01 · Partner
Steve Bryant
Research and strategy
Steve Bryant is a research and strategy partner at Delightful, the two-person creative studio he runs with Maru M. Iglesias from Mexico City. He began his career as an online journalist and editor in New York, launched the men's lifestyle magazine InsideHook in 2012, and now does research, positioning and content strategy for brands including MetLife, MSCI, Unilever and The Royal Institution.
- Parses messy cultural, category and audience signals.
- Converts ambiguity into positioning, messaging and decisions teams can act on.
- Runs close to the work. No account-management layer.
What Steve does
Research
Audience research · Cultural research · Category mapping · Competitive analysisA clearer understanding of where a brand sits and what it can credibly say.
Positioning
Brand positioning · Messaging systems · Narrative strategy · Category definitionSharper positioning and messaging teams can actually use.
Content ops
Content strategy · Editorial models · Channel strategy · Publishing systemsContent operations with purpose, rhythm and standards.
Selected client work
MetLife Editorial and strategy lead on Upwise, MetLife's personal finance app. Several hundred in-app learning pieces over two years, with Oliver Wyman. The positioning took months: "the personal finance app that helps you create better financial habits so you can increase your money mood." MSCI Strategy and research partner on a site redesign, with Work & Co. Unilever Research and insights partner. Cultural fieldwork and product ideation in India and Mexico, with Canopy Insight. The Royal Institution Research, insights and content strategy, with Storythings. Article Group Brand strategy, content strategy and content ops. GPCA Talent strategy, content strategy and content ops. Nymzo Brand strategy and copywriting, with Otherward.
Record
Direct, senior and low-overhead.
- 2007 Co-created Wiimbledon with Lane Buschel: the world's first Wii Tennis tournament, held at Barcade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Hundreds of costumed players, and coverage from ABC News, NBC News, Gothamist, Engadget, kottke.org and a print write-up in Sports Illustrated. New York Magazine's Approval Matrix filed it under brilliant / lowbrow.
- 2008 Co-created Rental Car Rally with Franz "Supreme" Aliquo. A 24-hour, 500-mile, midnight-to-midnight road rally through the California hinterlands. Still runs every summer.
- 2012 Launched InsideHook, a men's lifestyle magazine. Spent months landing one sentence: "the newsletter for adventurous and discerning men who have plenty of money but not enough time."
- 2018 Made Schadenfreude Lager, a beer concept from back when we foolishly thought there were consequences for anything.
- Now Partner at Delightful. Writes Delightful, an occasional newsletter on strategy, culture, technology and creative work.
