Martin Potter
Creative leader shaping how global organisations communicate, engage and show up in the world through brand experience, strategic communications and digital transformation. International in-house and agency experience including Novartis, Bain & Company and Jack Morton Worldwide.
📍 Basel, Switzerland (UK Citizen, Swiss Resident)
Areas of Practice
01.
Brand Experience
Where strategy becomes experience. From Eurovision 2025 to global congresses, corporate events and sponsorship programmes, I create connected brand experiences that align narrative, design and audience needs.
02.
Creative & GenAI
An agency mindset focused on delivery. From integrated campaigns and brand systems to GenAI-enabled workflows, I help ensure the final experience lives up to the original idea.
03.
Communications
Helping organisations turn complex ideas into communication that is clear, credible and engaging. My work spans executive communications, transformation programmes and corporate storytelling.
04.
Digital & UX
Designing digital experiences that balance structure, usability and storytelling. My focus is creating journeys that feel connected rather than fragmented.
Selected Work
Eurovision 2025
Novartis. Directing the sponsorship strategy and brand experience for Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel.
Global Employer Brand
Bain & Company. Transforming Bain’s employer brand through digital strategy, UX and integrated creative campaigns.
Creative Transformation
Novartis. Building a modern in-house creative function spanning design, motion and storytelling.
Global Brand Experience
Jack Morton Worldwide. Creating memorable brand experiences for some of the world’s biggest organisations.
Strategic Communications
Novartis. Bringing ethics, culture and leadership conversations to more than 100,000 employees worldwide.
Integrated Marketing
New Balance. Bringing one of America’s most iconic endurance events to life through content and community.
Digital Health Platform
myGlu. Launching a patient-focused digital platform designed to connect, inform and empower.
Tradeshows & Events
Photosound. Integrated brand experiences at global pharma congresses and NASCAR for GSK, MSD and BMS.
Significant Professional Experience
Novartis >
Creative Director, Brand Experience & Strategic Communications
Basel, Switzerland | 2019-2026
Progressed through three leadership roles spanning creative direction, strategic communications and brand experience, culminating in the creation of the Corporate Affairs external brand experience team and the Eurovision 2025 global sponsorship.
Bain & Company >
Creative Director, Employer Brand Marketing
Boston, USA | 2012-2019
Led global employer brand marketing, digital transformation and UX strategy, increasing audience engagement by 700% while strengthening MBA and experienced-hire recruitment.
Jack Morton Worldwide >
VP, Client Partnerships & Brand Experience
NYC > Boston, USA | 2005-2011
Led integrated sponsorship, brand experience and experiential marketing programmes for BlackBerry, Siemens, Pfizer, ESPN, Mobil 1 and Nickelodeon, securing more than $10M in new business.
Photosound Communications >
Senior Account Director, Tradeshows & Brand Experience
London, UK > NYC, USA | 1998-2005
Progressed from Producer in London to Senior Account Director in the US, leading global pharmaceutical congresses, experiential marketing and NASCAR sponsorship programmes for Merck, BMS and GSK.
The Journal
Building a GenAI+ comms team
As output explodes, judgement becomes the scarce resource.
What is Integrated Creative?
What “integrated creative” really means through a fictional fashion brand.
AI will take your comms job if…
From DNA to Do-Re-Mi
How a musical conversation led to writing the Novartis' Eurovision tagline.
Becoming a Creative Director
Not all creative directors come from design school.
The story behind this site
How curiosity, side projects and a love of building things shaped my career.
Why sponsor the World Cup?
Why do brands like Visa and Coca-Cola spend millions sponsoring the World Cup?
Creativity by committee
Why companies struggle with creativity and reward predictability over originality.
The collapse of the creative gap
GenAI is collapsing the creative process from strategy to visualisation.
On running ten marathons
From my first for charity in NYC to an accidental Boston qualifier.
Gen X has been waiting for GenAI
Gen X is better prepared than most for the age of GenAI in the workplace.
Agency or client side?
At Women’s EUROs in Basel
You can't fake culture
The strongest cultures are built through leadership, not comms campaigns.
Relocating to Switzerland
Moving to Basel in 2019 and finding belonging and community in Switzerland.
No brief. No RFP. Just an email.
In 2007, BlackBerry was flying high. How one email turned into a flagship account.
The booth that caught fire
A fire threatened to derail a major launch, the entire booth was rebuilt in 48 hours.
Relocating to the USA
My Approach
When people ask what I do, I ask them to imagine a brand they admire; seeing a campaign, visiting a website, attending an event or simply using the product itself. The strongest brands feel coherent across those moments, even when the audience barely notices why. That is what I love creating.
