Freelance has been an enticing proposition for many, for years. And for some, COVID seemed to turn its appeal into overdrive. The opportunity for remote work and the strong need for on-demand talent have been at least two key reasons for its growth amongst not only industry veterans as has been the norm within strategy, but amongst more junior to mid-weight talent as well. In this week’s episode of GrowOp, we sat down with Trent Fulton, Chief Collaboration Officer at Yes&, a business which connects clients and agencies in need of project based strategic planning with the most experienced battle tested freelance talent in the country, to find out whether freelance is the future of strategy.

For years we’ve been lamenting the death of the traditional agency model. Yet for all our complaining, there are few agencies that have actually tried to do something different. Then along came Oliver. Oliver is the world's first and only company to exclusively design, build, and run bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. It has an enviable client list including Unilever, Google, Adidas, and many more. In 2021, they were named Adweek's fastest growing large agency for the second consecutive year. With 183% growth, their success is pretty hard to argue with. What’s really interesting about Oliver isn’t that they’ve just disrupted the agency model but that they are continuing to reinvent themselves. Whereas most agencies have barely changed in 50 years, their model is still evolving. Find out what Dave thinks is next for the industry, why clients and employees can’t get enough of the model, and where Oliver will go next.

Sometimes having great ideas is not the hardest part. It’s selling them in. And while it’s easy for agencies to blame clients for not buying brave work,  don’t agencies have a responsibility in making the work buyable? Lori Davison, CMO at the Royal Ontario Museum, was one of the key architects behind Sick Kids Vs, one of Canada’s most awarded campaigns. And prior to Sick Kids, Lori spent the majority of her career agency side. We couldn’t think of anyone better to provide a perspective on how to sell brave work to conservative clients.

Advertising is not an easy profession: long hours and weekend work are all too common. No wonder so many of us get completely burnt out. But the narrative is changing. Many of us are no longer willing to accept these conditions but part of that needs to start with ourselves. Cat Wiles, CSO at Cossette, has achieved the upper echelons of our industry but not without learning how to prioritize her own mental wellness along the way. Get her top 5 tips for how to stay sane in advertising.

Some teams like Jay Chaney and Carlos Moreno of Broken Heart Love Affair,  seem to have a partnership that allows them to hit it out of the park time and time again. So what’s their secret? How do they do it?  Find out from the best what makes for a great strategy and creative partnership work and what doesn't. You can connect with Jay Chaney on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-chaney-44924241/ You can connect with Carlos Moreno on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-moreno-4835977/

When research is done well, it really has a life of its own. Listen to the inaugural episode of our new podcast show, Grow Op, where we give strategic thinkers and creative tinkerers opportunities to grow. In this episode, Daniel Berkal of The Palmerston Group shares his Top 5 Tips on Creating Research that Doesn't Suck.