US+US was a Melbourne-based strategy, brand, and design agency built on a simple idea: great work comes from a better way of working. I founded and ran the agency for nearly six years — building brands with clarity, depth, and distinction. Despite COVID threatening to stop us before we’d really begun, we grew to a team of 15 within our first 12 months, with turnover exceeding $2 million.

Our most high-profile project was the rebrand of Visit Victoria + Melbourne, developing a new logo and visual identity system for one of the country’s most visible tourism brands. We rebranded Ballarat, shifting perceptions away from ‘old, cold, and gold’, and refreshed Mount Hotham to deliver a brand that works all year round. We created robust brand platforms for Sciana (health tech) and Dynamoney (finance), and distinctive brand identities for Castlerock (funds management) and Natrio (global logistics).

US+US closed its doors in early 2025 — with our values intact, and a body of work we’re proud to have made. I learned a lot as a founder, director, boss, colleague, and human being — and made a few mistakes along the way too. The biggest lesson? Clarity. You need as much of it as possible — from being clear on the problem, to being clear on the solution, and the ways and means you plan to get there.

I’m a brand strategist who knows how to turn thinking into doing. From Judo Bank to the Great River Road, I’ve helped define offerings, clarify value, and bring strategy to life across channels.

In 2020, I stepped in as Interim CMO at Judo Bank for nearly a year, supporting the executive team during a pivotal phase in their growth — including the lead-up to IPO. The role offered hands-on exposure to the inner workings of a financial unicorn navigating a fast-changing, regulated landscape.

I’ve also led destination marketing initiatives like Victoria’s Great River Road, shaping everything from product definition and audience personas to content development and channel strategy.

Whether defining what’s on offer, how it’s priced and positioned, where it shows up, or how it’s marketed — I bring a practical understanding of how brand and marketing intersect to build awareness, drive engagement and support growth.

I was Strategy Director at US+US Brand Agency for nearly six productive years — building brands with clarity, depth and distinction. We delivered sticky strategies, standout identities, creative platforms and compelling value propositions for businesses, brands and destinations. From our foundation client, Judo Bank, to our final client, ORDE Financial, and every brief in between (and there were many), what I’m most proud of is the distinctiveness of each project — nothing borrowed, everything new. Outstanding branding that made sense to the client — and stuck in the real world.

Before founding US+US, I honed my strategic skills as a Creative Director across the DDB Group of companies — leading advertising, PR, social, experiential, direct and digital campaigns. I was also Bastion Collective’s first National Creative Director, with a remit spanning all business units across the Sydney and Melbourne offices. I authored a new brand platform for Bastion, introduced strategic processes, and developed a creative constitution to bring consistency and ambition to the work. I also planned, launched and led Bastion’s first standalone creative agency — designed to complement and support the broader Collective.

Throughout my career as a Creative Director in advertising — across both Australia and the UK — I’ve worked with all kinds of clients across a wide range of categories. These include Telstra, Treasury Wine Estates, City of Melbourne, Open Universities Australia, Apia, Momentum Energy, Ford, Kraft, Unilever, American Express, and Melbourne Writers Festival — among many others.

I have an innate understanding of how to engage audiences and create emotive messaging — and I know the difference between what captures attention and what simply fills space. I’m a rare breed in that I don’t believe in creativity for creativity’s sake — if an idea is built on the wrong strategy, you’re wasting your money.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have my work recognised at all of the major international award shows. Highlights include a Grand Prix in Direct at Spikes Asia, multiple Cannes Lions across categories including Film and Media, and seven D&AD Pencils — including two Yellow Pencils for Mobile and Copywriting.

My work has also received two Pencils at The One Show (New York) and four Pencils at the AWARD Awards in Australia. Additional recognition includes wins and shortlists at the New York Festivals, Campaign BIG Awards (UK), Creative Circle Awards (UK), the Australian Mobile Awards (including a category win), and a Regional Winner title at the Asia Pacific Facebook Awards.

There are many, many copywriters (even a few copy writers 🙄), but very few good ones. Copywriting isn’t just writing copy — it’s the art of making people think, feel or do something. It should be intelligent, instinctual, and insight-led.

I’m a D&AD-awarded copywriter (for copywriting — surprisingly rare), and I’ve found the words to empathise with sufferers of female incontinence, support young men considering the unthinkable, encourage people to eat more spinach, persuade mums to switch nappy brands, and strike the tone for Ballarat’s “Brilliantly Unexpected” brand platform.

There are too many bland brands, meh marketing statements, and prosaic positionings out there — written quickly, without thought, and devoid of flair. Strategy might be my passion, but my copy-craft is the power I use to bring clarity and a compelling voice and tone to the brands I work with.