😎 Print Media & The Importance of Brand Strategy | 👀 Anthro Newsletter #024
😎 Print Media & The Importance of Brand Strategy | 👀 Anthro Newsletter #024
Your weekly newsletter on brands, campaigns, culture and insights.
Welcome to your weekly source of must read content about brands, culture and actionable insights. If you’re a founder, at a start-up, in agency or in house - this is the place for your dose of industry news. I’m trying to make this one of the most valuable emails you receive each week. If you’ve enjoyed this issue, please hit the 💗 button.
Hey friends, what’s good?
Welcome to Issue 024! We’ve got a bunch of new folks here with us today - hello and welcome! 😍 And hello to you regulars - thanks for being here. Looking forward to meeting those of you I haven’t spoken to before, you know where I’m at.
And this is the first issue of Anthro under a new US president woop woop! 🎉🥳 Cheers to President Biden and Vice President Harris. This new era is EXCITING.
Right, let’s jump into it!
Here’s what you’ll learn today:
How print media and journalism can help your brand
What CMOs and bussiness need now: Brand strategy
Non linear careers and overcoming imposter syndrome
The art of print media, storytelling and vintage treasures
This week we hear from Tom Armstrong, he’s a content strategist, writer and publisher - he founded print magazine The Move in 2016, with a focus on underground music and culture - very cool! He’s also collaborated with all sorts of impressive agencies, from Amplify, to the legendary Leila Fataar’s Platform13.
In this interview, we talk all things London, rejecting cultural exploitation and the fine balance between the art of publishing and the polish of agencies. Tom explains the value of small businesses in a post-pandemic world as well as the importance of checking your biases and researching the lives of real people to inform your campaigns. 3 key learnings from Tom below 👀 Read the full interview with Tom Armstrong
Where to start with research to inform your client work? People, the public! Humans in the wild! Ask your audience questions to understand their thought processes 🧠⚡️
💬 Make sure you balance authentic storytelling with a polished/considered execution for your campaigns. Think about how you can elevate your work with the input of a writer or journalist
And crucially, “Dress the part. Don’t drink shit coffee. Look after your skin.” 🕺🏽☕️🧖🏻♂️
(FYI, you can check out Tom’s gorgeous curation of vintage homewares here at Heaven Centre)
What is brand strategy? Marketing’s priority over the next 18 months
The demand for brand strategy is higher than ever, but there’s a dearth of us strategy types around, and brands need us more than ever! 🔥 A survey with over 400 CMOs and senior marketers asked what the most vital capability is for the next 18 months. Brand strategy ranked highest, trumping the need for analytics, operations, e-com, market research and so much more. The good news is, building your strategic muscles is easier than ever.
👀 Check out the free Anthro guide to Brand Strategy 101 — join over 500 other people who’ve read and referred to it already! 🔥 The Anthro guide goes into more detail than I’m about to tell you about, but if you want some VERY EASY tips, Mark Ritson wrote an explanation for Marketing Week. One thing that really resonated with me in the article is this quote below - it’s something I always encourage clients to do. Do what’s right for your brand, not what every other sheep in the industry is doing.
Here are 3 key takeaways for developing your brand strategy from industry veteran, Mark’s article:
Choose what your brand won’t do ❌ That’s just as important as deciding what to do. The most important 3 questions to use to plan your strategy:
1. Who are we targeting?
2. What do we want to stand for?
3. How will we achieve this?
A good brand strategy mantra: Do less, and do it better ⚡
Brand strategy covers digital strategy, media strategy and platform-specific strategy, and then, that is followed by tactics a.k.a. the execution 🗺
Other interesting things :
Fab interview by Under The Current podcast featuring strategist Zoe Scaman, on non-linear careers, sharing work in public, and dealing with self doubt - Under The Current podcast, Howard Gray
6 tactics for using Twitter for B2B lead generation - Rebecca Reynoso, Data Box
Real talk:
Thanks for reading, guys! As per, make sure you let me know if there’s anything you want to see here on Anthro in future 🔮 Have a wicked week ahead, with this kinda VP Harris energy 💪🏽🔥
Sanya 😊
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Written by Sanya-Jeet Thandi, a brand strategist & consultant with a love for culture, start-ups and good karma. British Indian currently in Kent & London. You can connect with me on Twitter, but not Instagram, because it’s boring so I deleted it.
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