Planner Parle‪y‬ Truth Collective

Welcome to Planner Parley, a show where we come together under a flag of truce to talk about small agency planning. Planner Parley is brought to you by the 4A's (The American Association of Advertising Agencies).
Well, another season is in the books, and what a year it was! From StratFest 2020 to the view from the client’s side, from the relationship of tech and ideas to understanding Big-T strategists, from ingesting “Lemon. How the advertising brain turned sour” to unpacking content as strategy, and, of course, learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable when talking about agency diversity, all the while living The New Strange! Join Josh Coon, Truth Collective’s director of experience, and John Roberts, Truth Collective’s CSO, as they look back over a packed Season 2 and what strategy really means for small agencies.
Key Takeaways:
If you haven’t listened to Season 2 yet, you need to rethink your life choices!
2020 was a year we became forged in fire
2021 and the superpowers of the strategist
Generosity is fuel for inspiration

Welcome to Planner Parley, a show where we come together under a flag of truce to talk about small agency planning. Planner Parley is brought to you by the 4A's (The American Association of Advertising Agencies).
In a year of reckoning that truly opened our eyes to the gross inequalities and racism in our country, we wanted to take a long, hard look at the reality of it in our industry, and learn what we can do about it. Alexis Agosto, director of the 4As Foundation MAIP Program, and Jineen Carcamo, data strategy director at Translation and MAIP alum, in New York City join John Roberts, CSO at Truth Collective in Rochester, NY to discuss this important and pressing issue, what we need to be doing differently, and what it means for small agencies.
Key Takeaways:
MAIP’s unique and all-encompassing services and programs are an industry game-changer
How to be of the culture, not just in the culture
Strategists are fundamental to moving our agencies from conversation to action
Building a culture that engages fully in the individual; It starts with leadership
Being comfortable with being uncomfortable so that we can grow and learn

Welcome to Planner Parley, a show where we come together under a flag of truce to talk about small agency planning. Planner Parley is brought to you by the 4A's (The American Association of Advertising Agencies).
This week, we’re delving into a repair manual for the creativity crisis by author Orlando Wood, chief innovation officer at System1 Group in London, England. He joins John Roberts, CSO at Truth Collective in Rochester, New York, to share his revolutionary new book, “Lemon. How the advertising brain turned sour” – and what we can do about it. Join them as they dig into why fame, feeling and fluency are at the heart of what brands need to be doing, why they aren’t, and what it means for agencies.
Key Takeaways:
Why advertising sours and how we can sweeten our work through character, incident and place
Connecting with the real world through the right brain
Why left-brain dominance is driving more than it should and what to do about it
Emotion doesn’t just mean sentimentality
Why the brief is broken and how to remedy it

Welcome to Planner Parley, a show where we come together under a flag of truce to talk about small agency planning. Planner Parley is brought to you by the 4A's (The American Association of Advertising Agencies).
Julian Cole, a strategy consultant out of Melbourne, Australia, returns to the Planner Parley podcast for a one-to-one deep dive on Big-T strategists. He and John Roberts, CSO at Truth Collective in Rochester, New York, are fully unpacking what makes great strategists, how their skills are both broad and deep, why it’s important for them to not just do but also teach, and what it means for small agencies.
Key Takeaways:
If you really want to learn something, you teach it
The Big T-shaped strategist and the three missing skills
Just enough process – the critical frameworks we all need
The golden window for great work

Welcome to Planner Parley, a show where we come together under a flag of truce to talk about small agency planning. Planner Parley is brought to you by the 4A's (The American Association of Advertising Agencies).
With technology seemingly taking over our lives, is it also taking over our brand strategies? To find out, we’re talking with Raig Adolfo, CSO at 360i, and Fred Gerantabee, chief experience officer at FGX International, an EssilorLuxottica company, who are both experts in applying technology for brand building. They join John Roberts, CSO at Truth Collective in Rochester, New York, to break down how tech can enable brands, but why it isn’t and never can replace the idea, and what that means for small agencies.
Key Takeaways:
Why technology is squandered as a bright and shiny object when it should be utilized as a workhorse for brands
The pitfalls of creating around the tech rather than around the idea
Problem-solving is more about the problem than the solving
Curiosity is inherent, not an optional extra

Welcome to Planner Parley, a show where we come together under a flag of truce to talk about small agency planning. Planner Parley is brought to you by the 4A's (The American Association of Advertising Agencies).
This week, we’re seeing if the grass is greener for strategists that have gone client-side. Carrie Riby, director of marketing at Black Button Distilling, and Inga Grote-Ebbs, brand director at FIFCO USA, join John Roberts, CSO at Truth Collective – all from Rochester, New York – to share what the view is like from the other side of the relationship. With one in four strategists considering a career move towards the client side, we’re learning what it’s all about and what it means for small agencies.
Key Takeaways:
Understanding the needs and behavior of the audience is still the name of the game
Strategy has a different meaning for agencies and clients
Agencies and clients are not on opposing sides, but come with different perspectives
The best work comes when there’s a partnership
The “brief” problem – navigating gaps, approaches, and the handover