The Founders
Truth & Spectacle was founded by Alex and Ivan. They met while creating global brand campaigns and have been firm friends ever since. Together, they bring years of hands-on experience in creative leadership, organisational coaching, marketing support and storytelling. They work with a roster of creative thinkers and makers with plenty of useful experience and impeccable manners.
Alex Mecklenburg / Creative Coach
Alex is an experienced, provocative business coach, working with leadership teams, CEOs and boards of organisations who are looking to break through their own business bubble.
She has built a wonderful career by solving business problems with creativity and continuous organisational prototyping.
Alex is also the co-founder of the technology cooperative Dot Project and the co-founder of the responsible innovation practice Consequential CIC.
In her time as Global Brand Director and Business Director, and Global Digital Lead for Unilever she delivered seminal work like Dirt is Good.
She has since worked with a variety of creative agencies, start-ups, charities and non profit organisations helping them shape new business models and creative structures to deliver innovative products and services.
Alex loves working together with others in order to bring cross-sector experience, diverse thinking and collective energy to any project.
Ivan Pols / Creative Coach
Ivan is an insightful creative director and coach, working with a team’s experience, expertise, ideas and ambitions, to craft a story that is energising and motivating.
He is the Chief Creative Officer of what3words where he leads on Brand Experience and has helped build a wonderful multinational, full service, in-house studio and marketing team.
He was Global Creative Director at both Ogilvy and adam&eveDDB, for Dove, Unilever & Philips. He likes to tell people he worked on Diamond Shreddies, the Canadian cereal campaign that ended up in advertising textbooks, business books, TED Talks, and spoof videos.
Ivan champions inclusive and in-house creativity. He writes, does talks, appears on podcasts, makes comments, and volunteers his time to this new community.
He’s won a few awards, including Grand Prix and Gold (& even Silver) at D&AD, Cannes, One Show, Clios, London International, and in almost every category including Integrated Campaign, Innovation, Product Design, Effectiveness, and even web banners.
Associates
Our Associates are experienced and passionate creative thinkers and makers. They work with us in a variety of ways to help our clients create remarkable ideas and deliver brilliant projects. They’re lovely people.
We’re always looking for creative thinkers and makers to help our clients speak more truth and create more spectacle. If that’s you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
What’s our special sauce?
We bottle what an organisation is already doing well, and build on that.
Our creative and strategic facilitators work with a team’s experience, expertise, ideas and ambitions, to craft a story that is energising and motivating.
Our coaching approach helps everyone contribute creatively in their own way by listening, provoking new thinking and educating, because we’ve found that gets the best results.
Our customers are supported throughout the process with a clear roadmap, simple explanations, and follow ups to encourage accountability.
Teams come out of our processes with renewed confidence and a set of practical tools and skills to use every day.
The founders have been awarded for both effectiveness & creativity by some great organisations
