Bonnie Wan- Partner and Head of Brand Strategy, Goodby, Silverstein and Partners

06/22/22 • 60 min

Bonnie Wan has been working at Goodby since 1998.
In 2022, she was named Advertising Age/Creativity Chief Strategy Officer of the Year.
She started her career at Weiss, Whitten, and Stagliano in NY before becoming Adam Morgan's first hire at TBWA Chiat Day LA followed by stints at FCB and Hal Riney before joining GSP to work with Jon Steel.
In the conversation, we talk about the shifts and changes in the strategy discipline with leaders moving from gurus to guides. Higher stakes for clients and a wider remit in terms of media expansion.
She describes her approach to strategy is to work and think as a "team"- "it's not about being the smartest person in the room", but "making the whole room smart" and that requires a spirit of generosity.
The department culture is key for Bonnie- it's all about her bench and her team and making alchemy happen between the members of the team.
When it comes to philosophy around the process of strategy, she highlights the need for always-on, constant monitoring of culture and of consumers and the practice of always asking the smartest questions to ensure you arrive at a really interesting place.
Bonnie talks about her development of "Brand Camp" which is a 6-week strategy sprint that gets clients to an "organizing idea" and involves workshops with GSP strategists and the client C-Suites. This has served to bring new non-advertising clients to the agency and codified in detail the strategic process.
For emerging talent- she's created a 15-week training camp that teaches the fundamentals of Strategy.
We also talk about her upcoming book- "The Life Brief" - where she applies the strategic thinking and framing used for brands to life. Which is something she applied successfully in her life, Bonnie has just signed a book deal with Simon and Schuster
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Stevie Archer and Kevin Skobac - SS+K

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SS+K is part of the M&C Saatchi network and has been around for 30 years.
It has a history of working in the political arena - including working for Obama in 2008. That political experience translates into a philosophy they describe as "thinking politically and acting creatively".
In the conversation, we talk about the agency and how its philosophy manifests itself in the work and the discipline of strategy, how creative and strategy work together and discuss in detail their work for Icelandic Tourism.

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Neel Williams- Group Creative Director- The Martin Agency

A few weeks back I was fortunate to chat with Neel Williams - Group Creative Director at the Martin Agency.
Neel runs all things creative on the massive GEICO account.
I couldn't beat the brilliant intro Neel has on his website, so I decided it was simplest to just cut and paste it.
"I am a copywriter by trade, Group Creative Director by title and gumbo-lover by birth. I graduated from Yale University, majoring in Art History. After attending The Creative Circus and working in Atlanta & New York, my wife and I moved to Richmond, Virginia.

Since then I’ve made a lot of fun stuff at The Martin Agency, helped write two nationally published books, invented a high-five machine, grown two mediocre moustaches, fathered two outstanding children, founded a modern fairytale podcast, and sang lyrics about Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Boyz II Men."
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