APG Creative Strategy Awards: 26 winning strategies for us all

On the 11th and 12th of July, 2023, Sarah Newman, Lexi Campbell, Kate Waters, Claire Sadler, Martin Beverley, Michael Lee, Tom Roach and I spent two full days judging the shortlisted papers at the APG Creative Strategy Awards. Our so called ‘duty’ was to determine the Bronzes, Silvers and Golds (and one Grand Prix) among 26 excellent strategy papers that had been shortlisted by another fabulous committee of judges.

Boy was that an energizing and enriching experience. Energising because we experienced how brilliant and articulate the presenters were, despite the strict 5 minute deadline. Enriching because I saw (and heard) how sharp and astute the judges were, in their understanding and critique of the papers, and the questions they asked the authors.

I came away reinforcing my belief that strategists/ planners (I’ll use the terms interchangeably) are a unique community.

There are two reasons why I believe this. First and foremost, that they play a critical role in pretty much every stage of the process: discovering, creating, and helping execute a project. Start with digging through complexity, find rich nuggets of insight, articulate the problem, brief and guide the creators to find the right solution, persuade stakeholders with conviction, generate a sense of belief in the entire team, and carefully nurture the execution, till the very end. The strategists/ planners never seem to pass the baton – they run alongside, helping to hold it firmly, the whole time.

Secondly, strategists have a role that is tremendously transferrable to other professions and businesses, but we self effacing folks rarely see it that way. Having been fortunate enough to have met and made friends with hundreds of amazing strategists, I’ve seen how some of them have moved to very, very different worlds. One strategist I know has moved on to helping architects and builders pick what’s really interesting and insightful in what they do. That said strategist (you know who you are) articulates the story of the entire project/ campus/ living space in a way that appeals to customers and investors. Speaking of investors, another ex-planner is now a global CMO in one of the world’s foremost Private Equity firms, helping their companies articulate their own story. The list goes on, but one thing is clear – our role is critical, and it should have a central place in many, many more industries, way beyond communication.

These two amazing discoveries aside, what really persuaded me to write this was this article by Tom Roach. Tom, as always, brilliantly captured how the two days went. Furthermore, he went on to articulate each and every strategy within every one of the 26 papers, in just one sentence. I was blown away by this. As I was reading through this list, something struck me. Tom hadn’t just articulated the strategies for those 26 papers. He had, in fact, articulated 26 wholesome strategies by themselves, irrespective of the brand(s) they represented. What if you did a simple exercise and made them generic? You’d end up with 26 bullet points that every strategist could keep in their drawer, for reference, as and when relevant. When they were interested, they would, of course, look for details of the story in the APG Awards book. 🙂

Well, this is what would happen if you did – see below. I have shamelessly stolen Tom’s work, and essentially, tried to make their relevance broader than the brands or categories they represented. If you’re a planner/ strategist, you’ll know what I mean.

Have a look.

(How to read these: I will first write Tom’s version, and then the ‘broad’ version of the strategy in the following sentence, which is italicised.)

• A football game went deep, not broad, to help British South Asian representation.
• Go deep, not broad, and you could create fresh appeal within a community.

• A Taiwanese drink sponsored a pilgrimage to take it on a journey from sports to sweat brand.
• Even the most specialist of brands, meant for a niche audience, may have something everyone can relate to. Find that, and you expand your market.

• A retailer transformed how menopause is perceived by normalising it not sensationalising it.
• Even if we see someone as ‘special’, they may just want to be normal. Recognizing that and acting on it is valuable.

• A small car brand got bigger by narrowing its focus to dog owners.
• Being super specific in who you’re for may unlock powerful signalling that appeals to everyone.

• A charity showed that suicide doesn’t look suicidal.
• Don’t just look at the moment, also look before and after it. Furthermore, ask everyone about a behaviour or symptom, not just the afflicted.

• A holiday camp transformed itself into an entertainment brand.
• What business are you in? Always ask the question, the answer may lie here!

• A mobile network became a customer champion against rising prices.
• Understand what makes people angry. Stick it to the big guys. (Thank you Jack Black/ School of Rock.)

• A healthcare brand broke the taboo that sex is just for the young.
• Investigate things that are being taken for granted.

• A yoghurt brand heightened anticipation by saying nothing at all.
• Sometimes a strategy lies buried in how people see a product – or a pack – and what emotions it triggers.

• A counselling service used humour to get older people to take STIs seriously.
• If you want something to be taken seriously, try making it funny.

• A biscuit brand drove salience by teaching people British Sign Language.
• No matter the category, always try and find ways of adding value to your consumers’ lives – and watch the magic unfold.

• A software brand invented a new C-Suite role to reinvent the future of the workplace.
• A communications strategist should think about how EVERYTHING communicates, not just communication. Furthermore, try and solve the business problem, not just the comms problem.

• A cancer support charity stuck out by showing its nurses are angels with sharp elbows.
• Sometimes, positivity works against you, and being perceived as kind isn’t enough, or helpful.

• A dog treat brand drove new sales with good old-fashioned advertising. 
• If something is genuinely working, do you need to break it?

• A city enlisted men to help tackle violence against women by showing it can start with words.
• The root to a serious problem may lie several layers away – even in layers that are perceived as harmless.

• A life insurance brand reframed itself as a death insurance brand.
• Question deep-rooted assumptions about the category, even its name. Sometimes, everyone may just be avoiding the real issue.

• A sanitary brand helped reduce period poverty by making people angry.
• People may buy something else, and do something positive, with a negative emotion.

• A plant-based spread depositioned butter by making it seem weird.
• Maybe what everyone thinks is normal IS actually the weird thing?

• A ‘f*** it’ moment made us all fancy a burger.
• Dig into the emotions that lead to product consumption, not just the emotions related to consumption itself.

• A sports event started the largest ever human rights movement for people with disabilities.
• Nothing is too big to imagine and execute. What if you could start a global movement?

• An army embraced strategic rigidity but tactical flexibility to drive recruitment.
• As General Mike Jackson said, at an APG event, strategy is what you invest your resources in, over the long term. How you execute that strategy should always be flexible.

• A confectionery brand dropped its most distinctive asset for Pride.
• Be willing to experiment – even your most distinctive asset can be used radically differently.

• A fast food brand discovered a big role at Christmas with its smallest product.
• Really dig deep into your brand, and its products. Little details often hold the key.

• A tea brand climbed to no.1 with a proper long-term brand platform.
• Find something you can genuinely own, believe in it, and nurture it – over the long term.

• Another fast food brand redefined its brand world and rediscovered its voice.
• If you are clear about the brand and its world, you don’t always need a big central idea.

• A serious haemorrhoids remedy found its tone of voice in humorous Amazon reviews.
• Discover away, o planner! Go broad, go deep, go sideways, go to Amazon reviews even. You never know where you may find that award winning strategy!

Thank you again, APG, for inviting me, and thank you Tom for this brilliant piece of writing. Shine on, you crazy community of planners and strategists.