⌂ Martin Potter
Work
Novartis Eurovision 2025
Novartis Strategic Communications
Novartis Creative Transformation
Bain & Company Global Employer Brand
Jack Morton Global Brand Experiences
New Balance Integrated Marketing
myGlu Digital Health Platform
Photosound Tradeshows & Events
Journal
About
Contact
⌂ Martin Potter
Work
Novartis Eurovision 2025
Novartis Strategic Communications
Novartis Creative Transformation
Bain & Company Global Employer Brand
Jack Morton Global Brand Experiences
New Balance Integrated Marketing
myGlu Digital Health Platform
Photosound Tradeshows & Events
Journal
About
Contact

Novartis Creative Studio Transformation

Our Life's Work (narrated by me)

Our Life's Work (narrated by me)

Inspired to Innovate - Simones Story

Inspired to Innovate - Simones Story

Inspired to Innovate - Jessicas Story

Inspired to Innovate - Jessicas Story

Introducing 14 weeks parental leave

Introducing 14 weeks parental leave

The ultimate scientific cold case

The ultimate scientific cold case

No Filter – Meet Gisela, a patient with a rare kidney disease

No Filter – Meet Gisela, a patient with a rare kidney disease

Could we regenerate cartilage to reimagine medicine?

Could we regenerate cartilage to reimagine medicine?

Summary

Recruited back to Europe to modernise the global creative ecosystem for Novartis Group External Communications during a period of rapid digital transformation and intense public focus on healthcare during COVID-19.

Tasked with building and leading an agile in-house creative studio to replace fragmented agency dependency; overseeing global storytelling across culture, science, financial communications and corporate affairs.

Led the evolution of the company’s visual and motion design approach, helping establish a more contemporary, digitally fluent brand narrative adopted more broadly across the organisation.

The Sharp End

In-House Studio Transformation: Built and led a multidisciplinary in-house creative team that replaced fragmented agency dependency with an agile internal production model; significantly increasing content speed, consistency and strategic integration across Group External Communications.

Directed creative development and executive sign-off across global storytelling initiatives spanning culture, R&D, financial communications and COVID-19 response content.

Narrative & Motion Design Evolution: Led the introduction of a refreshed animation and motion graphics approach that modernised how science, innovation and corporate storytelling were communicated digitally across Novartis.

Provided creative direction and narrative shaping across a portfolio of films and digital campaigns, partnering closely with Corporate Affairs, HR and Executive Communications stakeholders.

The Impact

Operational Efficiency: Reduced annual agency spend by 40% while doubling content production efficiency through the successful creation of an agile in-house creative studio model.

Brand Modernisation: Helped evolve the visual language and storytelling style of Novartis, introducing a more contemporary and digitally fluent creative approach adopted more broadly across the organisation.

Strategic Influence: Established the creative function as a trusted strategic partner within Group External Communications, embedding creative direction earlier into leadership storytelling, cultural communications and enterprise-wide campaigns.

Selected Stories

How to structure a GenAI+ comms team

How to structure a GenAI+ comms team

As output explodes, judgement becomes the scarce resource.

From DNA to Do-Re-Mi

From DNA to Do-Re-Mi

How a musical conversation led to writing the tagline for Novartis' Eurovision sponsorship.

The collapse of the creative gap

The collapse of the creative gap

GenAI is collapsing the creative process from strategy to visualisation.

AI will expose the bad communicators

AI will expose the bad communicators

Why the future of comms belongs to people with taste, curiosity and creative instinct.

On running ten marathons

On running ten marathons

On running through ten marathons, from my first in NYC to an accidental Boston time.

What is Integrated Creative?

What is Integrated Creative?

Exploring what “integrated creative” really means through a fictional Swiss fashion brand.

Creativity by committee

Creativity by committee

Why do large organisations struggle with creativity and reward predictability over originality.

How luxury brands build desire

How luxury brands build desire

Why the strongest luxury brands allow desire and inevitability to build over time.

Agency or client side?

Agency or client side?

What agency and client-side roles each get right, get wrong, and rarely admit.
At Women’s EUROs in Basel

At Women’s EUROs in Basel

From the opening to England’s win, experience the 2025 Women's EUROs in Basel.

The story behind alotté

The story behind alotté

How curiosity, side projects and a love of building things shaped my career.

The return of listening

The return of listening

An exploration of integrated creative thinking through a fictional premium audio brand.

Relocating to Switzerland

Relocating to Switzerland

Moving to Basel in 2019 and finding belonging and community in Switzerland.

No brief. No RFP. Just an email.

No brief. No RFP. Just an email.

In 2007, BlackBerry was flying high. How one email turned into a flagship account.

The tradeshow booth that burned

The tradeshow booth that burned

A fire threatened to derail a major launch, the entire booth was rebuilt in 48 hours.

Relocating to the USA

Relocating to the USA

What happens when the dream of the US meets reality.

The year I first worked abroad

The year I first worked abroad

A Gap Year that stretched from England to Finland, Germany and across Europe by rail.

Lessons from boarding school

Lessons from boarding school

A look back at my Wellington School years and the lessons that shaped me.

A Gen X Childhood with GenAI

A Gen X Childhood with GenAI

Using GenAI to reconstruct a Gen X childhood before everything was photographed.

Good work starts with good conversations

Get in Touch
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Martin Potter is a Basel-based creative director with experience spanning Bain & Company, Jack Morton and Novartis. alotté is designed and managed by Martin.

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