brands build strategies that meet consumers where they are. Her nine years in the agency world have been spent uncovering data-driven audience insights and partnering with creative teams to create content that connects brands with their consumers in meaningful and relevant ways.
Her background includes big-idea thinking and creative concepts, content, and platform strategies, integrated campaign planning, and digital and social strategy. Her current focus is building human-led communications plans and connections strategies. At MONO and in prior agency lives, she has helped brands such as Bumble, Yes Way Rosé, Abbott, Sam’s Club, SKYY Vodka, Buffalo Wild Wings, and more recognize the power of an audience-first creative idea and channel plan.
LBB> What is the difference between a strategist and a planner? Is there one?
Franny> In a simplified form, the difference has traditionally been that a strategist tells you what to do, and a planner tells you how to do it. While there is a nuanced difference between the two, a good strategist should illuminate a path forward after telling you what to do, and a good planner should be able to explain the higher-order thought behind the plan. Big thinking without small thinking, and vice versa, can lead to challenging work and a lack of purpose. What’s most important, regardless of title, is being someone who can think strategically and tactically to produce successful work.
LBB> And which description do you think suits the way you work best?
Franny> My process has always been to help teams visualise what to do and how to do it. I prefer to focus less on my job description and more on a collaborative and holistic strategic approach. I feel that I have done my job as long as I brought the consumer into the process and ensured that their needs and wants are met by the advertising we present to them.
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 excellent strategy?
Franny> My background is in connections strategy, so for me the most impactful campaigns are ones where the consumer insight at the core of the campaign also serves as a connections idea. A recent example that I love is by Heinz. They were at risk of losing their iconic status but knew that to reinvigorate the brand, they’d have to rely on culture and an emotional connection with consumers rather than on price or taste. They took a core consumer insight, “When people think of ketchup, they think of Heinz,” and leveraged it to connect with consumers. They asked real humans in the world and AI technology to draw ketchup, and all of the drawings they received back, both human and AI, were of bottles of Heinz. They used those drawings as content across channels. It’s such a simple, straightforward, and bold way to meet consumers where they are and remind them that Heinz is the right choice.
LBB> Do you find the most helpful resource to draw on when turning a business brief into something that can inform an inspiring creative campaign?
Franny> For me the most valuable resource is talking directly with consumers. That could mean a formal qualitative research effort or conducting a google survey or an in-person interview (i.e., man on the street style). What’s critical is that I get out of my circle of collaborators and speak with people living the experience I'm trying to learn about. No advertising tool can articulate the wants and needs of a consumer better than that consumer themselves.
LBB> What part of your job/strategic process do you enjoy the most?
Franny> My favourite part is the opportunity to speak with consumers and better understand their lives and needs. To backtrack, my advertising career began with my bachelor’s degree in anthropology. My favourite part of anthropology was ethnography, and I realised that strategy is a practical application of that same curiosity and empathy for humans and culture. It’s no surprise to me now that I am building a career as a strategist, as it is an opportunity to continue learning about different people; those consumer research opportunities fill my cup the most.
LBB> What strategic maxims, frameworks, or principles do you repeatedly refer to? Why are they so helpful?
Franny> In recent years, as I’ve discovered what kind of strategist I want to be, I have consistently returned to the idea that it's not about being right; it's about getting it right. This maxim is a consistent reminder that I'm in this industry, not for myself but for consumers. My pride or success doesn’t come from having the right answer all the time but rather from strategies that genuinely align a brand's needs with its consumers' needs. This maxim is also a consistent reminder that this process is collaborative and that sometimes I need to sacrifice my ego to do the best possible work we can as a team. From my time at MONO, I have also come to abide by the principle that “Simple always wins.” Our jobs as strategists are to simplify, yet I'm constantly surprised by how complicated and difficult we make things for ourselves regarding our briefs, processes, deliverables, and often our work. A large part of my job is digesting mass amounts of information and presenting it in a format that can yield sharp results - and the best and most efficient way to successfully achieve this is through simplification.
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?
Franny> I admire creatives who can check their egos at the door and are curious and invested in the strategic phase of work. I love when creatives are willing to poke holes, push, and ultimately build on the strategy in collaboration with me because strategies are sharper when developed hand in hand with the creative team. When the process is collaborative, amazing results pursue; this is why I do what I do.
LBB> There’s a negative stereotype about the strategy used to validate creative ideas rather than as a resource to inform them and ensure they’re effective. How do you make sure the agency gets this the right way round?
Franny> Making the time to build interesting strategies is the best remedy to guarantee they’re effective in developing outstanding creative work. Part of the reason this stereotype exists is the tight turnarounds and timelines we have to produce creative work. When rushed, it's easy to deliver an uninspiring strategy, which unintentionally encourages creatives to go their route. Once that happens, strategists then need to validate their ideas. With more time, strategists can build unique briefs with teeth that creatives are excited to stick to and build from.
LBB> What have you found to be the most crucial consideration in recruiting and nurturing strategic talent?
Franny> It is crucial to consider people with more curiosity than pride in recruiting talent. Since our jobs hinge on critically distilling large amounts of information into a singular thought, there is a lot of pressure to have all the answers. This is why newer strategists need to be allowed to be vulnerable, try new things, ask a lot of questions, and fumble a bit until they find their superpower. In my opinion, the best new hires are the ones who aren’t afraid of occasionally being wrong as they gain practice and expertise. Asking good questions outweighs having immediate answers in this job.
LBB> Do you have any frustrations with planning/strategy as a discipline?
Franny> My biggest frustration is the notion that strategists are inherently lone wolves because of how much time we spend working alone. Working with other strategists is illuminating because it broadens my perspective, shakes my approach, and often leads to sharper work. In my career, moving forward, I would love to see the industry pair strategists together like they do creatives from varying disciplines. For example, I think it’s beneficial to the work when a brand strategist and a connections strategist stay involved and push each other’s work rather than having handoff points.
LBB> What advice would you give anyone considering a career as a strategist/planner?
Franny> My advice is to remember that vulnerability, curiosity, and empathy are essential to our jobs and success as strategists/planners. I encourage anyone considering this discipline to keep that human-first lens on the work they help to create and also use it to help the advertising industry evolve to be more inclusive.
