The Takeaway was a global, agency-wide trends and culture report that drove innovative thinking for Essence’s client roster. It was developed to guide junior strategists on writing insights, finding interesting subject matter and making it all relevant to clients. Topics were selected, researched and presented in-depth by participating strategists, and live discussion was encouraged by those tuning in. I had the opportunity of presenting 15 topics over three years, covering subjects like the rise of meme unions & creators’ rights, the need for tangibility in B2B marketing and the growing importance of seniority in culture. And during my fourth year, I stepped into a mentorship role. By far, it produced some of my most favorite thinking.