We have built trusted brands through creativity, data and culture. We are tenacious, flexible and thorough in our approach which has over the years become our hallmark in all our executions.
Whether it’s uncovering a corporate brand’s meaningful purpose in people’s lives, galvanising the employer brand, or unleashing the power of a product brand to innovate and influence, Paper Merchant connects across your multi-stakeholder audience. We are in the business of brands, driving action and shifting behaviour. Our insight led approach to creative campaigns have served us well. We tell the right stories to the right audience with one aim, to tug at their heartstrings which compels action.
With business value at the forefront, our approach begins with creating a compelling narrative that captures a company’s vision, culture and direction. It encompasses engaging constituencies based on a clear stakeholder map.
We work to align a company with its stakeholders, connecting with a variety of audiences through the most effective means – media relations, business-to-business communications, executive positioning, employee engagement, financial communications or any combination necessary to support business value objectives.
We are business problem-solvers, informed by market insights and focused on driving measurable outcomes. We work with clients to protect their most valued assets: reputation – an aggregate analysis of past behaviour, and trust – stakeholders’ expectation of future behaviour based on past performance.
The long-established strategy of managing crises is obsolete. New crisis dynamics in combination with cultural and technology-led shifts are challenging businesses—crisis communications has never been so complex. We know that the effects of sudden and unforeseen events are deep and holistic.
Business practices, consumer values and our behaviours are profoundly and permanently changed by such movements. They create a new reality, a new paradigm and a new climate for businesses, brands and consumers. A new way of thinking is needed. One that is data-fuelled, rooted in trust, connected to culture and integrated across business functions. Our approach to crisis management is digitally driven and integrated to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crisis in a digital-first crisis landscape.
Our digital team have reimagined the communications and marketing manuscript in order to help brands and business succeed in a digital-first world where attention cannot be bought or demanded, and trust is the key to unlocking growth. Our data-driven approach puts individual conversations and relationships at the centre of the marketing mix, then applies the precision of performance to ensure the stories we tell and the experiences we create connect and perform at every stage of the journey.
Building on our heritage of earning attention and trust for brands, our approach to storytelling creates meaningful audience connections that fuel engagement, inspire action and deliver real business impact.
CEO’s face a general lack of trust. At the same time, there is a lack of awareness of who CEOs are. Forty- seven percent of the global population acknowledge their inability to name a single CEO. And lack of awareness is linked to lower trust: there was a 17 point rise in trust in CEOs when respondents could name CEOs (64 percent of those who could name two or more CEOs said they trusted CEOs). With expectations for business high and awareness of and trust in CEOs low, there’s a need for more engaged leadership to bridge this gap.
The demand of today’s leaders is to be visible, personal and relatable with a clear purpose and a focus beyond the company itself. The call for CEOs and executives to be not just present on the business side, but also to be accessible, real and human on the public side is driving the need for what we call Engaged Leadership. Paper Merchant has worked with CEOs and leaders from a number of businesses, corporations, NGOs and academic institutions. Informed by this work, we have developed a global, experience-and relationship-driven approach to build Engaged Leadership.
We believe it’s not just about what you say, but how you say it: what you do and especially, how you make people feel. The experience of it all, the bit that people remember, is the essence of what we do. Our Experiential team compose, create and direct those experiences that help you connect the people that are important to you; be they your employees, consumers or shareholders with the brand, service or message that makes your business tick. From concept to execution, we craft amazing experiences that generate permanent share of mind. We know every relationship counts and every encounter has the potential to transform your business.
Our thinking, creative strategy and ultimately solutions are always built on solid insight, research and good business sense. We are a collective of multi-disciplinary, multinational teams and we structure ourselves to meet the challenge you set. We bring together some of the best talent in the industry, to create and deliver events and Brand Experiences. Our team of strategists, creatives, producers, journalists, 3D & 2D designers, technical, digital and event staff deliver seamlessly the full range of brand experiences, public events, exhibits, roadshows, immersive environments, as well as event marketing, film and content solutions.
Our approach to media relations combines experience with a much more data-based understanding of the audience. Through a combination of partnerships and research we understand what platforms and channels people use and why, how the devices they use are changing their consumption habits and the specific content needs of media so that we can create meaningful visual assets that support our stories and make them shareable.
But we also nurture and value a hands-on approach to building actual relationships with the media – allowing us to be less transactional and more focused on appropriate co- creation. We are able to negotiate the best industry rates available to offer our clients value for money and our experts in earned media (among their ranks are many former journalists) often collaborate across practices, sectors and geography to achieve the best results for our clients and to grow and evolve our approach in real time.
Purpose is the strategic intersection between what a business does, the impact it has on people and the planet, and its ability to bring about positive, transformative change in society. Purpose has evolved from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a core business strategy. Stakeholders expect organisations to deliver value beyond profit and they are increasingly holding business accountable for their commitments and actions.
This brings into focus the assessment of CSR as a strategic tool in ensuring brands achieve set objectives and achieve Purpose. Our team helps clients deliver Global- level social impact, sustainability and brand justification building Trust and driving value across stakeholder groups.
Let’s delve into the details of your upcoming project and explore how we can bring your vision to life.