Planning for the Best: Why Problem-Solving Motivates Debbie Spence

Debbie Spence joins Re, part of the M&C Saatchi Group, at a time when the agency is going through a growth spurt, with a run of significant business wins. She brings with her over 20 years of brand strategy and human-centered design experience. 

As the strategic lead, Debbie is responsible for leading cross-functional teams in the design and delivery of brand strategy, brand identity and experience. The place of convergence between commerce and creativity is where you will see Debbie in her element.

Armed with an honours degree in psychology, Debbie began her career in management consulting where she worked with arts and media organisations to help them understand and grow their audiences. Her contributions at Re will see her deliver top-level strategic thinking that will fast-track the agency’s digital capabilities with its clients. 

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

Debbie> There’s a lot of blurriness and nuance in the branding and advertising world. We love giving things labels and titles but aren’t the best at defining our own industry. Strategy is the discipline formerly known as account planning which was about understanding a target audience and writing briefs that served as strategic springboards for creative communications. I prefer the term strategy because it’s more all-encompassing and includes brand strategy, creative strategy, communications strategy, design strategy, digital strategy, experience strategy and social strategy.

In the role I play at Re, it covers corporate strategy as well. Essentially, strategy is setting out a future direction for an organisation and mapping out the plan to get there. Whatever the job title, our role is helping organisations confidently move forward. 

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

Debbie> I’m a brand strategist, and in my role, I’m usually focused on helping organisations put their brand to work to fulfil their business objectives. 

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

Debbie> I love the moment when a brand idea starts to come into focus and you know you’re onto something. A strategist’s principal job is the connection of disparate and sometimes seemingly nebulous insights to create a plan that solves a problem for an organisation and a customer. After swimming in ambiguity, and pulling themes and insights together, something special starts to emerge. It’s the defining moment where you know you’ve solved a problem at the nexus between the business and the customer in the strategic branding process that I get a kick out of. 

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

Debbie> There are literally hundreds of tools and frameworks in branding. Every strategist I know has a toolbox with their favourites, and every agency has their own versions. I love tailoring tools and approaches to the context of the brief we’re working on. The UK Design Council’s five Ds process Discover, Define, Design, Develop and Deliver is definitely my go-to for designing an approach.  I find nothing beats going back to the basics when you’re thinking about brand strategy: 1) what do you stand for; 2) why should people care; and 3) how are you going to connect with them.

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?

Debbie> I feel privileged to work in this pure space where commerce and creativity converge. Without creatives, strategy is nothing more than words on a page. Great creatives have the power and vision to breathe life into a strategic idea.  I love working with all kinds of creatives, writers, designers, technologists. Creatives breathe life into an idea and it’s so fulfilling to work with digital designers and product designers to make brand experiences tangible. That’s where the rubber hits the road. When customers and users actually interact with the brand. 

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?

Debbie> We’re working in a space where, often we’re creating something that hasn’t been done before. Afterall, brand strategy is mapping out the future. So, it’s not surprising that investors and business owners seek out confidence that the idea will deliver commercial objectives. Strategy and creative must work hand in hand with business goals, and our role as strategists is to set out a robust business case, drawing on the data and insights at our disposal. 

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

Debbie> Experience tells me that great strategists are the ones who are most curious about people and are endlessly fascinated by the connections between organisations, humans and technology.  Strategists have to comfortably straddle different worlds simultaneously being part-analyst, part-storyteller, part-psychologist and part-kids-TV-presenter (very useful when it comes to running co-creation sessions). 

Often strategists don’t start out being a strategist. The team at Re all have different starting points we don’t share the same background, but we do share similar traits, a love for problem solving, connecting and shaping better experiences. 

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?

Debbie> Effectiveness has always been an important measure of success. As an industry, I feel it’s critical to understand and reward brand activities that achieve behavioural goals and commercial success. Encouraging strategists to keep the desired outcome front and centre throughout the process is a good thing, in my view. The tricky thing is making sure we don’t lose sight of long-term goals in the pursuit of short-term sales performance. 

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

Debbie> I’d love to see more joined up in thinking and collaborative work, where strategy works in concert with business planning and customer experience. We’re still often working in silos which dilutes the potential impact.  

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

Debbie> If you want a career that gives you the opportunity to design and create better experiences for people, to impact how people, genders, ethnicities are represented and to challenge companies to better connect, strategy is for you. There are so many ways into a career as a strategist. Join meet-ups; have a dig around the Advertising Council Australia, Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, Young Bloods, Award School, UK Design Council websites, and get involved with the community.  Start building your network. There are great initiatives such as M&C Saatchi Group open house and internships. Put yourself out there and you’ll be snapped up.