REGGIE Brand Catalyst Awards Grand Jury

BRENDAN ROBERTSON

Chief Strategy Officer
David&Goliath

BIO

Brendan Robertson is Chief Strategy Officer at David&Goliath. In his role, Robertson leads the agency’s strategic vision for existing and new clients, including the California Lottery, Jollibee, and Kia, and spearheads all new business and growth opportunities. 

Across more than two decades in advertising, Brendan has established himself as an industry stalwart, guiding brand, communications, and social strategy, creative excellence, and business transformation for some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Audi, Amazon Prime Video, NBA, Salesforce, and Starbucks, among many others. 

Throughout his career, Brendan has earned significant acclaim for his strategic leadership and creative contributions, winning numerous industry honors, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, EFFIES, and more. 

Q&A with Brendan Robertson

Please provide one word that defines great brand leadership today.  

Bravery. 

Please share one trend you are watching closely.  

The air of uncertainty. With so much change in the world, we’re seeing people become more cautious and hesitant in making big and small decisions. This collective mindset shift is impacting everything and everyone. We’re just starting to realize its true impact.  

In one sentence. What will it take to make an entry worthy of a REGGIE Brand Catalyst award?  

Being the inaugural year of the REGGIE Brand Catalyst Award, ideas that truly catapult a brand forward in meaningful and inventive ways.   

What advice would you offer to teams preparing submissions for the REGGIE Brand Catalyst Awards?  

Creating great ideas is never linear. It’s always good to acknowledge the moments when the team got stuck and had to overcome serious challenges to achieve a true breakthrough. The honest story, even if difficult or ugly at times, is always more compelling than the perfect one. 

Why do awards programs like REGGIE Brand Catalyst matter to the health and progress of the marketing industry?  

Jealousy is always a great motivator, especially in our industry. When you see amazing work that you wish you were a part of making, and to get a deep dive into how and why it was created, you can’t help but pour yourself into the next opportunity to create something equally award-worthy. We work in a competitive industry, so taking the time to celebrate the best ideas and the people behind them makes it all worth it.  

When reviewing submissions, what signals tell you that a program is driving real, sustainable business growth?  

It starts at the very beginning. I can tell there will be real, meaningful business impact in how the background and business challenges are being framed. If the story shows the team behind the work had a clear understanding of how big the challenge they faced was, and did not serve the usual point of view, I know the rest of their decisions throughout the work were intentionally designed to overcome that challenge. That perspective will drive real, meaningful growth. 

When you review the “breakthrough insight” or “aha moment” behind a campaign, what tells you that a team has uncovered something truly meaningful?  What do you most want to understand about their thinking in this section?  

It’s an experience that makes you learn something about people, or even yourself, that was always there; you just didn’t realize it. It reframes your thinking, bringing levity and a bit of excitement for what comes next. I want to know about that “aha” moment that flipped their perspective. How it reframed everything. Understanding where their collective mindset stands helps you feel it more yourself.  

How do you balance creative ambition with commercial accountability when assessing great brand work?  

Everything we do must serve commercial accountability. We’re given the amazing opportunity to apply creativity to business, so as our creative ambitions grow, so should our desire to create meaningful business impact. I’m looking for that balance between creativity and impact. It’s the key consideration I use when evaluating work and determining if something is truly great.  

A key section of the case study submission is dedicated to how teams brought their big idea to life; for you as a judge, what details would you consider critical for entrants to include? What will it take for this section to achieve a higher score over other submissions?  

In some ways, it’s easy to overdo it. When it comes to how it can come to life, potential feels endless. I am interested in what they chose to leave out. Being critical or calculated is interesting to me. I want to learn about their thought process and decision-making. That deeper understanding clarifies where they chose to focus their attention and how it sharpened their ideas and thinking.  

What lessons from your own leadership journey most influence how you assess excellence?  

I’ve always felt like I am a better student in my career than I ever was in school. I am always learning and growing, and I make a point of taking time to reflect on what I have learned and how to apply it to myself and the people I work with.  

This is why my perspective on excellence is always evolving. Our ability to push the boundaries of what’s possible in defining challenges, generating insights, creating ideas, and measuring them will continue to strengthen, so the measure of excellence is continually shifting.  

Get to know the 2026 REGGIE Brand Catalyst Grand Jurors.