Strategic Creative Thinking

Foundational is led by Chris Meade, a highly-experienced brand marketing strategist, with a 20-something year track record within the design industry, working for several leading consumer, export and B2B brands.

As a brand strategist and design thinking coach, Chris gives businesses the clarity and confidence to advance by helping them to define their brand strategy, purpose and story and translating that into culture and customer experiences.

With particular strengths in understanding human motivations and market dynamics, Chris helps identify how markets are playing out and where opportunities lie.

Described by one client as “The best at customer insights in the country”, and “The master of articulation” by another, Chris is passionate about working with organisations that actually want to create significant change. 

Before establishing his own businesses, Chris spent 11 years sharpening his craft as Head of Strategy at leading strategic design practice Designworks, Wellington, when it was a thing. And a few years in the wonderful world of brand packaging design with Red Cactus Design, when it too was a thing.

  • Uncovering stated and latent needs, from current or potential customers, forming powerful insights, informing business and brand development

  • Leading teams to create new offerings or experiences, or advance existing ones, through customer-centric design sprints

  • Helping leaders to focus through co-creating their winning aspiration, where they’ll play (and not to play) and how they’ll win

  • Defining your market position and strategy to own it, informing actions and communications, creatively brought to life across digital and physical mediums

  • Defining and succinctly articulating the rational reason someone should chose your brand, product or service over all others

  • Creating powerful brand names that will resonate with new and existing customers and staff alike

  • Designing category-standout product packaging to grab attention and drive connection at the point of sale

  • Creative communications with punch, for business or consumer audiences, creating clarity and connection

They said it

“Foundational is the change agent to plug into your business when results aren't optional.

Chris is the master of articulation. So often all the pieces are there but it takes a skilled mind to pull them together into a clear picture.

He excels at listening critically (sometimes for a really long time!) and then boiling it all down into a simple and easily communicated idea. He has a natural ability to wade through the mud then build a bridge back over it.

If you are looking for a yes man, Chris is not your guy. He has the courage to challenge so that the answer you get is the right one ...not just one that sounds nice.”

Diana Papadopolous, GM Marketing, Booster

“When you need a strategic thinking partner for brand strategy and want this succinctly articulated with consumers at the centre, Foundational are the team to help.

Chris has been working with us on key pieces of work over the last two years. His strategic thinking has helped push our boundaries and his creative talent inspires us to reach higher. Our work together has helped bring a new brand to market. We have had many difficult and new aspects to navigate and Chris has helped us find a way.

Chris is a critical extension to our team, who we can call on when needed. His ability to listen, question, take everything in and then create a way forward is invaluable. Chris’s business experience and thirst for learning and doing new stuff ensures you get new ideas, creativity and a networked thought leader working alongside you.”

Sarah Risell, GM Sales & Marketing, Pāmu

“Prior to working with Chris, we’d reached an impasse on what our next steps should be.

Chris was invaluable in helping us unpick the constituent parts of our sector story and create cohesive, strong, stand-alone territories that allowed us to efficiently and effectively home in what was going to shift the dial the most.

The resulting insights garnered from the process Chris oversaw will undoubtedly have an enduring impact on the strategic direction of our work over the coming years.”

Kit Arkwright, CEO, Beef+Lamb New Zealand Inc

“I think Chris is the best in New Zealand for customer insights. The work he did for us will inform what we do for years to come.”

Stuart Braxton, Director, Coffee Supreme | Beachhead Advisor, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

“Working with Chris was a real pleasure - he was a key partner in a major piece of segmentation work that required extensive stakeholder engagement and delivery at pace.

I valued Chris' ability to challenge my thinking and approach, always looking for ways to shift our mindset and bring creativity to our discussions.

He effectively managed the fine balance in workshops between structured yet free flow debate as well as delivering to the required workshop objectives.

And most importantly, we built a client/agency relationship characterised with mutual respect, honesty and fun.”

Lindsey Brittain, Head of Marketing, Contact Energy

“When Chris walked into Anzac House to pitch for the first ever brand development by the New Zealand RSA, what immediately struck me was his firm but well-founded challenge to appreciate the reality while widening our horizon. Straight off the back, this fresh, frank yet respectful approach to do the best for the best reasons ensued in my mind that Chris was the right guy for what we both appreciated was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Chris is not only a talented global strategic thinker but his commitment to get down amongst the flax-roots ‒ to truly understand the history, culture and life-force of an organisation while not being beholden to it ‒ is his gift. For the RSA he provided the pathway out of the shadowlands to be the strong and relevant organisation it had once been; now as the champion of the Anzac spirit at the heart of the community.

Chris himself has in spades those Anzac values of courage of thought and commitment to the purpose. His compassion and camaraderie means he leaves no one behind, from board member to 90-something veteran member, and always some fun on the journey. In fact, I can’t think of a better tribute than the RSA membership took Chris to heart as their “Turn Around Kid”!

Thanks Chris it was the best times working with you and the results remain my proudest achievement with the RSA. I can’t recommend highly enough entrusting any vital foundational work to Chris as it will be cherished, crafted and celebrated.

Dr Stephen Clarke, CEO, Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association

“Chris worked with me to help set and establish a new Vision and look for LGNZ. Chris' approach was engaged and collaborative but he knew how to stretch the envelope with our stakeholders. The end result has been impressive. It set the base and tone for a new organisation. I'd gladly work with Chris again.”

Malcolm Alexander, CEO, Local Government New Zealand