219: London’s SCA now online

Our friend Marc Lewis joins Henry Gomez and me today for a major announcement: The School of Communication Arts in London now offers a six-month fully online course for portfolio development. And he’s got a special offer for viewers of The Brief Bros.: a coupon code worth $500 off tuition—BROS500. The April cohort is underway, […]
218: When creative gets killed

Creative work presented to the client gets killed with alarming frequency. The average number of rounds today is…five…before the client signs off. Scary, yes. But today Henry Gomez and I talk about the immediate problem: how to recover, regroup and come back with your best thinking. The task requires leadership from both the brief writer/stragetist […]
217: When you must rebrief

In another “Nuts ‘n bolts” discussion, Henry Gomez and I talk about the rare but not unusual occasion when your client says, “Start over.” This is different from those presentations when the client rejects the work, but not the brief. Something more serious happens and you’re instructed to begin again. Henry and I will tackle […]
216: Evaluating ideas is hard

Our friends at BetterBriefs, Pieter-Paul von Weiler and Matt Davies have delivered more scathing survey results. This time on the subject of evaluating creative ideas presented by agencies to clients. Why are ideas so difficult to judge? Why have rounds of creative presentation grown from an average of three to five before clients sign off? […]
215: SXSW teaching star

Kit Altin is chief strategy officer at The Gate London. And she made a splash last year at Austin’s SXSW with queues round the block waiting for her workshop. She was so popular, she was invited back last month. And she’s now a fixture at the annual festival that celebrates tech, film and music. Kit […]
214: Eight hours to write a brief?

You’re given only eight hours to write a creative brief. What now? According to our guest, Dan Carlton, it’s not a common event, but it’s not rare either. Dan is the CEO and founding partner of The Paragraph Project, a company that develops “human-centered strategies” for marketers and agencies alike. And he’s created an online […]
213: Inside look at podcasting

Meet Kevin Le, content creator and podcast producer. A chance encounter on a business flight led to a three-hour non-stop conversation. And in invitation to join me on The Brief Bros. Kevin’s enthusiasm for podcasting is infectious. And his deep experience opened my eyes. And since so many of Henry Gomez‘s and my colleagues are […]
212: Creative–Strategist tension

Henry Gomez and I return to discuss an important “nuts ‘n bolts” topic: why is there tension between strategtists and creatives? Alex Morris joined us a few months ago to share results from his own informal survey on this topic. But Henry and I decided it merited further exploration. When the relationship works, the results […]
211: Can AI help clients write better briefs for their agencies?

Henry Gomez and I welcome Fab Nolan and Adam Green from 99Ravens.ai this week to The Brief Bros. 99Ravens is a new company in Toronto. And it makes a big promise: to improve the quality of client briefs to their ad agency clients. How? By using its AI-trained tool. Fab and Adam explain how it […]
210: Emerging Talent Series continued

Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communications student Alex Chrislu joins us today. She graduates in May and as you’ll soon discover, she explodes with enthusiasm and confidence. And it’s not hard to picture her in a senior leadership role in a short time. Henry Gomez and I revel in meeting young talent like Alex. […]
