We feel incredibly proud to have recently become a certified B Corporation and to celebrate B Corp month this March we are going #BehindtheB to uncover a bit about the journey – sharing our story as a brand consultancy doing business differently and making a positive impact through the work we do, as well as a little insight into the process of becoming a B Corp and why it’s important to us.
Where it all started…
Back in 1999, our Founders Luke and Shane were two creative thinkers with a will to do good with what they’d been given. They started a creative studio together in their parents’ garage which began to grow slowly but surely. Fast forward two decades, three studios, countless experiences and the addition of third owner, Nikki, in 2005, today we are a purpose-driven, brand leadership consultancy.
Since the day we started, we’ve purposely chosen to support those who have a positive impact on society and the future. It’s something we as individuals are driven by and gives us the greatest fulfillment. We believe in meaningful purpose in business, and ours is to empower people and organisations to have a positive impact through their work.
Doing business differently
Call it idealism, or whatever you like, but from the very beginning, business had to mean something beyond money for it to be ‘successful’ or sustainable for us – physically, emotionally and spiritually sustainable, not just financially sustainable. Humans aren’t robots after all.
We believe in a future where every organisation contributes well to the world. Today in business the absence of a negative is not enough, you need to proactively contribute a positive. We’ve honed and developed our services over two decades to support organisations in this pursuit. But it’s not just what we do – how we do business has always been important to us.
Listen to our Find Your Possible Podcast featuring our founders Luke and Shane, and Director Nikki, who talk about growing something genuine from the ground-up.
Building positive and conscious branding frameworks
Back in 2014, fed up with the negative impact brands and marketing were having on people and societal values, Nikki started exploring the concept of how brands can positively influence our wellbeing (see some of her original scribbling below!).
It was from this early exploration that our Conscious Branding approach was born. At the core, it’s about building awareness, meaning, connection and authenticity into the branding process to support an organisation to have a sustainable positive impact. We facilitate a process to uncover higher purpose and embed it in a way that supports long-term growth, by positively engaging and serving the needs and desires of people. It’s a mindful approach to branding, which seeks to remove the perceived gap between business and brand, and position organisations to lead the future.
Today we are a diverse team of brand experts – strategists, facilitators, researchers, brand coaches, brand builders, designers and storytellers who empower our clients to progress, grow, contribute positively to the world and achieve brand leadership – inside and out.
Working with purpose-driven people
Something we’ve learnt over the years is that most organisations and their leaders want to contribute something positive – they want their work to make a difference, not just pay the bills.
We love working alongside like-minded people. For two decades, we’ve worked across many sectors with a focus less on the industry itself, and more on the aligned values, mindset and goals of the organisations we engage with. Our clients share in our vision of a more equal, inclusive, sustainable, and regenerative world.
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Our impact through giving and serving
Our purpose has led us to develop initiatives like our $10k Project Grant that we give away each year to organisations who have an idea for positive impact, our Impact Program which enables subsidised work to help NFPs and social enterprises with their brand building, our Conscious Brands Assessment Tool that supports organisations on their purpose-driven journey, as well as many more.
And as part of our B Corp certification, we donate 5% or more (typically a lot more!) of employee time to support not-for-profit, charities or purpose-driven organisations through volunteering and pro-bono services. In 2021, we contributed over $45,000 through our partnership programs and pro bono work, and our team spent over 150 hours volunteering with other organisations. These initiatives have allowed us to support some incredible organisations with projects that are having a positive impact on our world.
Read more about our impact here
Getting our B Corp Certification
While we’ve always felt we’ve had B Corp ‘DNA’ running through our veins at Mezza, it wasn’t until several years ago that we started the process to become officially B Corp certified. After years of hard work improving our processes, documenting our impact and making our way through the application process, we were officially awarded B Corporation Certification at the end of 2021.
It was a lengthy in-depth process – but that’s the whole point! The idea is to reflect, review, question what you’re doing in different areas of the business and build better practices… being a conscious business is a long game, there’s no finish line.
To say we are proud of this achievement is an understatement! Internally, it’s so nice to have recognition of our team’s hard work over the years to ensure we’re a conscious business.
Read more about our BCorp journey here
“We are so grateful to have had the support of the mighty Mezzanine team in 2021. Their commitment to building our brand and to expanding awareness of our services has significantly contributed to helping women in our community to escape from domestic violence and homelessness. They constantly exceed our expectations and deliver value well beyond our budget. They thoroughly deserve accreditation as a B Corp. Well done!”
Donna GeorgeCommunity Relations Coordinator
Jenny’s Place
It’s hard to summarise a 22-year journey in one blog post – but we hope we’ve been able to give you a glimpse #behindtheb and have inspired you to pursue your own positive impact in business (or become B Corp Certified yourself!).
We’ll leave you with an adaption of the great Mother Teresa’s quote – One person, or one organisation alone cannot change the world, but they can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.