Hello,
we are SURGE Advisory.
We realise the financial power of brands, teams and the unimaginable by…….
Unlocking intangible value through brand development and delivery.
Imagineering the future with strategic foresight tools and innovation programs.
Empowering people through the development of learning cultures for superior performance.
We combine practical experience with academic rigour, cutting- edge data analytics and creative flair, helping organisations and individuals SURGE for growth and impact.
The Partners
Exceptional Leadership and flexible teams, designed for your needs.
Gemma Hunter
Gemma is a trailblazing marketer and creative powerhouse with over 25 years of experience transforming brands and breaking boundaries. She’s excelled across every corner of the industry—media owner/publisher, media agency, creative agency, and client side—delivering innovative solutions that inspire and drive results.
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As VP at MTV Networks Europe, Gemma was the second hire in founding the ground breaking International Marketing Partnerships department and played a pivotal role in pan-European program and content development. She masterminded MTV’s first-ever global partnership, setting a new benchmark for collaboration.
At TBWA London, as MD of the content division, Gemma brought the world the award-winning GT Academy. This Pan-European campaign for Nissan and PlayStation turned gamers into real-life racing drivers, with its hit TV series airing in 46 markets. The campaign clinched the first-ever Cannes Lion in Brand Entertainment.
Her transformative work continued at MediaCom Australia, where she launched and led Beyond Advertising, integrating data analytics, SEO, social media, creative, and production. Among her achievements was the creation of Air Rescue for Westpac—the first free-to-air TV series of its kind, running for five years and selling in over 100 markets globally, making it the most-sold brand-funded series of all time and Alienware “Area 52” - where she invented ‘Live Dimension Reality’; blending gaming, projection mapping, SFX and live stunt actors to create an event the likes of which had never been seen before.
As Global Executive Creative Director at MediaCom, Gemma defined creative and production practices worldwide.
As GM Marketing and Studio at Myer, she revitalized the brand’s identity and strategy, achieving business growth for the first time in five years, skyrocketing trust rankings from 22nd to 6th, and captivating over a million new 18-34 year old customers.
Gemma’s passion for innovation has fueled ground breaking work for the likes of Adidas, Puma, PlayStation, Nissan, Audi, Carlsberg, Heineken, P&G, Unilever, Mars as well as public sector and non-profits such as Fashion Targets Breast Cancer and state governments in Australia and Europe. Her work has been honoured at global awards, including Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, and One Show, earning her a spot in the “Top 20 Creative Leaders in Australia” and “40 Under 40.”
A sought after speaker, panelist, workshop facilitator, and coach, Gemma is a transformation expert who thrives on building high performance teams and leading through complex, multi-stakeholder change. She is deeply passionate about crafting communications that move people, driving diversity and inclusion, and mentoring the next generation of visionary leaders
Sergio Brodsky
Partner
Sérgio is multilingual having begun his career as an IP lawyer in Brazil, and progressed as a high-tech military consultant in the Middle-East, before pivoting towards brand strategy, media and foresight in the UK and Australia. He’s possibly the only marketeer in Australia formally trained in strategic foresight.
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Over Sergio’s Career he has lead brand and foresight strategy programs across sectors as diverse as: Education, Entertainment, Automotive, FMCGs, Finance, Government, Non-Profits, Arts & Culture, Tech, Fashion, Tourism, Food and Beverages, Retail and more.
He led the revitalization of the AUS Grand Prix brand, the global repositioning of HSBC, the creation of the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship brand, AGL’s most significant brand transformation in 190 years, the rebrand of Fed. Square, the re-definition of cult fashion brand, State of Escape and was appointed brand guardian for the Jane Goodall Institute, among many other landmark projects he contributed to.
He was also a marketing lecturer at RMIT and General Assembly, Columnist & Editorial Board Advisor at Marketing Magazine, Author of Foresight in Marketing and Marketing Research (Routledge) and the creator of Urban Brand-Utility, a radically innovative model through which a brand’s touch points becomes the deliverers of public utility services (not just messages), underpinned by a circular revenue model.
A contributor for the World Economic Forum, sought after speaker and panelist at conferences across APAC, EU, USA and LATAM and published by a number of trade, mainstream and academic publications like the Journal of Futures Studies, Berlin Marketing Journal, Vice, The Conversation and Branding Magazine.
Our Collaborators
Data Fuelled Insights
Analysts and data scientists with international experience ensure we are mining all available data points, both 1st and 3rd party, to deliver data fuelled human insights.
Creative and Production
Our Experience and curiosity ensure we are matching the right creative talent to the brief, plus always looking for effectiveness and efficiency in production approaches, management and tech.
Interested in becoming a collaborator and working on projects with us, click here and send us your details.
What We Offer
The full journey from diagnostics to strategy and implementation planning. We're your thinking and doing partner, imagineering the most efficient and effective ways to deliver against your company's brief and professional aspirations. We deliver deliver the vision AND the operational plan support to ensure growth and effectiveness. Everything starts with you and fully understanding your brief, needs and objectives.
Diagnostics:
Combining sophisticated data-modelling, research and forecasting exercises with consultative immersions tailored to the brand and brief requirements and organisational complexities.
Strategy:
From it’s original greek Strategos (στρατηγός), strategy is 'the art of the general'. For us it means artfully leading your brand and teams' performance by making the complex, simple and the simple compelling and actionable.
Implementation:
Designed for your requirements we can offer from full implementation planning to a ‘high-thought/low-touch’ approach.
Impactful outcomes:
Driving brand attributes that deliver on understanding, utility, uniqueness and reputation, the four keys to unlocking intangible value, increasing of brand equity and most potent predictors of market share and future growth potential. We will work with you to model expected range of revenue outcomes from brand revitalisation programs, generally between 4%-15% growth.
The People Practise
Why does transformational learning matter today?
The age of the Information / Knowledge worker where companies require high quality thinking. This means that the ability to search, select, process, synthesise, share and use information has never been so important for business success.
Higher rates of change and deeper complexity in Marketing practices have been linked to increased stress and mental health challenges as people try to find balance in home and work life.
Competition was never so fierce with technology becoming a new leveller, meaning that human performance is the final frontier for breakthroughs and competitive advantage.
What drives employee engagement has changed – greater flexibility, the need to learn and grow regularly, heightened and shortened expectations of levels of ambition in the younger cohorts.
Ensure your people truly are your greatest asset and reduce churn and recruitment costs.
We partner with you and your team to deliver thought-provoking, inspiring and capability-enhancing training and coaching to maximise professional human potential. Driving new ways of thinking and behaving to deliver transformative action and motivated high-performance teams.
CRAFT - Enhancing core capabilities in current and emerging areas of Marketing
GROW – Developing emerging and established leaders, leading through transformation, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion strategies.
Contact us for a full detail of all of training options available
to you and your teams.
MINI Genius Bot, conversational AI with flair.
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More than just an automaton answering questions, MINI’s Genius Bot has to converse in the language of the “creative class.” This was the insight we uncovered into positioning MINI’s conversation AI and crafting its verbal identity. Inspired by Guy Ritchie’s cockney-chic lingo and style, this new functionality brings a creative flair to MINI’s Connected offering, also further differentiating the brand.
Towards a greener, more peaceful and equitable future with UN ESCAP
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Tasked with facilitating a series of Strategic Foresight workshops involving 55 of the UN’s member States, we have contributed to the Asia-Pacific Futures in 2040 report, now informing new policies for the region’s prosperity.
Nissan and PlayStation Europe- GT Academy.
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A Pan Euro virtual to reality promotion running in 17 markets giving the best Gran Turismo players the once in a lifetime opportunity to compete to become a real-life professional race car driver with the Nissan team.
A through the line campaign including ATL, PR, events, TV series broadcast in 160 markets and digital content/ social media strategy.
Results: 3 year waiting list for Nissan GTRs, PlayStation’s Gran Turrismo sold out across Europe in a week! Winner first ever CANNES LION for Best Use of Brand Entertainment. The inaugural GT Academy was won by 23-year-old Spanish student Lucas Ordoñez. His journey from PlayStation®3 gamer to the Le Mans podium in less than three years is a clear demonstration of the strength of the Academy.
Testimonials
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Suzana Bishop
CEO at Northern Territory Major Events Company and former Chief Experience Officer at Fed. Square
“Sergio worked with our organisation during a challenging and complex time when we needed to shift our internal culture, and brand narrative to re-position and relaunch in the marketplace in the middle of a political Public Relations debacle between our Heritage Listing, an Apple flagship store proposition and heated public opinion. Sergio went above and beyond to ensure we had the necessary tools and support to implement our strategic direction, re-energising our brand for the years to come. The newly devised participatory communications strategy directly contributed towards Fed. Square's $20 million upgrade funded by the State Government's Building Works stimulus (the largest upgrade in 18-years) and a sold-out, triple award-winning launch festival. This brand repositioning, supported by an all-encompassing communications program, created the conditions for everyone’s success, and just a few months after our relaunch I was promoted from General Manager to Chief Experience Officer and invited to join the board of the prestigious Events Australia. ”
Kartik Teja Kommuri - Chief Marketing Officer Indian School of Business
“Following a rigorous selection process involving key members of our leadership team, we onboarded Sergio Brodsky to lead our brand transformation. Sergio's dedication to this project has been unparalleled, having poured his heart, soul and mind to deliver a precise diagnostic and compelling strategy that got unanimous buy-in from a very tough audience in a rather complex environment. He truly operates as an extension of our team, being supportive to our people but also bringing a strong point-of-view that steered our decision-making in the right ways, greatly contributing for the future success and significance of our institution.”
Toby Jenner Global CEO - Wavemaker
“Gemma is a passionate, visionary, results driven leader. Her collaborative style ensures she brings everyone on the journey with her, setting clear expectations, objectives and plans in place to deliver and most often exceed expectations. Gemma to set up our Content division at MediaCom. It was the first market outside of Europe and the USA in which we launched. Gemma came with a wealth of global experience and started the department from scratch. Within 3 years it was the model for global best practise, the 3rd most commercially successful team globally ahead of China and the USA and the most awarded internationally. Gemma's ability to deliver in the now whilst also anticipating and planning for the future meant she bought other teams into the Content division - Social, SEO, data and analytics and thus she led a full service creative agency within a media agency and set the benchmark for what 'Content' meant for our clients - strategy, ideation, delivery, optimisation, measurement and insight fuelled learning. Anyone who hires her will have the ultimate marketing weapon and a game changing marketeer in their midst. ”
Adam Colling - Head of Corporate Partnerships, Fashion Targets Breast Cancer
“I first met Gemma when she pitched a radical new concept for our Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign. Having never worked in the digital medium before we weren't 100% sure it could actually be delivered but that all changed when we met Gemma. Gemma is a dream to work with, creative, innovative and inspiring, she led not only the 5 agencies involved in the project but also educated and inspired our marketing team and retail partners, and you should consider yourself fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her.”
