10 More Things// Strategy, Freshpet, Comcast
In this edition: why strategy isn't linear, Freshpet uses the mafia to sell pet food & Comcast launches Universal Ads
Part 2 of everything I read and saw over Christmas…
The good stuff
The Danger Of Locking & Loading. A reminder that your strategy is as good as the places it takes you. Strategy isn’t linear, it’s solving a puzzle until all the elements fit together.
Scott Galloway’s 2025 Predictions. The best predictions list you’ll read this year (excluding our 2025 EssenceMediacom predictions currently being posted on LinkedIn). The stand out prediction is that Meta is best placed to use AI to grow their business in 2025. They have more unique human language data than X, Google, Reddit and Wikipedia combined. Thanks to Jon Hildrew for sharing.
How To Present. A nice reminder of some key presenting skills from Speakery founder, Marcus Brown. His key philosophy is that presentations need to be audience focused and often fail because they become about the speaker. Always think ‘what does the audience need to get out of this?’ when writing the presentation and ‘does this serve the audience?’ when editing the presentation. The presentation should have an obvious North Star and action the audience is expected to take. Presentations that don’t have an obvious end have not been thought through enough. Thanks to Andy Walsh for sharing.
You’re Entitled To An Opinion. The best description about what strategy is and the traps to becoming an ineffective strategist:
“Strategy isn’t being great at playing the game, strategy is about changing the game - so that you, and those around you, can achieve greatness”
“The single biggest danger for strategy is becoming a theorist - an expert in the rules of the game - but one that doesn’t reshape those rules in meaningful ways, one that says a lot of stuff, but doesn’t actually do anything.
“This is the essence of strategy: not being the one to score the goal but designing the system that makes goals inevitable”
“The nemesis of great strategy - The Bureaucrat. In many ways the bureaucratic, administrative mindset is an inverse ‘shadow’ of everything that strategy is all about”
“This focus on tangibility is a crucial reminder for strategists. It’s not enough to theorize or ideate; you have to make things happen. You have to leave something behind that changes the way people think, feel, or behave”
Great work
Freshpet’s Mafia Crossover. “If anyone asks, we were at grandma’s” (the link is the 60” telly ad).
Pip & Nut’s Obsessed Squirrel. Adding the P&N logo into the squirrel’s eye is a nice touch.
Pick N Mix
Comcast Launches Universal Ads. This went under the radar but is quite big news in my opinion. Meta, Amazon and Google take half of global ad spend because it’s extremely easy to buy on their platforms. Now Comcast want the same ease for TV.
Oh, Meta. In tech news this week: Meta are deleting AI profiles after everyone said ‘we don’t want to follow AI bots pretending to be real people’. Meta specifically called out you can call LGBTQ+ people mentally ill - but you can’t call someone mentally ill because of their political beliefs. Oh and a note on community notes, from David Wilding, which it’s stealing from Twitter (as they pre-date X), they were designed to work alongside other measures and simply won’t be effective at stopping damaging - potentially dangerous - misinformation quickly enough.
UK low-to middle-income families much poorer than OECD counterparts. I still don’t think people realise how poor the UK is (outside London) relative to comparable countries. Housing costs are 44% higher than OECD average.
Hardle. Worldle but you don’t know which letters you’ve got correct.
Peace out ✌️
Alex