Five years ago, Mark Ritson wrote in one of his columns: “Beware anyone who has the word ‘strategist’ in their title. It is almost always a signal of someone who has no clue about strategy.”
For someone who considered herself a strategist and had carried the title for much of her career, the comment felt harsh at the time (more recently, Ritson called the author of this blog “redoubtable”, which softened the blow).
Uncomfortable as it was, there was some truth in what he said. Not every piece of planning is strategy and not everyone whose job involves strategic thinking is a strategist. There is a wide range of more accurate job titles. And yet, interest in the term “strategist” has been rising for at least 15 years (if Google Trends is any indicator) and “strategy” became a must-have addition to any LinkedIn profile. Designers started calling themselves brand strategists. Copywriters moved into creative strategy. Everyone gained “strategic flair”, except for the people actually specialising in strategy, whose core skill got diluted.
This isn’t a criticism of people venturing into strategy; the profession did most of this to itself. Any PowerPoint with a bit of analysis and a few arrows is now called strategy. The result is that the words “strategy” and “strategist” have become so elastic that it’s increasingly difficult to grasp what they mean.
That’s why we’ve tried to define what strategy is and map the most common types of strategists, in the hope of making the strategy landscape in brand and communication easier to navigate.
Before the classification, one important caveat.
Good strategists can wear multiple hats and deliver world-class strategy across business, brand, creative, social and more. It’s the rigour of thinking that matters, not the functional area. Equally, the obsession with sector-specific strategists is just as misguided. Someone who’s worked mainly with tech brands is perfectly capable of working in automotive or FMCG.
Which brings us to the actual point.
What is a strategy?
We see strategy as a set of actionable choices that make it clear what to do and what not to do. The role of strategy is to build focus through trade-offs.
Who’s a strategist then?
Strategists, even very good ones, are usually people who analyse situations and recommend direction, but are rarely involved in executing it, as they don’t control resources or oversee implementation. They propose and influence decisions that others are accountable for, so their role is mainly advisory. Some strategist roles sit much closer to action than others, though.
Here’s a list of the most common types of strategists:
1. Business strategist
When you need them:
When the company’s direction is unclear and it needs clear priorities, supported by financial analysis
Core expertise:
Business models, market selection, portfolio optimisation, growth priorities, resource allocation, M&A recommendations
Similar titles:
Strategy manager, corporate strategist, commercial strategist, business transformation lead, management consultant.
Don’t hire them for: Anything remotely creative
2. Brand strategist
When you need them:
When you don’t know what your brand should stand for, when you need a new proposition or rebrand, when your brand portfolio needs structure and coherence (e.g., when you’re merging companies)
Core expertise:
Brand strategy / positioning, brand architecture, distinctive brand asset strategy, value proposition, long-term brand equity, brand narrative and messaging, stakeholder and market research, internal brand alignment
Similar titles:
Brand architect, brand director, brand transformation lead, brand consultant.
Don’t hire them for: Growth hacking or funnel optimisation
3. Brand experience strategist
When you need them:
When you need a bridge between the brand promise and the reality of the user (while the brand strategist says “We are customer-obsessed”, the experience strategist ensures the customer isn’t stuck on hold for 40 minutes), when the customer journey is a series of “pain points”, when customer experience (CX) is inconsistent and when a brand promise needs to become a functional service
Core expertise:
CX design, journey mapping, service design, interaction models, experience coherence
Similar titles:
CX strategist, service designer, customer journey strategist
Don’t hire them for: Budget rationalisation
4. Digital strategist
When you need them:
When your digital presence feels like a collection of “random acts of the internet” – disconnected platforms, wasted tech spend and a journey that leads to a dead end
Core expertise:
Digital platforms, ecosystem design, channel orchestration (how web, email and social work together), digital integration, technical feasibility, digital consumer behaviour
Similar titles:
Digital transformation strategist, platform strategist, digital lead
Don’t hire them for: Defining what your brand stands for
5. Growth strategist
When you need them:
When you have a product-market fit but need a repeatable, scalable system to acquire and retain customers
Core expertise:
Full-funnel optimisation, acquisition models, conversion rate optimisation, experimentation frameworks, expansion strategy, unit economics (LTV/CAC)
Similar titles:
Performance marketing strategist, growth lead, growth architect, demand generation strategist
Don’t hire them for: Long-term brand building
6. Creative strategist
When you need them:
When your brand strategy needs translating into big creative ideas, when the creative team is stuck, when messaging feels generic or when you need clear guidelines for tone of voice (TOV)
Core expertise:
Insight generation, creative briefing, communication platforms
Similar titles:
Strategic planner, planning director, creative planning lead
Don’t hire them for: Business models or scaling systems
7. Media strategist
When you need them:
When you know what you want to say, but not where or how often to say it, when you need to turn a creative campaign into a distribution plan that maximises reach while minimising wasted spend
Core expertise:
Media planning systems, audience segmentation, reach and frequency modelling, channel attribution, budget allocation across paid, earned and owned channels
Similar titles:
Media planner, connections planner, channel strategist
Don’t hire them for: Defining your messaging
8. Content strategist
When you need them:
When you need to translate brand strategy into clear content themes, when your content is chaotic or exists without a clear purpose, when you need to build a “publishing engine”, ensuring that every blog, video and whitepaper serves a specific stage of the customer journey
Core expertise:
Content ideas, taxonomy and metadata structure, editorial calendars, narrative logic, governance models
Similar titles:
Editorial strategist, content architect, content director
Don’t hire them for: Business strategy
9. Social media strategist
When you need them:
When your social presence is either noisy but directionless or underwhelming, when you need to define the rules of engagement (where the brand should play, how it should show up in the feed and in the comments), when big creative ideas need translating into platform-native formats, when you need social-first creative ideas.
Core expertise:
Social media platforms, social listening and trend-tracking, influencer integration, community management guidelines
Similar titles:
Social strategy lead, community strategist, platform strategist
Don’t hire them for: Defining brand strategy
If we’ve missed any types of strategists, let us know.
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If you need help with research or want to hire Magda for a brand project, email her at magda@brandstruck.co
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Magda Adamska is the founder of BrandStruck.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/magda-adamska-32379048/
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