Cat Gerke
Masters of Business, Marketing (Australian Institute of Business) | Bachelor of Art Education/Fine Arts (College of Fine Arts, UNSW)
Consider this my ‘professional’ Tinder profile…but instead of pretending I like long walks on the beach, I’m going to tell you what I’m good at and why I love small creative businesses.
I’ve spent more than 15 years working across marketing, branding, digital, design and business development. I’m a marketing and brand strategist, creative director, website designer, business owner, professional artist and Co-Owner and Director of Strategy & Partnerships at The Designory. Which is a lot of job titles, but useful when the problem you bring me turns out not to be the problem at all.
A significant part of my career has been spent in the interiors, design, building and homewares world, helping launch businesses, reposition brands, build audiences, create campaigns, develop commercial partnerships and open up new revenue opportunities. I’ve worked at the intersection of interior design, residential building, publishing, digital products, ecommerce, content, education and brand partnerships. In other words: I know what it’s like inside these businesses, not just what they look like from the outside.
I like to stick my nose into the whole business… because I’m nosey like that
My particular talent is connecting the dots. I’m strategic, but I’m also hands-on. I can work through the positioning and then write the messaging. Develop the brand and then design the website. Plan the marketing strategy and then create the campaign. Work out what your social media needs to say and then actually make the content.
My experience spans brand strategy, marketing strategy, graphic design, website design, Squarespace, Shopify, ecommerce, SEO, GEO, UX, social media, photography, video, content creation, campaigns, partnerships and business development.
Which means I rarely look at one thing in isolation. Because businesses are annoyingly interconnected like that.
Creative brain and commercial brain, constant internal argument…
CLEARLY A GEMINI
I have a Master of Business in Marketing and a Bachelor of Art Education/Fine Arts, which probably explains quite a lot. One half of my brain is thinking about positioning, customers, revenue, conversion and whether this idea makes any commercial sense. The other half is thinking about typography, colour, photography, storytelling and why that spacing is making me uncomfortable.
I’m also a practising professional artist and have exhibited my work around Australia.
So yes, I care deeply about how things look but I care just as much about whether they work. The sweet spot is where the two meet.
“I love working alongside people who are completely obsessed with what they do. My job is to help make sense of all the branding, marketing, websites and business noise that gets in the way of actually doing it.”
SO… ARE WE A MATCH?
If you want someone who will nod supportively at every idea you have, I can probably recommend a very encouraging houseplant. If you want someone who can get inside the business, see the bigger picture, ask irritatingly useful questions and help you turn the answers into strategy, branding, websites, content and marketing that actually make sense…
BRANDS, CREATIVES & ENTREPRENEURS I’VE WORKED WITH:
THE DESIGNORY | SILT STUDIO | COLORBOND | CAESARSTONE | CUISINART | PETA ELIZABETH COSMETICS | OASIS COSMEDICS | FISHER & PAYKEL | MARZ DESIGNS | SOKTAS | HAVIT | HAYMES PAINT | LOUGHLIN FURNITURE | BREMWORTH | ROSEBANK GOLD | DULUX | BYRON BAY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY | BYRON BAY WILDLIFE HOSPITAL | BELLS & WHISTLES EVENTS | TRACK RECORD STUDIO | RENEE KIRKMAN | HAUM SPACE | TAHL RINSKY | PETER OSTICK | MOJ FLOWER | APAISER | VOLUPTO | BILLI TAPS | CSR | THESE WALLS | MODULAR WALLS | OCHRE & SILK | BCG BUILDING DESIGN | B2 CONSTRUCTION | PORTA TIMBER | LA MAISON | LUCY TWEED
Explore my Substack
