The Strategy Layer: Why the Best Creative Work Doesn't Happen in Silos

Strategy decks get created and approved, then handed to creative teams with minimal collaboration, resulting in final products that don't align with original intentions.

Research indicates that "siloed teams create fragmented strategies and limit the ability to meet shared business goals." Most agencies still operate like a game of telephone despite knowing better.

What is "The Strategy Layer"?

The Strategy Layer functions as connective tissue between goals and execution — not a person or department, but rather overlapping conversations that happen from day one.

On set collaboration

Three practical applications:

  1. Creatives thinking strategically: They ask "what tension are we resolving?" rather than just "what are we making?"
  2. Strategists understanding production: They remain engaged throughout execution rather than disappearing after handing off briefs.
  3. Production teams challenging creative: They question whether creative decisions actually support core messaging.

Why This Matters Now

  • "75% of cross-functional teams are dysfunctional" (Harvard Business Review)
  • 47% of marketers report silos are harming collaboration
  • Fragmented data prevents integrated customer journey understanding

This dysfunction contrasts with IDEO's design thinking approach, which demonstrates what happens when cross-functional teams work together from day one.

Team collaboration

Creative process

Behind the scenes

Production meeting

How to Implement the Strategy Layer

  1. Bring people in earlier — Treat strategy, creative, and production as integrated rather than sequential phases.
  2. Challenge silos — Allow teams to question each other's work constructively.
  3. Measure what matters — Connect creative decisions to business outcomes with shared KPIs.
  4. Ensure alignment meetings — Get everyone talking while course corrections remain possible.

TL;DR

The best creative doesn't need more decks. It needs more overlap.

The Strategy Layer isn't a proprietary methodology — it's a mindset. When strategy, creative, and production overlap from the start, the work gets sharper, the process gets faster, and the results actually land.