By Joost Narraina, Strategic Creative Director
I've spent €5,000+ testing AI tools over two years. Most were deleted within a week.
Here's what actually works for strategic creative work and what's just expensive distractions.
The 3 tools I use every day
ChatGPT-4: My strategic thinking partner Cost: €20/month What I use it for: Exploring ideas, creating concept variations, strategic briefing development
This morning I used it to generate 12 different angles for a client's employer branding campaign. Took 15 minutes instead of my usual 2 hours of brainstorming.
The key: I never ask it to think strategically. I give it strategic parameters and ask for execution options.
Claude: For long-form content Cost: €20/month
What I use it for: Case studies, detailed strategic documents, maintaining voice consistency
Better at understanding context over longer pieces. When I need 2,000 words that feel human throughout, Claude wins.
Midjourney: Visual concept development Cost: €10/month What I use it for: Rapid visual exploration, mood boards, initial creative concepts
Not for final visuals, but for generating 20 visual directions in an hour. Helps clients see possibilities they couldn't imagine from text descriptions alone.
Total monthly cost: €50
Compare that to the €300/month "all-in-one" platforms that promise everything and deliver mediocrity.
The expensive mistakes I made
Jasper AI (€109/month): Cancelled after 3 weeks Problem: Generic output that sounded like every other AI-generated content. No strategic understanding of brand voice or business context.
Copy.ai (€49/month): Deleted after 2 weeks
Problem: Templates that created template-sounding content. Clients could tell it was AI-generated.
Notion AI (€8/month): Still using for basic tasks Problem: Not strategic enough for client work, but useful for internal documentation.
How I choose tools now
Test 1: Can I maintain creative control? If the tool makes decisions I can't direct, it's not strategic - it's just automation.
Test 2: Does it improve my client deliverables? Cool features don't matter if they don't make my work better.
Test 3: Can I explain the output to clients? If I can't defend why we chose this direction, the tool isn't helping strategic thinking.
What works for different situations
For initial concept development: ChatGPT with clear strategic parameters
For maintaining brand voice at scale: Claude with detailed voice guidelines
For visual exploration: Midjourney for concepts, then professional execution
For client presentations: AI-generated options with strategic human curation
The biggest waste of money
"AI strategy tools" that claim to do strategic thinking for you.
Strategy requires understanding business context, stakeholder dynamics, market positioning, and authentic brand voice. No AI tool understands your specific situation better than you do.
Save your money. Use AI for execution, keep strategy human.
What this means for you
Start with one tool. Master it. Then add others only if they solve specific problems the first tool can't handle.
Don't choose tools based on features. Choose them based on whether they make your actual work better.
Test everything with real projects before committing to subscriptions.
My honest recommendation
If you're just starting with AI: Begin with ChatGPT-4. €20/month. Learn to give it strategic direction and evaluate the output for authenticity.
That's 90% of the productivity gains for 20% of the cost.
The rest is just optimization.
Stay great,
Joost
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