Fish Tank Creative team

Welcome to the creative studio!

Fish Tank Creative team

In 2017, our team expanded, widening our talent pool and growing our fish tank larger than it’s ever been. We’ve made huge strides in our industry, driving brands forward, connecting with target audiences and adding value to many organisations.

Swim on in and get to know our team…

fish-tank-creative-meet-team-merryn

Merryn Bourne, CEO & Founder

Merryn started Fish Tank Creative almost ten years ago in 2008, out of her creative industry experience in both design and marketing. With her passion for design, charming and upbeat personality, Merryn wears a hundred different hats in this company, balancing her role as CEO with creative strategy, accounts, HR, business sales and even dabbling in design. Plus, she somehow still has plenty of time to spend with her beautiful, young family.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in?
Natural progression. I knew I wanted to be an art director while studying 2D/3D art and social science at school. This was then confirmed by my work experience with George Paterson bates in Year 10 and later Bryce Courternay. My time at University taught me how to take artistic and creative ideas and make them commercially viable. From there, my experience in the real world, working in lifestyle advertising and corporate marketing for 20 years taught me other valuable lessons, like the fact that image is everything the skill of taking customers wants and needs and creating a solution.

What’s your favourite part of the job?
Meeting people, and showing them how the solution works to fix their problem.

What are your hobbies?
Relaxing on the beach, being with my family and laughing with my besties.

If you were a fish, which would you be?
The angel fish, all embellished and sparkly.

fish-tank-creative-meet-team-lyn

Lyn Taylor, Studio Manager

The most recent addition to the Fish Tank Team, Lyn is buzzing with helpful management strategies and insightful ways to improve our processes. She has seventeen years’ experience in the creative industries and is also a well-known photographer in Sydney’s fashion and music scenes.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in?
I started in project management in the creative industry – I thought it would be a perfect combination of creative and strategy.

What’s your favourite part of the job?
Thinking of new ways to assist the FTC team and getting to know our clients.

What are your hobbies?
Photography, playing, guitar and hanging out with my family.

If you were a fish, which would you be?
A puffer fish, haha.
Mardi Lowe. design lead, pre press mastermind and lord of all things WordPress

Mardi Lowe, Digital Design Lead

Mardi combines the distinctive worlds of web development and design with a unique passion and talent for both. She’s an instrumental member of the Fish Tank team, having blessed our Chippendale studio with her cheery, friendly energy and joyful presence for three and a half years.

How did you land up in the line of work you’re in?
I knew from a young age I wanted to be in the creative industry. My first job straight out of school was a Prepress and Graphic Arts apprenticeship, which taught me the design fundamentals of print. From there, I moved from print into the design world. 

What’s your favourite part of the job?
For a long time, I’ve wanted to use my design skills for something that could help the world, even in a small way. Working in aged care has been the most rewarding for me at Fish Tank Creative. I feel good knowing our ideas have been used to help families and elderly people.

What are your hobbies?
Scuba diving, yoga, fitness and reading.

If you were a fish, which would you be?
A parrot fish. They’re just so bright and colourful!

Juliet Forsyth, Designer, illustrator and lover of birds

Juliet Forsyth, Designer & Creative Services Manager

Juliet’s background in fine art gives her graphic design work a unique edge. In the two years she’s been with Fish Tank Creative, we’re yet to see her without a sketchpad in her bag or doodles in her meeting notes. But her talents extend beyond art – she’s got a good instinct for marketing and her mind always is full of creative, out of the box ideas.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in?
I started out studying art, which slid into time-based art which slid into animation which slid into digital media which slid into design …It was a slippery slope.

 What’s your favourite part of the job?
Whenever we get a new project that allows us to be super creative and make something beautiful.

 What are your hobbies?
Drawing, dungeons and dragons and bush walking.

If you were a fish, which would you be?
A Bristlenose Catfish, obviously.

 Kira Friedman Writer of copy and content aka the Beyonce of writing 

Kira Friedman, Copywriter

Word obsessed and a bit of a book nerd, Kira just returned from six months studying literature in Edinburgh, Scotland. She loves making complex ideas sound simple, striving to help brands’ unique personalities shine through.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in?
I’ve always been interested in the art of writing, but I’ve recently discovered the art of branding. There’s something very satisfying about listening to a client and helping them build their marketing goals.  

What’s your favourite part of the job?
Getting to write cool articles like this one…

What are your hobbies?
Travelling, cooking and reading.

If you were a fish, which would you be?
A Neon Tetra, they’re tiny and look just like a regular fish, but that glowing strip always catches your eye.

 Farhan Saeed, Web developer

Farhan Saeed, Web Developer

Farhan moved to Australia just one and a half years ago from Pakistan and is now doing his Masters in IT. He’s a web development and coding whizz, constantly impressing us with his coding skills and keeping us up to date with the latest in the tech world.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in?
It was my love for technology. I started off as a freelance writer, and was not very good at it. A few months into freelancing, I started my computer science degree and saw how much I could do with what I learn in class. Then I just kept learning new things to keep up with the changing needs of clients, which was both challenging and enjoyable. Time just flew from there.

What’s your favourite part of the job?
I can work from anywhere.

What are your hobbies?
Cricket, music, movies and TV shows.

If you were a fish, which would you be?
I don’t know… I don’t even know what type of fish we have in our office tank.

Yery Yoon, Marketing intern

Yery Yoon, Marketing Intern

A qualified optometrist, budding artist and talented photographer, Yery is a bright and friendly member of the Fish Tank Team. She’s fluent in Korean, loves fashion and is always keen to extend her marketing skills. In fact, she’s headed back to school next year to pursue her passion, Media Productions.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in?
(as a marketing intern): I was working at a small independent optometry practice where we had to all participate in a bit of everything to run a business and it sparked an interest in marketing. It lead me to actively paying attention to the way brands tried to win my attention as a consumer.

What’s your favourite part of the job?
Understanding what people may be interested in and engaging with them to entertain or inform them of their needs.

What are your hobbies?
Drawing, reading, taking photos, binge watching tv series

If you were a fish, which would you be?
The Finding Nemo fish because it’s cute to look at.

fish-tank-creative-meet-team-otto-cleo

Cleo and Otto, Studio Mascots

Tasked with the important role of swimming about all day and night, Cleo and Otto are 24/7 studio security guards, supervising the team and making sure nothing un-fishy is going on.

Looking to build your branding and communication strategy in the New Year? The Merryn Bourne Creative team can develop your marketing strategy and design you a brand image that perfectly aligns with your organisation. For an obligation-free chat, contact Merryn on 02 8399 2223.

how to create meaningful content in 2018

How to create meaningful content in 2018

how to create meaningful content in 2018

Studies increasingly show that creating engaging, helpful and consistent content results in higher overall retention and profit rates in the long term. This is because truly engaging your customers enhances brand recognition, likeability and community – the key ingredients for sales growth. If you’re not investing in content, you should start now – experts predict that creating meaningful content will be vital to business success in 2018, with our economy becoming more digitalised and socially connected than ever before. Here are some tips to help you develop content that engages your customers:

Add value, don’t just advertise

Many organisations produce content solely for advertising purposes, but this often comes at the detriment of building a real connection with your client. People tend to block out advertising material, or anything they deem to have too strong of a sales push. On the other hand, if your content is engaging, helpful and shows you really care about your product or service, your customers are far more likely to follow you, regularly interact with your material and even share it with their friends. If you’re unsure whether your content is adding value, simply ask: ‘If I were a customer, would I be truly interested in viewing this?’ If the answer is no, it’s probably time to reconsider the kind of material you’re producing.

Know your audience

We live in an era of personalisation. It’s essential to customise your content to ensure individuals only see the information they’ll be interested in. If the option is available, why not tailor your message to specific individuals to ensure they get the most out of your communications? You can segment customers into groups that would benefit from a unique offering – for example, location, sector, purchase history, browsing habits or gender by reviewing the analytics data you already have about them. By feeling like your content has been tailored specifically to them, studies show that customers are much more likely to engage with you and become a part of your brand community.

Always be authentic

No longer do brands have to look authentic, but they also have to be authentic. Today’s socially conscious and tech-savvy consumers expect the brands they endorse to be honest, transparent, deliver on their promises and to remain true to their identities. They are far more likely engage with content that speaks to human experiences, appears passionate about what they believe in and are willing to accept their faults. On the other hand, if these expectations aren’t met, criticism can spread like wildfire across social networks, devastating your credibility. Remember, your credibility is one of your most valuable commodities, so use it wisely.

Need help developing a content strategy that motivates and excites? Merryn Bourne Creative can work closely with your brand to develop integrated marketing communications that generates real sales results. For more detailed information, contact us today.