What does it take to get into strategy? Creatives have portfolio school, is there a similar prerequisite to start in strat?

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An English accent and the ability to sneer can get you a 30% bump in pay.

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Fuck I’m half way there

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1. A big mouth.
2. A completely unjustifiable amount of confidence.
3. The ability to make anything from semi-informed to completely wild-ass assumptions about consumer habits... then pass it off as true. (Refer back to #2)

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4. Ability to memorize the latest strategy jargon to use in as many meetings and PTT decks as possible to make yourself look smart.

Generally you need to wear black workout clothing all the time, orange glasses, and have a single-digit percentage of body fat. Bonus points for being vegan, own an farm in Montauk, and have an ambiguously gay husband or wife.

In essence, you must become the human version of google glass.

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We need to stop thinking of ad school as a “prerequisite” for creatives.

But yeah if you are interested in strategy, some ad schools do have strat programs, including VCU Brandcenter. There are also various bootcamps dedicated to it, and I think some of them that are dedicated to something else (ie creative, planning) actually utilize a lot of strategy. A few decent books out there dedicated to it too.

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Wow that’s some grade-A snark. You can try those “suggestions”, or try becoming the best goddamn writer at your agency. Not just clever copy. Clean, clear, and concise. Learn to express an abstract concept in a clean declarative sentence, and do it as a rallying cry. Tell a good story, in a deck and an in person pitch. Think about your client’s challenges and give solutions they can get excited about. And play strategy games in your off time, it keeps you sharp.

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Freelance: agreed! Most copywriters shouldn’t be called writers either. Only published writers (and self published/blogs doesn’t count).

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Read.

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An internship in strategy will open a door more quickly, a lateral move from another department (media, account Mgmt, new biz...) can take some time but it happens, and yes there are programs that can help bc they not only teach you some basics but also help you assemble a portfolio and give you a lot of contacts at agencies.

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Curiosity (to want to research / find the problem), ability to weave stories out of data and lateral thinking to move data into useful ideas

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A well cultivated beard

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Start with market research.

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Shoot for the consulting firms. Even if you miss, you'll land among the strategists.

Go to an Account Planning bootcamp. It’s usually 10 weeks and it’s offered by many portfolio schools including Miami ad school. They will make you work with cw and ad that are at the end of their two year program. 

...And yes, you will need a turtleneck and a posh accent. You don’t need a beard, only something that makes you weirdly extravagant.

Srsly tho...The discipline would be a whole lot more interesting if we stopped feeding and supporting the stereotypes. And that includes Mgmt who love (and reward) the stereotypes.

My understand of boot camps like Miami ad school - they give you contacts and a portfolio (of a few case studies) to show your thinking & research skills. I bet if you go on tons of informational interviews you can figure out what to include and build your own case sutures

Miami ad school is pretty good. I would recommend their boot camp. And they help you land a job (not guaranteed, but they’ve contacts and try to pull some strings).

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