At its core, strategy is about finding ways to support a brand’s positioning and values, meaningfully connect to consumers, and claim value through uniqueness and differentiation. But strategy can fall short when it’s not connected to compelling creativity that reflects the values of both the brand and its audiences. And conversely, great creative work can also be ineffective when not connected to a brand or business strategy. We will explore how brands are working to link their strategic needs with creative solutions that pave the way for engaging, thoughtful, and purposeful creativity that results in successful marketing and advertising campaigns. We’ll study what’s happening in current, contemporary marketing and advertising, and use these real-time examples to dissect and study the links that brands are making between strategy and creativity – or not. We’ll look at how the consumer and popular culture is involved and informing this process more and more, as well as how success is defined from brand, consumer, and advertising industry perspectives.