Strategy is complex, not complicated: A field guide for clearer choices

People call strategy complicated when it is really crowded. Too many inputs, too many opinions, and too many slides. Strategy is complex because people are complex. That does not mean it has to be confusing. With the right steps, you can turn a messy problem into a set of clear choices and a plan you can run.

The word strategy gets stretched until it means everything and nothing. Some teams treat it as a research report. Some treat it as a tagline. Others treat it as a calendar. Real strategy is simpler. It is a set of choices about where you will play, how you will win, and what you will ignore. It lives in writing. It names the trade-offs. It fits on one page even when the work behind it took weeks.

This post breaks strategy into parts you can use now. It will not give you a buzzword. It will give you a path.

Start with the goal

Write the outcome in plain language. Pick the one change that matters most. Do you want new buyers? Do you want current buyers to spend more? Do you want to shorten time to second purchase. These are different goals with different moves? If you carry too many goals at once, you end up with soft creative and scattered media.

Trap to avoid

Vague growth targets that hide the decision. “Grow awareness and conversion” is not a goal. It’s too vague because there are no set deliverables, meaning it’s not clear enough or out of your capacity. Choose the lever your brand can pull with the resources you have.

Define your audience by behavior

Demographics are tidy and behavior is truthful. Segment by actions tied to your outcome: recency, frequency, and value. Consider the context and the barriers that stop people from moving. A plan to lift first-time trial is not the same as a plan to deepen retention. Write the audience like a person making a choice, not like a static persona.

Example

If your outcome is trial, your core segment might be “curious comparers” who browse reviews and save posts but hesitate to commit. They need proof and a simple next step. If your outcome is retention, your core segment might be “light loyals” who buy twice a year and forget you in between. They need reasons to return baked into the product and the communication rhythm.

Find an insight worth betting on

An insight is a useful truth that creates leverage. It sits at the intersection of what people expect, what they experience, and what they want to resolve. You’ll know you have one when creative lines start appearing in your notes without trying.

How to get there

Listen for repeated phrases that show tension, like “I wanted to love it but…” Map the journey and circle the workaround people invent because the product or message missed. Size the pattern if you can. If you can’t, mark confidence and proceed with care.

Trap to avoid

Mistaking an observation for an insight. “People like comfort” is an observation. “People trade style for comfort when fit info is vague” is an insight because it points to change you can make.

Choose positioning that narrows the lane

Positioning is the hill you take and defend. It explains why you are the right choice among options. It’s a promise with proof. Good positioning cuts away as it names who you are for and who you are not for. Focus makes creative sharper and media cheaper.

Quick exercise

Write “For [audience], we are the [frame of reference] that [promise], because [proof]. Unlike [alternative], we [difference that matters].” Remove filler until it reads like a sentence a person would say.

Design a message architecture

Messages are not a pile, they are a system. Start with one primary message that carries the promise. Next, support it with two or three secondary points that answer obvious questions or reduce risk. Then map messages it into segments and journey stages. If a line doesn’t fit the system, drop it. You don’t need more words. You need to have the right words placed with intent.

Example

Primary: “Everyday comfort that looks good in motion.” Supports: “Fit that holds through a full day,” “Clear sizing with real-world photos,” “Free exchanges to remove guesswork.” Each line ties to a barrier and a measure.

Pick the few moves that move the metric

Channels are tools, not trophies. So choose based on audience, message, and the proof you need to show. If your promise needs demonstration, invest in rich assets and distribution that rewards repeat viewing. If your audience searches first, make search the spine and social the accelerant. If community is the lever, build partnerships that bring real trust, not just reach.

Trap to avoid

Activity for the sake of presence. A new channel adds overhead. Use it only if it creates leverage you can’t get elsewhere.

Write decision criteria before creative

Decide how you’ll judge ideas before you see them. Keep the list short and plain. When you review, you’ll argue less about taste and more about fit. Criteria also another way help creators aim better and protect the core idea from drift.

Starter list

• Does the work deliver the promise in one clean line?

• Does it show or prove, not just tell?

• Can the concept repeat across formats without losing sense?

• Does it respect the audience’s time?

Plan measurement like a story

Numbers matter when they connect to meaning. Write a simple chain from activity to outcome and pick a few leading and lagging signals. Share reads in a language the whole team can use. Keep the model honest by marking assumptions and checking them on a schedule.

Example chain

Watch, click, and save lift trial. Repeat viewing and add-to-list lift consideration. Return visits and direct search lift purchase intent. Second purchase and referral lift loyalty. Measure what belongs to this story. Ignore what does not.

Build feedback loops

Strategy isn’t a one-time ceremony. It’s a cycle. Set checkpoints to look for proof that your assumptions are right or wrong. Adjust the plan if a key assumption(s) fails. Keep the promise steady unless the result or audience tells you it’s off. Treat changes as learning, not as failure.

Weekly loop

• Review leading signals and creator feedback

• Check one assumption and document the read

• Make a small change. Note the effect next week

• Example one — launch focused on trial

What this all adds up to

Strategy earns its keep when it does three things: reduces options so teams can focus, raises confidence so teams can move faster, and explains the why so people can defend choices under pressure. Most confusion comes from skipping through these parts that look obvious. We jump into assets and measure everything because it feels like momentum. The fix is to slow down just enough to decide with intent.

What you can do next

• Write your goal, audience, insight, and positioning on one page. If it doesn’t fit, tighten until it does.

• Draft decision criteria before reviewing creative. Use them to guide the work and to judge it.

• Map a simple measurement story from activity to outcome. Track a few signals you’ll actually act on and ignore the rest.

Markets are complex. People are complex. That’s the job. Complication is optional. Keep the parts that make the work smarter and drop the rest. Strategy should clear the path, not crowd it. If you want a template to start, use the canvas below and adapt it to your team.

Alexis De Ocampo

Alexis is a creative strategist and senior advertising student exploring the space where consumer insight meets culture-driven storytelling.

(Originally Uploaded on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2025)