The Creative Culture Podcast

On 16th March 2022 co-founder of Rooftop Productions Richard Ahlfeldt joined our CEO Melanie Chevalier to discuss how purpose led brand can make an impact on local markets.Rooftop Productions is a South Africa based, purpose-led global strategy, branding, content and production agency. Working with NGOs that want to change mindsets and drive change by creating impactful communications and campaigns.Creative Culture has worked together with Rooftop on multi market client projects for UNICEF, UNESCO and other UN organisations.

As part of the LEAD Network's annual conference on Diversity and Inclusion, our CEO Mélanie Chevalier moderated a session and spoke to Shantel Canty, Global Marketing Director and D&I Champion at Alcon, and Sophie Standke, International Diversity & Inclusion Lead at Beam Suntory, about how cultural diversity and understanding are the pillar to successful DEI strategies and initiatives internationally.

In this episode of The Creative Culture Podcast, we spoke to Jeremy Cohen, Partner at Blurred, one of the leading strategic and creative sustainability advisory firms. He is a long-time CEO counsellor and ESG expert, with a wealth of experience in sustainability and purpose, having enjoyed a 25-year career in companies including Philips, Shell, SWIFT, and Arcadis. Tune in to hear him share his experience of working on ESG challenges for companies across the world, balancing their global goals with local needs and stakeholder expectations.

In this episode of The Creative Culture Podcast, we spoke to Sharita Daya, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultant and coach, based in South Africa. Sharita shared insights on her DEI journey, and explained why inclusivity is absolutely critical to implement successful initiatives. 

In this episode, we are delighted to speak to Chris Flynn, CEO of WTACH, the World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage, and global authority on the protection and preservation of cultural heritage assets through the development of responsible and sustainable tourism practices and policies. Creative Culture is a proud member of WTACH, and it was a pleasure talking to Chris about how we can collectively start making a difference to preserve local cultural heritage worldwide.

Rashmi Mandloi is managing partner and head of D&I at BeyonDiversity, a not for profit organisation providing a platform for creating awareness on inclusive practices to promote inclusive leadership. In this podcast episode, she shares insights on what the DEI priorities are in India and why building an inclusive and diverse workplace culture is now more important than ever. 

In this episode, Mélanie discusses how a combination of cognitive science and cross-cultural audits can be used to perfect your creative concepts on a global scale. Their bespoke methodology for Cognitive Analyses can be used to assess the power of the message conveyed by your brand or your creative concepts to build a positive memory trace, across all types of media, materials and formats. Paired with Creative Culture's Cross-Cultural Audits, this approach can be used globally to ensure concepts and materials resonate with your audience, wherever they are in the world.

Seth Naicker, managing director of “indiAfrique training & development”, shares insights on diversity and inclusion in South Africa Seth owns indiAfrique training & development, a consultancy specialised in leadership, diversity, inclusion and reconciliation, based in South Africa. In this podcast episode, he shares insights on what the D&I priorities are in South Africa and why building an inclusive and diverse workplace culture is now more important than ever. He will also be taking part in our upcoming webinar on Diversity and Inclusion across cultures on 26 January 2020, for which you can register on this link.

Hear from Richard on business development and why brands should keep on investing in their agenciesRichard McHardy, Founding Director of The McHardy Collective Limited and of the BD100 initiative, shares his view on the current pandemic and why brands should be investing in their agencies in times of uncertainty, and how they can actually benefit from doing so. He also shares best practice from his experience in business development.

Felippa Amanta, head of research at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies, shares her knowledge on food trade and sustainability in IndonesiaThe Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), is an independent, non-profit think tank working on research and advocacy on Indonesian policies, and as head researcher, Felippa focuses on the topics of food security, food trade, and agriculture. Ahead of our Indonesian roundtable on 3 December, she agreed to share a few insights with us about food consumption trends in the country, the impact of Covid-19, consumers' demand for regulations promoting sustainable practices, and valuable tips for brands wishing to establish themselves in Indonesia.

Ruth and John share key learnings from the book they co-wrote on female entrepreneurshipIn April 2020, John Smythe, one of our advisory board members, and consultant Ruth Saunders published their book, Female Entrepreneurs: The Secrets of Their Success, a study of 52 fifty-two women who launched their own business, including Mélanie Chevalier, Creative Culture's CEO. The book provides practical advice and insights to encourage others to do the same. We had the pleasure of discussing their key learnings and discoveries while writing the book, and talked about gender inclusion in the UK and how businesses can improve.

Hear from Adele on marketing operations and digital transformationAs Managing Director at Lapis Angularis, a consultancy specialising in digital transformation and marketing operations, Adele Ghantous explains why marketing principles from 15 years ago are still relevant today, and what brands should do to maximise their processes across international markets. Tune in for her insights.

Hear from Erlab's EVP and COO on the increasing sustainable practice of global brandsCreative Culture is delighted and proud to count Erlab among its clients. Erlab manufactures ductless filtering fume hoods, filtered storage cabinets, laminar flow hoods and PCR workstations that protect both laboratory personnel and the environment. As the sustainability and environmental debate becomes ever more important to all, we hear from Antoine on his experience of running a business with family roots in Normandy, France, and his view on why these key issues are now a top priority for global brands and large industrials as well as navigating cross-cultural communications.

Gain insight into the culture, society and recent trends in the USAAhead of the election in November 2020 and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US presents a picture of an increasingly divided society and nation. Yet, it remains a very attractive and complex market for global brands to navigate. Allyson Stewart-Allen shares her experience and expertise in working with North Americans and the opportunities that the world's first economy has to offer to international brands and marketers.

Mark shares his experience on employee engagement across cultures and the impact of COVID-19Mark Hayes is Country Manager for Germany at Harvey Nash. He shares his thoughts on employee engagement and his experience having worked in a range of countries and multicultural environments. He also discusses how employer brands will have to rethink their employee engagement initiatives with the recent impact of the global pandemic on our traditional ways of working.

Marketers often misjudge the complexity of the Brazilian cultural landscapeGustavo is in charge of marketing transformation and innovation at Johnson&Johnson in Brazil and acts as a leading member of the Mobile Marketing Association in Latin America. He has a wealth of experience working in his home nation, Brazil, and across the South American continent. He shares his views on where the Brazilian market is at, the often underestimated complexity of the local culture by global brands and his key tips to communicating with Brazilians.

A localisation success story: when adaptation goes beyond languageAndaz is Hindi for 'personal style', which is reflected in the truly personalised local experience offered to guests at Hyatt Andaz® Munich Schwabinger Tor. As the hotel's Marketing Communications Manager, Gabriele discusses the importance of the brand's local touch and emotional connection with guests across all communication channels, even more so during and following the pandemic.

When international success is dependent on the local cultural connectionWith the world becoming more connected than ever, today's commercial space is becoming increasingly overcrowded: customer loyalty is in decline and global brands struggle to stand out from their competitors. How do you fight for 'quality time' with your local consumer and ensure your audience truly connects with your brand? Juan Boido passionately speaks about his experience as a global brand manager in ensuring that cultural nuance informs the overall global strategy.

Kanika shares both her experience heading Twitter in IndiaWith a wealth of experience working for world-class brands such as Reebok and Tata, Kanika joined Twitter in 2018 as head of Indian operations. She shares her experience handling marketing and business in her home country and other cultural tips related to marketing.

One of our Advisory Board members explains what it takes to manage multi-market strategyRobin Jaffray has a wealth of experience managing strategy for top global brands, both on agency and client side. After many years with several network agencies including FCB Inferno, Leo Burnett and McCann, Robin took the role of VP Global Brand at Western Union. Throughout this journey, he came across many cross-cultural hurdles and successes, which he shares with us in this podcast. He also discusses his view of the industry and the relationship between agencies and brands.

Why Turkey is a unique marketplaceHaving spent his career in well-known network and research agencies such as DDB, TBWA, BBDO and Kantar, Alper joins us with his Planning Director hat and explains what makes the Turkish marketplace so unique, as well as sharing tips when it comes to creativity, strategy and the local culture.

An inspirational market on the African continentAs the Head of Leo Burnett Lagos, Esosa shares insights on the Nigerian market as well as on the marcomms and agency landscape, drawing on examples of campaigns that have missed the mark by failing to understanding the intricacies of the local culture.

Insights into the culture and comms landscape in MexicoAstrid Barraza has spent her career between the UK and Mexico. A specialist in internal comms, she shares her views on the Mexican marketplace and how understanding the local culture is key to developing successful campaigns and high levels of engagement, giving examples of best practice in comms.