Communicado and The Contenders take equity stake in visual content agency Content Hustlers

(Pictured L-R: Joy Howard, Lucy Houldsworth, David Vale, Kerrie Ryan and Joe Rogers)

As all roads continue to lead to visual content, the senior management team of integrated creative agency Communicado and brand strategy agency The Contenders, have taken an equity stake in visual content agency Content Hustlers.

Content Hustlers welcome Kerrie Ryan, Communicado managing director, as the new board chair, and Joe Rogers, The Contenders executive strategy director, as board member to facilitate the growth and guidance of Content Hustlers, and together, foster synergies between the group of companies.

Experts in visual branded content including photography and video production, Content Hustlers saw momentum shifting upward in 2022 with a growing portfolio of clients across food, beverage, health, beauty and lifestyle categories including Blackmores, Peters, Accolade and Hairhouse.

To accelerate its growth potential and desire to be leaders in its field, Content Hustlers went to market with an open tender to consider a range of strategic options.

When assessing the multiple growth opportunities from interested parties across various agency structures and business models, David Vale and Steven Deveraux-Stanford, founding hustlers of Content Hustlers, felt that the business was better aligned with an independent creative agency and brand strategy agency versus a larger networked conglomerate.

Says David Vale, managing and creative director at Content Hustlers:“We liked the synergies, critical thinking and the people at Communicado and The Contenders.

“Rarely can indie agencies or brands directly access a suite of skills that include the whole gamut of creatives involved in a shoot – from concepting to final delivery while streamlining the content production process, making it stress-free, consistent in quality, on time and within often tight budgets.

“We saw real value in bringing together complimentary founder-led agencies to service client needs, each being leaders in their respective fields and together offering the best in marketing thinking across strategy, branding, creative services and importantly, content.

“With an ever increasingly complex and fragmented marketing landscape, we believe clients need experts not generalists to shift capability at speed, with an agile structure to boot. That means Content Hustlers remains as a stand-alone business doing what it does best, but coupled with Communicado and The Contenders where it makes sense.”

(L-R: Steven Deveraux-Stanford, David Vale)

Says Kerrie Ryan, managing director, Communicado: “Communicado has a financial interest in The Contenders while Content Hustlers was already a valued supplier so it made sense to create a more robust partnership where we all benefit – not only through business referrals but career and shareholding opportunities starting with Joy Howard, Communicado’s finance director, now working and invested across all three businesses.

“Having worked in larger multi-national structures, my business partner and Communicado director, Lucy Houldsworth, as well as Joe Rogers and I have chosen a more entrepreneurial path where we felt we could make a real difference to clients’ businesses. We felt that Content Hustlers embodied similar values which we demonstrated in our submission.”

Says Joe Rogers, executive strategy director of The Contenders: “As the endless pursuit of content will only continue, both Kerrie and I recognised the size, value, and significant growth potential in the content industry.

“Above all, the collaboration of businesses has come together with a strong cultural alignment focussed on craft, quality and cooperation.”

The collective vision is to add more services and products, and continue to evolve visual brand worlds, video and motion which starts with a new hire in Kristy Buchanan as design director.

Buchanan comes to Content Hustlers via a fortuitous meeting with Ryan at industry mentoring program, The Aunties. An experienced design director with a nearly 7-year stint at B.B.E Digital, Buchanan is excited to be supporting Vale with a focus on creating opportunities across all three businesses.

(L-R: Kristy Buchanan and David Vale)