Britt Fero from Publicis Seattle: Strategy must guide every step of the execution process

Britt Fero, EVP Chief Strategy and Media Officer at Publicis Seattle, highlighted in an interview, the importance of advertising strategy to boost creativity, execution and vision.”Strategy is the vital link between vision and execution. Today, businesses need to evolve and adapt faster than ever to a rapidly changing culture. In this context, strategy is more important than ever”, she said.According to the executive, agencies’ perception of strategy must also evolve to adapt better.”The trend towards strategy-only agencies is a move in the wrong direction”, she explained, “without execution, their strategy insights are nothing but a vision. It is extremely important to include strategists in the creation process”.According to Fero, strategy needs to be active, not just remain on a piece of paper. It must give direction to action and movement, not just in the creative work, also in media, public relations and business in general. The strategy should be a filter for decision making, giving action a purpose.The problem with separating strategy from the execution process is that the strategic contribution for clients and brands diminishes. “I get satisfaction from working hand in hand with my creative colleagues to make sure that strategy reaches the world through smart, creative and strategically sound ideas”, said Ferro.