What I do —

When people ask me what I specialise in, I say I specialise in being a generalist. But that’s not super helpful. The more helpful version is this:

I’m a strategically-minded brand Creative Director and Copywriter able to work at any stage of your brand’s life, from its birth to its exciting adventures out in the world. I can name it, shape its story, create advertising for it or go deep into detail on your website. I can even bring together a small team to bring it to life visually.

To make it easier to know if I can do what you need, I’ve compiled the common challenges that I get thrown my way by clients and collaborators.

What’s my brand story?

I can help you with this. My favourite thing is distilling everything about a brand down, until what’s left is its pure essence expressed as a line or a paragraph or a page.

I need a script for this video.

Easy. I’ve been scripting TV commercials, radio ads, explainer videos, launch videos and how-to guides for years. I can make them funny, inspiring, crystal clear or surreal. I can even help you direct them.

Can you write us a brand strategy?

Totally. I have a clear, compact approach to brand strategy that sets up great creative work. I’m also good at revisiting existing brand strategies and getting them back on track when they’ve lost their way.

What should we call this new thing?

Naming jobs are a huge but satisfying challenge. I’m happy to help you name your business, product or project. But not your kid or pet, sorry.

Can you nail our tone of voice for us?

No problem. Tone of voice guides are a speciality of mine, and I will carry them through to actual working examples to stress test them for you. Your guidelines aren’t much use if they can’t come to life in everything from a billboard to a customer complaint response.

I want a big ad campaign.

How big are we talking? I’ve made big budget campaigns for some of New Zealand’s best known brands, so nothing’s too big. What I bring to the table is a lean operation and a strategic mindset — I’m not a wannabe auteur, I’m here to creatively solve your marketing challenge.

On second thoughts, I want a small ad campaign.

All good! Not everyone has big budgets sloshing around. I love making a good idea work on the cheap — and I find an awesome type-based poster campaign as satisfying as a big shoot with all the bells and whistles.

Ever worked on an interactive brand experience?

Sure have. Interactive tourist walking tours, an international expo pavilion, trade show experiences and a deep dive into the mindset of the All Blacks are just a few examples.

Can you write the content for our new website?

Yes, or spruce up the content on your old website if that’s where you’re at. Short copy, long copy, articles, thought leadership pieces; they’re all in the toolbox.

Ever scripted a ChatBot?

I have! And a very interesting learning curve it was too. It helps that I have a bit of background in theatre and am a lifelong game fan — the rules of dialogue from those worlds are super helpful.

Do you speak Te Reo Māori?

Regrettably, I don’t. But I have collaborated on many projects connected to Te Ao Māori and believe in the importance of indigenous world views, stories and creativity. I love working on projects that create a bridge to a more bicultural Aotearoa.

Help — we need a really clear value proposition.

This is the kind of job I love. Taking everything that’s good about what you do and squeezing it into a few potent words. I especially love creating brand and employee propositions that are linked, so your external and internal audience are speaking the same language.

Can you run a writing workshop for our team?

Absolutely. I can put together something that’s equal parts informative and inspirational, so you can improve your writing skills and stop cheating yourself with ChatGPT.

What about a creativity workshop?

Nobody is as uncreative as they think they are. It’s all about learning to see things a bit differently. If you have a team that needs to boost their creative powers, I can help.

Umm…what about [REDACTED]?

My friend, I’ve dug graves, dressed up as a giant dog, been a life drawing model and auditioned to be the voice of a glob of ooze. I’m sure we can work something out.

Still scrolling? You must be confused or interested.

I do a bit of everything, to be honest. I like working, making and connecting.

I got my first paying job when I was 8 years old, as a shed hand during shearing season. It earned me enough to buy the Star Wars action figures I'd been eyeing up. At 12, I was mowing lawns; at 15 working retail on the weekends; and at 20 throwing drunks out of bars. Throw in some life modelling, fruit picking, grave digging, radio hosting, magazine editing, construction, and coffee making, and you've got most of my 20s covered. Everything since? Being a creative in service to marketing.

If you're after the full CV, check out my LinkedIn profile. Otherwise, I've tried to sum up my core skills below.

Words

I'm first and foremost a writer. I've written comedy ads, billboards, training scripts, annual reports, lots of retail, big brand pieces, audio dramas, insurance letters, academic theses, poetry. I love words and their power to move people. I know when to pull back and show restraint; I know when to explode into colour. I'm a spelling and grammar nerd, but I'm also passionate about language being human and not robotic.

Ideas

I don't fear the robotic uprising, because this is the part of the job they can never do: ideas. Knitting all the threads of thought and influence and data and reference into a creative concept that actually works. Creating emotion and inspiration out of nothing. While my career is mostly advertising, my ability to create ideas stretches far beyond that: design, architecture, business, education - anywhere that calls for new thinking.   

Brand building

There are many definitions of what a brand is. One I heard recently stuck with me: your brand is the behaviour that proves what your brand values say you stand for. I firmly believe that the best brands are built from the inside out, through strong leadership and strong culture. But I also believe that it takes external expertise to help an organisation see what makes it special, find its story, and tell it to the world through creative and meaningful experiences.

Digital thinking

Defining digital has been the bane of the creative industries for a while now. I define it as this: an immediate experience, at your finger tips, that can be shaped and influenced by your interactions. The clue is in the word digital: it's about the digits, the fingers. There is a lot of expert digital thinking around, but so much is about the delivery mechanisms, not the creative idea. When you get in front of eyeballs, you need something amazing to show them. That's the bit I add.

Presentation

I've never been afraid of standing up in front of a room full of people. And while the art of presenting creative ideas is a complex one that I'm still working on, I think I'm pretty good at it. I know how to build rapport with an audience, hold their attention (and drag it back if someone else loses it), and take them on a journey. I remember to listen as much as I talk, and I'm always watching other presenters so I can steal the things they do well to use myself.

Art direction

I don't skite about it, but once upon a time I was a pretty good visual artist. I applied for University out of school and was accepted into Fine Arts, but I turned it down for Architecture. It didn't stick, but it gave me a strong grounding in the visual side of things. Through my creative career, I've often played the role of art director as well as copywriter. It makes me pretty self-contained as a creative, and able to handle all aspects of a project when I need to.

Connection

I've got a couple of hidden superpowers. One of them is the knack for connecting people who may be of use to each other. I often know just the right person to help someone get a project happening, or to provide the key bit of information, or to make the crucial introduction. I'm not always part of what happens next, but I get a kick out of helping people make things happen. On occasion, I’ve been called the Kevin Bacon of the local creative sector.

I’m a regularly face at Design Assembly events and contribute to their editorial and workshop offerings.

In early 2016 I put my superpowers to work with a group of collaborators and created a two day off-grid event called Maximum Return. A social experiment in engineering serendipity, we brought together two dozen creatives, lawyers, journalists, politicians, developers and more to see what connections we could spark.

A bit of good on the side

The older I get, the more determined I am to do some good in the world. I've had a very lucky life; I feel it's right to help make the world a bit better. I'm currently on a couple of charitable Trusts — Mixit and Going West — and am a very vocal supporter of The One Percent Collective.  I was a pitch coach for New Zealand arm of The Funding Network. 

Passing on my knowledge

I've mentored students from the Media Design School's Creative Advertising programme, spoken or taught classes at University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau, AUT and academyEX, and mentored creatives taking part in the ArtsLab programme. I like to pass on the stuff I’ve learned.

That’s most of it. I should probably simplify my life a little. And not overshare so much.