Strategist vs Creative, a false dichotomy

Lessons from a recovering brand strategist turned brand-builder.

Throughout my career, I’ve never felt fully at home. To creatives, I was a strategist, to strategists, I was a ‘creative’. Until recently when I found my balance as a ‘brand-builder’. In this article, I want to show you how I found my sweet spot.

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My work today as a ‘brand-builder’.

Today, I’m able to do both:

• I help brands develop a solid foundation through brand strategy work (research, positioning, messaging, …)

• I help execute that strategy through creative campaigns and brand identity work

I truly enjoy this mix and I believe it’s where I’m able to deliver the most impact.

Disclaimer: I’m not saying ‘brand-builder’ is the right term or even a role we should promote (though there is a brand-builder summit now 😁), it’s something that works for me because it captures where I think I can do my best, most fulfilling work. I would encourage you to do the same.

But that wasn’t always the case, I wanted to share that journey of how I got here today in the hopes that it helps you in your journey towards finding the perfect spot.

Phase 1: Becoming “Strategic”

For the first decade of my career, I worked as a graphic designer, a motion designer, and eventually, a brand designer. But learning as a ‘creative’, I found myself frustrated by random client briefs and directionless projects. Something had to change, and it did when I stumbled into the magical world of brand strategy.

This was my first wave of learning. I immersed myself in the teachings of industry giants like Marty Neumeier, Chris Do, and Seth Godin. I learned about differentiation, positioning, and the power of storytelling. My career began to shift as I facilitated workshops, created strategic decks, and wrote articles that connected with my newfound knowledge.

Clients started listening more, projects required fewer iterations, and the budgets grew. I was becoming a ‘brand strategist,’ and it felt like a victory. Time to update that LinkedIn Bio.

Now at that same time, something else happened, as I got hired more by bigger agencies and brands to do strategic work, I noticed a shift in perception: I was no longer expected to have an opinion on the creative work, let alone execute on it.

The strategists I met there were often very far from creative execution, a lot of them had backgrounds in business school or marketing. The only time when I was allowed contact with the creatives, was during the ‘briefing’.

Ah, the briefing, that magical moment when creatives and strategists touch

Something didn’t sit right

Phase 2: Becoming creative (again)

I decided to try something new: go in-house. I found a great spot at Alan, a fascinating B2B health tech brand. I got hired as a ‘brand & content strategist’ at a place that allowed me to explore and learn.

My colleague and former coach at Alan shared a great little quadrant with me

Find what gives you energy and has the most impact on your clients business

As I learned the ropes in this new context, I started seeing a pattern emerge, the things that gave me high energy were:

• The beginning of a new campaign, understanding the problem, coming up with ideas to solve the problem

• The execution of a campaign, going from idea to full execution.

• The more I was able to focus on that, the more impactful the campaigns and initiatives where becoming.

To me it was clear: I went full circle, I had become a ‘creative’ again.

Yet, I wasn’t the same type of creative as in the beginning. This time, I understood strategy, I understood marketing and I used it to my advantage, to help frame solutions, to help get buy-in on ideas. I was a creative armed with the power of strategy. And that my friends, is a good combination.

Becoming a brand-builder

Teaching at School of branding recently to a lot of young creatives brought this dichotomy to live again for me, as I hear a lot of young people struggle with this question: “Do I want to become a strategist or stay a creative”? The answer is you don’t have to choose.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Subscribe to get more insights on brand-building.