There’s a saying that’s been floating around boardrooms for years: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I heard it again today, and it stopped me in my tracks. Not because it’s new, but because it’s still undeniably true, and nowhere is that truth more visible than in the advertising agency industry.
Advertising loves strategy.
· We build frameworks.
· We craft positioning statements.
· We analyze data, segments, behaviors, funnels, and journeys.
Strategy is our oxygen.
But here’s the uncomfortable reality. No strategy survives in a culture that cannot support it. And in today’s hyper-fragmented, always-on, digitally unpredictable world, culture shifts faster than any strategy deck can keep up with.
So, what’s the answer?
First, culture isn’t the enemy of strategy, it’s the foundation. The phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is often misunderstood as “strategy doesn’t matter.” But strategy absolutely matters, deeply. What the quote actually means is that a brilliant strategy in a toxic, disorganized, or disinterested culture is dead on arrival.
· Ideas don’t move people.
· People move ideas.
If the team behind the work isn’t aligned, inspired, supported, or bought in, even the most elegant strategy becomes a sterile exercise in PowerPoint gymnastics.
Second, culture determines whether strategy lives or dies. You can feel it instantly when you walk into a company with a healthy culture. There’s energy. Curiosity. Collaboration. Accountability that isn’t forced. A sense of shared ownership. And you can feel the opposite just as quickly. Silos. Turf wars. Fear-driven decisions. No one sticks their neck out. Everyone is doing the minimum.
Now, put a strategy in each environment. Which one wins?
That’s the point. Culture accelerates strategy. Culture empowers strategy. Culture breathes life into strategy.
Third, the best advertising agencies aren’t the ones with the best decks. They’re the ones with the best people working together. At 78Madison, we’ve seen this firsthand. A strategy can look brilliant on paper, but when the team isn’t aligned, it stalls. Conversely, a team functioning in an environment of trust, humility, enthusiasm, and honest critique will take a good strategy and make it great and then bring it to life with passion.
In the advertising business, we’re not selling static plans. We’re selling creativity, energy, problem-solving, adaptability, and belief. Those things aren’t produced by strategy alone; they’re produced by culture.
So, what should businesses do?
Shift the order. Not strategy first, but culture first. Invest in the people who will carry the strategy. Invest in clarity, communication, and an environment where ideas, and people, can grow. Create teams that enjoy solving problems together. Build a culture where feedback is welcomed, ego is checked, and client success is shared. When you do that, strategy stops being a document and becomes a living engine.
Culture + Strategy = Impact.
Culture isn’t the enemy of strategy; it’s its greatest ally. When the culture is right, strategy doesn’t get eaten for breakfast. It gets amplified.
That’s where the magic happens. That’s where advertising becomes more than tactics. it becomes transformation.
Joe Bouch
CEO, 78Madison
78Madison was created to deliver highly individualized and personalized experiences for clients we choose to work with; to inspire and nurture the human spirit in all we do. Lets start a conversation – jbouch@78madison.com