Planning for the Best: Del Credle Believes That Law School Is Ideal Prep for Life as a Strategist
Del Credle works at full-service creative agency Laundry Service today as head of strategy and media. He joined the team after three years as head of strategy for IW Group Inc. in Los Angeles, as part of a strategic planning career spanning 20+ years. His role spans across brand, social, digital and media strategy, enabling a holistic perspective on consumer ecosystems and experiences. Del oversees strategy and paid media teams across all clients, based out of the agency’s Los Angeles office. As Laundry Service is part of global brand marketing and talent management agency Wasserman, Del is also a key functional stakeholder to its industry-leading Insights and Analytics practice, amplifying partnerships and alignment in-market.
Del has led brand strategy and teams at agencies including BBDO, McCann, Ogilvy, and Publicis, with work extending across brands including: Adidas, Disney, Lexus, HP, Honda, McDonald’s, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Pfizer, Guinness, Heineken, Johnson & Johnson, Mercedes-Benz, and others. He lent his strategic thinking to McDonald's award-winning BTS Famous Orders campaign this past summer, and also played a vital role in the rebranding of Lexus and their first-ever launch of an all-electric vehicle.
In his early career, he was propelled towards advertising during work at the New York Stock Exchange, and later took time out from advertising for a few years to teach elementary school. We picked Del’s brains to find out how all of this influences his approach to the strategic process.
LBB> What do you think is the difference between a strategist and a planner? Is there one?
Del> I often use the terms ‘strategist’ and ‘planner’ interchangeably. But as I think about it, I think a strategist refers to a problem-solver from an array of disciplines. For example, someone working in investment banking or consulting can be a strategist. In advertising or marketing, I think we solve business problems in creative ways.
A strategist can fortunately draw from any number of disciplines to solve a problem. A planner perhaps implies proactive thinking or at least thinking ahead. But both are problem-solvers with a different label.
LBB> Which description do you think suits the way you work best?
Del> Funny enough, I call myself a planner because it’s easiest – and it was the term more often used when I started agency life some 20 years ago. But I think I work more like a strategist.
I originally thought I would be a lawyer and started at my first agency right out of law school. Little known fact: I think law school is great preparation for strategy, because the real crux of legal study is persuasive storytelling. That’s really what we’re doing, piecing narratives together with some end goal. Whether it’s to sell or generate or shift some perception or even some other end, we’re always packaging a compelling narrative that provides a means with real thrust to achieve the ends. I’m not saying any means justifies the ends – only that a thoughtfully prepared means in the form of narrative gets you to a place that is probably more likely to lead to success.
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?
Del> A favourite for me is Snickers ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’. Aside from the hilarious storytelling, I appreciate the radical simplicity of the thinking. The notion of being ‘hangry’ to reposition a candy bar not as candy bar – but as snack or sustenance that satisfies more than craving – is clear, simple and frankly genius. Another aspect is the endless creative possibilities that strategy permits. I was at BBDO when this long-running campaign was in-market in China. It was fascinating to see a local nuance infused within that original idea. The campaign had this elasticity and could stretch to incorporate a local insight without diluting the core strategy.
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?
Del> The most useful resource is conversation. Particularly, conversation with a creative person who is likely to think about a business brief in a different way than I or an account lead might. The ultimate goal is usually some form of creative output. I always like to start by discussing the brief with a creative and hearing their interpretation of how to solve it. Conversation is a powerful tool that I think we don’t credit enough.
LBB> What part of the strategic process do you enjoy the most?
Del> The relationship side of the job is what I most enjoy nowadays. Think about it: I get paid to talk with people about ideas. There aren’t many jobs I can think of where we discuss turning intangibles into tangibles – at least not in this way. Earlier in my career, my favourite part of the job was tracking pop culture and keeping myself immersed in culture. These days I live for the chance to share an idea, say with a client, and seeing them light up with excitement when they embrace an idea as much as I do.
LBB> What strategic maxims, frameworks or principles do you find yourself going back to over and over again?
Del> I think strategists are overloaded with frameworks, or principles. They often add a heaviness to a deck that either overcomplicates and/or makes it uninteresting. I think these structured maxims can stand in the way of an idea. A good idea is a good idea; that doesn’t need frameworks to justify it. I’m a big believer in radical simplicity when it comes to strategy. In recent years, I use these particulars less and less.
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?
Del> I’ve always thought that a great creative could make a great strategist – but not the same vice versa. In fact, I've always been obsessed with a Freaky Friday role swap, say for a day, and seeing what happens.
I appreciate the fact that creatives come in all shapes and sizes. The ones I’ve enjoyed working with the most are those that engage early on in the strategic process and work with me to craft the idea from end to end. That has always been a good BS-filter on my own thinking and kept me humble.
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?
Del> An unpopular thought, but I’ve never really seen a problem with retro-justification. Clearly, strategists want to guide the work and maybe even put their stamp on it. But what is the actual problem with starting with a strong creative idea? If the creatives get there first, I’m happy to be less precious about my ‘role’ and go with the team. This can also lead to pretty outstanding campaigns.
LBB> What have you found to be the most important consideration in recruiting and nurturing strategic talent?
Del> The most important consideration is someone that doesn’t necessarily think like a marketer. There are plenty of great marketers out there, but I love hiring from unconventional backgrounds to import alternate points of view for crafting a brief or campaigns. This often requires instructing someone from fashion or say journalism in basic marketing principles, but I’ve found the results sometimes to be remarkable.
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?
Del> I pay less attention to awards than I did earlier in my career – when I was obsessed with winning them. I try to instil the value of doing great work for its own sake, rather than some other motive.
LBB> Do you have any frustrations with planning/strategy as a discipline?
Del> My only frustration is pretty succinct: We’re in an era where we label ourselves.
These labels or descriptors can often be misleading and designed to make us sound important. While there’s nothing wrong with sounding important, I now overhear people calling themselves strategists at coffee shops or restaurants. Maybe I just live in LA *laughs* but it’s the same way we overuse the term influencer or content creator. I think this is generational, born out of this notion that you are a thing if you say you are that thing, and it manifests itself. It’s interesting, but can muddy the waters for those of us in the trenches of the discipline.
LBB> What advice would you give to anyone considering a career as a strategist/planner?
Del> Always make yourself useful and stay humble.
