Planning for the Best: Learning to Be Flexible but Fight for the Right Things with Nusara Chinnaphasaen

Nusara is a creative strategist who believes creativity is a cornerstone of problem-solving for brands and businesses. In a career spanning over 20 years, she has worked across a portfolio of blue-chip global companies like P&G, Uber, Google, AB InBev, Airbnb, HP, Mondelez, Visa, Zalando and Wendy’s. 

Before joining McCANN, Nusara was a global planning director at W+K Amsterdam. Prior to W+K, Nusara was an associate planning director at Saatchi & Saatchi London after a time as a VP, senior planner at Cramer-Krasselt New York. 

Her career has been guided by a passion for creativity and diverse global cultures. She has lived and worked in five countries across three continents. Born in Bangkok, Nusara is a proud Thai and was a member of Thailand’s national swim team. When not at work, she exercises her passion and creativity through cooking, food & travel writing, and photography.

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

Nusara> The difference between the two is probably just semantics derived from which agencies or part of the world you’ve worked in. “Planner” tends to be more UK-centric, perhaps due to the UK being the birthplace of the discipline and the rise of it in the '60s.  But in my view, there’s no difference. If you look beyond the title, the job is the same. The craft of a good strategist or planner is to help create long-term value and new futures for brands. 

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

Nusara> I gravitate towards “strategist.” It conveys the intention behind the job to a wider set of people. A strategist has influence over various areas within the business and develops a foundation of data, pulled from consumer learning and other industry trends, that can impact not just communication but an entire business. 

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?

Nusara> It’s hard to separate the two. Strategy isn’t divorced from creative work. Great creative campaigns tend to have a great strategic foundation, which means little without the compelling interpretation, aesthetic details, and expression of that thought. 

I love how Libresse has been trying to destigmatize periods and really evoke a reaction in response to the full spectrum of emotions that comes with menstruation. 

Mastercard’s ‘Priceless’ campaign is also such an enduring platform that keeps on giving. The platform creates ample room for the brand to innovate beyond just comms.

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?

Nusara> I tend to look deeply into brands as well as outward to what’s happening within the zeitgeist of the audience.

You can’t get to an effective strategy if you don’t find the right problem. Understanding a brand like no one else can is a great starting point - its origin, founding principles, ethos, ways of conduct. That’s just one part of the equation.  

To make it meaningful to the audience, you also have to look outward. The most useful part is when you get out of advertising. I love lateral thinking. I look at what people consume through music, food, art, photography, books, films and try to draw interesting parallels to which everyone can relate to. What is popular in these areas can tell you a lot about the current mood of nations and how you should align brands with it.

My own creative projects help stretch my thinking. I used to run a Thai supper club. Choosing what to serve & the order of dishes taught me a lot about how to tell a compelling story. Photography pushes me to always look at things from different perspectives, literally and figuratively. It’s good to step out of your own industry. There're always learnings to be found somewhere and there are many inspiring creators in various fields that you can learn from. 

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

Nusara> The messy part. The part when you don’t quite know which path or position to take. It used to terrify me but now I have learned to love it. There is always a tension in the creative process where you must have the right balance between chaos and construction. The chaos is necessary in order to create something rich and interesting, but then you also have to have a structure in place. Otherwise, it’s pure anarchy. Chaos can give birth to an idea, whereas, anarchy can destroy it.

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

Nusara> I’m not only saying this because I work at McCann. But the philosophy of “Truth well told” has always resonated with me. It is simple and it demands that our strategy must have a good story and is well executed.

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?

Nusara> The ones who care about making a meaningful difference to the brand and the audience it serves. (The same applies with other disciplines, just not the creative team). And those who don’t see a separation between strategy and creative work. Every decision, even in the execution, can be strategic. 

I like to be concise and give just enough information for the creative imagination to look at a problem differently. I don’t like to inundate teams with too much information, nor do I want to leave it too open. Parameters can be a catalyst of creativity.

I believe a good strategist should be flexible but fight for the right things. Once you identify the right problem, there’s no one road to creativity. Sometimes the work is a direct interpretation of the brief, sometimes it’s not. And it’s ok. If the creatives come up with a strategic angle, I will support it fully if it can help solve the specific business problem we are dealing with. 

And no ego, please.

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?

Nusara> It depends on what drives the motivation to validate the ideas. If it is to demonstrate why the ideas are fit for purpose, we should do it. We need to provide good input but also demonstrate the value of our output and how it could help solve brand problems.

But if it’s purely because of vanity, then it’s problematic. 

Once you identify the right problem, it should be easier to judge and validate the work objectively.  

LBB> What have you found to be the most important consideration in recruiting and nurturing strategic talent? 

Nusara> Diversity, in all of its dimensions – race, education, language, neurodiversity, sex, sexual preference, just to name a few. It’s important to have several different approaches to thinking and doing, from different backgrounds, to make the department whole. 

I love that the question touches on the nurturing part. It is very important to focus on the recruiting part but if we don’t create an environment in which people from various backgrounds can feel that they belong, the talent will end up leaving. The only true way to reflect the world we are aspiring to shape is to embrace and nurture diverse voices. In this way, we can truly understand nuances within cultures and create or portray real cultures, instead of adopted or borrowed ones.

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?

Nusara> This increased focus on effectiveness is only a good thing. Most people want to be recognised for what they do, and it helps demonstrate that our work works. Not only is it good for strategists, but it is also good for brands.

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

Nusara> There are some recurring misperceptions that create departmental silos. While it’s true that the involvement of strategists might be heavier upfront, their job never truly ends. There are always curveballs in the process that need to be solved. It does take a village to make great work. The teams in the agency should be less like a relay running team and more like a basketball team. Key disciplines should be on the floor at the same time, helping each other out until the very end.

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

Nusara> I remember watching a TED talk about improvisational jazz bandstand by Stefon Harris and seeing  a lot of similarities with strategic planning. The following are lessons that I always look to and if you subscribe to these mindsets, join in.

• Don’t just hear. Listen. 
• Create a safe environment that allows for creativity. 
• Embrace unpredictability. 
• Many actions are perceived as mistakes only because we don't react to them appropriately.
• Don't dictate. Cultivate.