Richard Mertens · Portfolio

Ideas in rotation.

Creative Brand Strategist connecting insight, execution and measurable impact.

Creative Brand Strategy

Click or hover to set ideas in rotation

Selected work

Built to be seen. Designed to work.

Case Study · 2024—26

TONE Factory

Growing an audio brand organically through entertainment-first education.

487.6K organic views

Brand StrategyContent SystemOrganic Growth

Organic Brand Growth

Case Study · 2026

The Slow Playback

Turning creative direction into a controlled field experiment.

Best CTR: 2.67%

Experiment DesignMeta AdsKPI Analysis

Creative Effectiveness

Case Study · 2025—26

The Pro-Ject Moment

Reframing analogue listening as a mindful, tactile ritual for a younger audience.

20% lower CPC

Gen Z StrategyPaid SocialCreative Testing

Campaign Strategy

Case Study · Academic Project

Vöslauer

Turning field observation into a behavioural opportunity map.

Field research → opportunity map

Field ResearchBehaviourOpportunity Framing

Consumer Research

Case Study · Independent Event Series

BAKUBA & Pulsation

Building independent event brands from identity to live experience.

150–700 visitors

Brand BuildingEvent ProductionSponsorships

Events & Partnerships

Visual work

Craft, motion and new creative workflows.

Only selected executions — separated from the strategic case studies above.

Photography

A concise edit of product and lifestyle photography across distinct hi-fi brand worlds.

Videography

Music-led product, collaboration and event films built for social-first viewing.

AI Creative Lab

Creative direction, generative production and post-production developed around campaign needs.

AI Creative LabAI Creative Lab · Product world

About me

I work with brands where strategy, culture and visual craft meet.

I connect creative strategy, brand marketing and visual communication — with a focus on design-led products and brands with a strong cultural identity.

I began building independent music and event concepts in Vienna at 17, shaping their identities, websites, campaigns and social presence from the ground up. Since 2023, I have worked in Brand Marketing and Art Direction at Audio Tuning across international brands including Pro-Ject Audio Systems and TONE Factory — taking projects from strategic idea and creative production through to KPI evaluation.

I hold an MSc in Marketing from WU Vienna. My work connects theory with real business questions, from AI-driven search behaviour and Gen Z advertising to The Slow Playback, a 2×2×2 Meta field experiment on creative effectiveness. I want to create brand experiences that are strategically grounded, visually compelling and measurable.

T-shaped profile