Inside Wolff Olins: Sammy Page on Strategy

Hey Sammy! Can you tell us a little bit about your role?

Hey! I’m a Senior Strategist , and my role is focused on bridging the gap between brands and people. My day-to-day is a mix of figuring out what people want but aren’t getting, and what companies have but aren’t using. Then bringing that together in an idea that guides how a brand goes out into the world – how it looks, how it talks and what it offers.

How we get from problem to idea is often a pretty windy route… so there’s no real, standard day to day… but you can expect a whole lot of time speedily upskilling in worlds you know nothing about, turning insights into stories and working with talented teams to make it all real.

What do you think makes a brand strategy truly effective?

There’s a quote I read years ago which always stayed with me: “brand strategy can stifle or fuel creativity.”

For me, this couldn’t be more true. What we do isn’t a full stop at the end of the project. It doesn’t live in isolation and it definitely isn’t created to live in a deck. What we do informs everything that comes after it. From the way we talk about a brand to the way it shows up in the world, it's got to be an idea that dominoes a thousand more. It should be something people want to run with – not something they’re forced to follow.

A big yes from clients can feel like the job is done – but effective strategy is when it gets out of the deck and into the real world, and that requires it to be two things: simple to get, and exciting to use.

What is your process for researching and finding creative inspiration?

Speak to real people, not aggregates. Get out of the data reports. The real interesting stuff is found in how people talk about things, the real words they use and even the stuff they don’t say. The projects I get the most excited about are when we rip up the rule book when it comes to typical research. Formal questions get formal answers. Complicated ones get complicated ones. But ask interesting questions in interesting ways, and you’re going to get interesting answers.

So head outside, speak to real customers and non-customers. Don’t just take their word for it, but step into their world. Lurk on reddit and discord channels and see what they say when ‘you’re not around.’ Don’t just ask ‘what does the future look like’, get them to show you. Grab photos, create a montage, make them show you how it makes them feel. It’s all about having fun with it – that’s usually when the good stuff shows up.

What is a common pain point when approaching strategy?

Too many layers. Onions. Frameworks. It quickly turns into an exercise in PowerPoint design rather than actual strategy. When working with clients, you’re often juggling vision, mission, purpose, values, principles… the list goes on. And there’s always pressure to keep adding.

But strategy isn’t about more – it’s about choice. What do we actually need? What’s useful? And what can we strip away? Then giving clients the confidence to sacrifice. It can feel comforting to have more, because it means you have to make less choices, you can hedge your bets with extra stuff. The hard part is helping clients embrace that less is more. It’s easier to load up on layers—it feels safer, like you’re covering all your bases.

But stripping it down requires conviction. And our job? Helping them feel confident enough to peel back the excess and focus on one strong idea.

What’s your advice for anyone new to strategy?

Gosh I have so much, and so much of this I'm still learning! But this is a list I wrote a while ago, for myself – I hope it’s helpful to someone else out there too.

You’ll feel lost. Many times over. That’s the job. Trust the process, and you’ll always emerge with an idea.

Trust your gut. Data helps but don’t be a slave to it. The best ideas? They feel right. Easy to say. Exciting. If you and the people around you feel it – follow it.

Bring yourself to work – your insights, your experiences and your perspective matter. If we were all replicas of one another, brainstorms would be boring and this job would be really boring.

Do the “mum test” or the “mate test” – if they don’t get it, it’s not there yet.

And remember, strategy isn’t surgery – it’s fun (or at least it should be). Don’t overthink it – make it interesting.