Planning for the Best: Strategy Is a Team Quest for Adele Meer

Adele Meer is head of planning at Quiet Storm, London, where she seeks to find the ‘quiet space in the noise’, for brands to play in. She’s previously worked at The Brooklyn Brothers, The &Partnership (now T&Pm) and McCann Erickson Central, as well as CRM, experiential and UX agencies, making her a truly integrated and collaborative thinker. Gold Winner of a Marketing Society Effectiveness award, her most notable work has been for Godiva Chocolate, MINI and British Gas.

Currently she’s excited to be leading the growth for Chicago Town, On the Beach, and HARIBO – all brilliant brands that believe in the power of creativity to start a storm. 

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

Adele> If I had to define it, it’d say ‘strategy’ is the big picture—what we’re doing and why, while ‘planning’ gets into the how. But when it comes to the actual job, regardless of title, I there’s a huge amount of crossover. You can’t have one without the other.

Which is why I think it’s a bit of a shame that often these two get pitted against each other. Where it feels that right now, ‘strategy’ is the more on-trend title. It seems to be talked about with more kudos and is seen as the smarter and more aspirational of the two. But to deliver a why without a how isn’t useful to anyone.

So for me, it’s less about title and more about impact. If I’m adding value, inspiring ideas, and pushing things forward, call me whatever you like.

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

Adele> I do both, and I think that’s probably true of most people in the job. So, as well as thinking about the big picture vision and shift we want to make, I’m also figuring out how to make that a reality. And not just what that looks like, but how we get everyone aligned and acting on it, across every channel and touchpoint.

I guess through that definition I should be called a strategic planner. Maybe we all should be!

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?

Adele> I believe the best campaigns are those where strategy and creativity blend so seamlessly that even the teams behind them would struggle to pinpoint what’s doing what.

A piece of work that does this is ‘Always, Like a Girl.’ We all know the category conventions at the time (a.k.a. the ‘noise’ as we call it at Quiet Storm) – blue liquid and roller-skating. The strategy behind this was all about empowering female confidence through product confidence. The aim, to get people to trust the brand.

But someone eventually asked ‘what does confidence really mean? Where does it come from, and why do so many women and girls lack it? And what can we do, beyond making trustworthy product to solve that problem?

The result wasn’t an ad at all, but a social observation and experiment. The strategy behind it was to empower female confidence by changing social stereotypes; a brand role far bigger than making trustworthy products. But what came from strategy teams, and what came from creative… and even what came from the client, who knows?

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?

Adele> I remember watching a debate years ago between the best of the best strategists/planners (whichever you want to call them!) in the industry. One panel had to argue the case for research (of any type) to fuel their thinking, the other for introspection. Despite being there to debate each other, they unanimously agreed that introspection was the best resource to draw on.

That might well be the easiest, and quickest option. But to assume your own world view is the world view feels dangerous. Thankfully I do think the world has moved on since that debate.

So research always forms part of my process. And whilst it’s not new or ground-breaking, I always start by looking at the ‘4Cs’ of company, competitor, consumer and culture. This ensures I’m looking under every rock for inspiration, and not just relying on my own world view. As part of this I’ll be using everything I can get my hands on, whether it be company archives, ChatGPT, TikTok trends… and most importantly, talking to people.

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

Adele> For me, it’s the point where any strategic thinking I’ve done starts to take on a whole new life as others get involved in the conversation. Where a little point I found interesting gets expressed in a slightly different way, and becomes bigger, more creative, more exciting. When you can feel the entire team starting to roll with it and grow it out into something that becomes far more tangible than some notions on a PowerPoint. I love that buzz.

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

Adele> As well as the ‘4Cs’ and making sure I’m always clear on a brand’s role, I also love a ‘Get From To By’. When done well, it absolutely makes you sharp on the shift you want to create. However the downside of its simplicity means it’s also very easy to do badly – ‘GET more people from not buying your product, TO making you their go-to, BY finding an emotional connection’ is no use to anyone. You’ve got to work to find the pointy bits.

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?

Adele> I like collaborative creatives. Which I find almost all are. Those who enjoy chewing over the brief together. Who take the proposition in the spirit in which it’s meant; a start point to get things rolling in an interesting direction. Who want to grab you and share a thought to see if it works. Who see strategy and creative as a beautiful blend, where each makes each other better.

I also like those who are interested in the conversations that happen beyond the brief. Who want to come along to, and input into the higher-level brand thinking. I know time (and cost) of attendance is a factor here, but I have also seen it dismissed as ‘the strat bit’. The strat bit influences every brief down the line, so I love creatives who see value in being part of the whole process.

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?

Adele> All of the agencies I’ve worked with value strategy, so it’s not been an issue.

Also, I personally believe strategy is useful on both sides of the process; to inform ideas, and to help get them sold in. That for me isn’t a negative, it’s an important part of what I bring to the table.

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?

Adele> We’re all here, and always have been, to make work that works. And the focus on results is never, ever going to be a bad thing. But not every brand, or agency, has access to econometrics, or can justifying the cost of entering increasingly prestigious awards.

So whilst I think effectiveness should certainly shape every conversation, I don’t necessarily think awards are the only measure of a strategist’s worth.

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

Adele> One frustration is that with it being such a respected discipline, it can all too easily give other people an excuse not to think, because the strategist is the default ‘brain’ of the group.

So often it gets asked ‘what do we think about this strategically?’, as all eyes turn on the strategist. If we’re all in the game to make brilliantly effective and exciting work, the question ‘what do we think about this?’ is exactly the same question.

Yes, the planner should absolutely be a leading part of any strategic conversation (or indeed, any conversation – no need for that extra word!), but there’s a risk that ‘strategic’ is becoming an overused, all-powerful fluffer word to make it one person’s responsibility and not a team quest.

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

Adele> Start in account handling and then make the shift. This isn’t what I did. I was in many ways incredibly lucky to start my career right within the planning department. I dodged doing admin, timing plans, diary management, all the ‘grunt work’ tasks that are often the start for account handlers.

But in that grunt work, you learn so much, and quickly. Particularly the day-to-day realities your clients face. Knowing and understanding your clients and their business is a hugely important key to being able to help them find, and buy into strategic solutions.

Whilst I was busy, busy nurturing an all-important curiosity for consumers (where the more obvious ‘advice’ for any budding strategists lies), I missed this fast-track into client mindsets, where the best account handlers are doing ‘on the spot planning’.

I’ve since known, and have helped several account handlers make the transition into planning, and believe they are stronger for it – certainly in their earlier years as a planner.