The Invisible Thread
The Invisible Thread is a digital content series created by Alicia Harris that goes behind the scenes with leading strategists to uncover how the world’s biggest brands and cultural icons become what and who they are. Alicia created the series in September of 2022 in order to shine a light on the strategists of color whose minds have produced some of the world’s biggest brands that culture knows and loves but whom rarely receive the recognition they deserve.
After just one season, The Invisible Thread has proven itself to be not only a much needed in-depth look into business and strategy but also a key source of mentorship for strategists and creatives of color as they navigate their way throughout the field of strategy and industry as a whole.
First up is a conversation with the one and only Geoff McHenry, Group Strategy Director at Translation where we uncover how his desire to work in the music industry ultimately led him to strategy. We break down the brief and strategy behind Sprite’s Obey Your Thirst campaign to examine how the brand extended it roots further into hip hop culture while growing brand affinity and driving tangible business results.
Throughout the episode we discuss:
How to keep creatives on brief without hindering the creative process
How to merge product driven marketing and consumer marketing to drive real impact for your brand
Why strategists should feel ownership over the creative idea and not drop the pen after the brief is delivered
01 - How Sprite Deepened Its Roots In Hip Hop Culture
On this episode of The Invisible Thread Alicia sits down with Donovan Triplett, senior strategist at Wieden + Kennedy New York to talk about the importance of creating strategies that make communities of color feel seen and how strategists can find and become comfortable in their own stride and style of working.
Gems from this week’s episode:
Why strategy is much simpler than we make it out to be (it’s not about complicated frameworks, it’s about effective communication)
How to push for work that matters as a creative of color in the advertising industry
Mining for hidden truths and insights in the real world
Helping clients find the right positioning and tone of voice for their brand.
02 - Creating Strategies That Impact Culture
On the last episode of season one, Alicia sits down with Jonathan Daly, Head of Communications Strategy at Droga5 to uncover his work at Anomaly that helped Bud Light evolve the culture of drinking that it once had defined. We break down the brief and strategy behind Bud Light's evolution as a brand and how it managed to make itself relevant to a new and progressive audience during a time when alcohol consumption was declining.
Throughout this episode we discuss:
Reimagining a brand's core purpose and the way it shows up in the world.
Creating effective personas that help you understand your audience on the level you know your best friend.
How to effectively help clients change course and head in a new direction for their brand - Finding the mutual story between your brand and your consumers
03 - How Bud Light Defined Drinking Culture and Then Evolved It
An in-depth discussion with Jazmin Burrell, VP of Strategy at Michael B Jordan and Chad Easterling's marketing agency Obsidianworks. Throughout this episode we chat about the strategies that Jazmin and her team set in place for the Creed III marketing roll out that made the franchise the center of attention not just on the big screen but off it.
Throughout this episode we discuss:
What it looks like to build a strategy department from the ground up
Crafting your career blueprint
How to continually evolve your strategic skill sets in and outside of your company
Developing strategic insights that move the needle for creative work