Deloitte acquires The Explainers to form new narrative strategy operating unit
Deloitte has acquired digital communication studio The Explainers in an effort to expand its professional services and strengthen its creative digital practices.
The Explainers – which uses animation, film, installation, infographics, written stories, graphic novels and other media to help clients better explain what they do – will form a new narrative strategy operating unit within Deloitte Consulting’s Customer practice and will have strong links to Deloitte Digital.
Shane Currey, Deloitte national design ead, Matt Taylor (seated) and Nathan Fitzpatrick (standing) from The Explainers, and Frank Farrall, Deloitte customer practice leader.
Deloitte CEO, Cindy Hook, said: “We are experiencing significant demand for our advisory services and will continue to invest in adjacent capabilities that enable our clients to effectively manage complex change. The Explainers are leaders in creating compelling stories that explain complex ideas.
“They very much complement our design thinking approach to problem solving and as part of our Customer practice will help our clients connect with their customers in ever more engaging ways.”
Matt Taylor, owner and founder of The Explainers, will become a Director with Deloitte in Sydney and bring his team of eight digital storytellers with him. He will lead the Narrative Strategy team which will report to Shane Currey, consulting partner and national design lead of Deloitte.
Frank Farrall, Lead Partner for Deloitte Digital Asia Pacific and the Customer Practice in Australia, said: “We are thrilled to have The Explainers join our team. Since we acquired MashUp in August last year, our Customer Practice has gone from strength-to-strength, as clients recognise the value of working with a single provider to manage all aspects of improving their customers’ experience.
“Our brand and spatial team has doubled in size in the past 12 months and we have just hired a new Melbourne partner to further build our retail offering. As evidenced by Deloitte Digital’s acquisition of creative agency Heat back in February, we see huge opportunity in increasingly providing our clients with creative content as well as strategic business advice.”
Matt Taylor, founder of The Explainers, said: “Major change has become the new constant for modern business, so explaining any kind of change after it happens is often too late.
“Today, being successful requires communicating and explaining change as it happens, which is what The Explainers is all about. Through persuasive storytelling, we’ve helped large organisations and the government solve a broad range of operational and business problems.
“Combining our narrative skills and strategic experience with the power of the Deloitte network opens us up to a vast knowledge base and new relationships, which is incredibly exciting for us.”
The Explainers’ clients include the DIIS, Westpac, IAG, AMP, NBN, and the Human Rights Commission. The Narrative Strategy team will continue to work with government, innovation and financial services clients.
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Ooh! Oooh! 4 middle-aged white men! Everybody on social- over here! 4 white guys in one PR shot! Deloitte must be punished!
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Rushie you are very very funny
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Narrative strategy operating unit – their first brief should be for Deloittes comms.
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Matt is a but a whippersnapper. But he’s still male and white so wriggle room for two-thirds outrage.
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Peter, I have a job, how does “GM of narrative strategic satire” sound ?
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Oh so very droll ‘Rushie’…how’s your cartoonist mate, Bill?
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well that explains that
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