What role can creativity and branding play in driving real business growth?
In this episode of the Radical Global Marketing Podcast, Steven is joined by Marc Rust, Managing Director of Consequently Creative, to explore how brand, creativity and storytelling can help businesses navigate transformation, build stronger cultures and ultimately create greater value.
Marc's own relationship with marketing started at an early age. Moving to France at nine without speaking French, he found himself drawn to the advertising he saw on the streets, in subway stations and on television. Advertising became a window into both the language and the culture, and sparked a fascination with what Marc describes as the "magic" marketing can create.
That fascination eventually developed into a career spanning both the creative and financial worlds, including roles within agencies and major financial institutions. Today, Consequently Creative brings those two worlds together, working particularly closely with private equity firms and their portfolio companies.
A major theme of the conversation is what happens to a brand when a business itself is changing.
Marc introduces the idea of "acquisition turbulence", the uncertainty that can spread through an organisation following an acquisition. While the financial case for a deal may be clear, employees can suddenly find themselves questioning what the change means for their roles, their company and its future.
Without effective communication, that uncertainty can quickly affect culture and talent retention.
Marc argues that this is where branding and marketing have a much bigger role to play than simply communicating a new name or visual identity. By explaining why a company was acquired, celebrating what made it valuable in the first place and creating a clear story about where the combined business is heading, marketing can become an important part of the transformation itself.
