As a creative growth partner committed to helping our clients move from transactional campaigns to lasting impact, we understand that creativity delivers results. It transforms insights into ideas that resonate, experiences that connect and strategies that generate measurable value. Creativity helps brands stay relevant, strengthens relationships and delivers meaningful growth.
MCI’s intention was to use SXSW London as a platform to actively demonstrate our role as a strategic creative partner. We developed Powering Live Creativity, a three-day consultative activation that invited co-creation, positioned creativity as a business driver and gave our clients and partners a front-row seat to how we think: human-first, insight-led and strategically aligned. The event allowed us to bring our creative vision to life in a setting defined by innovation, credibility and cultural relevance.
These are some of our thoughts after the event.
Designing experiences for genuine engagement
We brought this approach to life at SXSW through carefully planned conversations and immersive sessions exploring practical ways to address challenges. Over three days, our teams and client partners engaged in discussions that built genuine understanding and identified clear paths to achieve shared objectives.
Business value grows from authentic connections that turn a moment of engagement into lasting momentum. The event demonstrated that when teams prioritise open dialogue, they establish a foundation for sustained growth and stronger relationships. Working side by side achieves alignment and clarity that is difficult to create through disconnected channels.
Moments that build lasting momentum
The activation at SXSW London demonstrated how shared experiences can spark new opportunities. High-emotion, in-person engagement has the power to create connections that support long-term partnership. By bringing people together, our teams showed the value of conversation that goes beyond transactions and focuses on understanding and collaboration.
When teams that are normally silo-ed collaborate from the start, they create shared purpose and deepen relationships in ways that support sustained success. This approach aligns teams around common goals and demonstrates that relationships are central to revenue growth.
A global collective delivering local impact
MCI’s approach relies on acting as a single, global collective. Clients benefit from the full strength of mci group and all of that shared expertise, local understanding and creative power. At SXSW, this spirit of collaboration was clear, showing that effective solutions emerge through cooperation across borders, cultures and disciplines.
By removing barriers between regions and teams, we deliver ideas and strategies with consistent quality and local relevance. This unified approach is central to our ability to serve clients who expect seamless experiences across markets.
Making creativity visible and practical
Creativity must be visible, practical and meaningful. We focus on turning ideas into tangible outcomes that can drive real business impact. At SXSW, we showcased AI-powered creative tools, led co-creation sessions and delivered storytelling assets designed to inspire, persuade and build momentum.
Our activation generated more than 7,000 interactions, hundreds of new followers and strong advocacy among clients, partners and our own teams. Our approach demonstrated that when creativity is accessible and actionable, it engages audiences and strengthens brand reputation.
In the video below, Laurence Julliard, MCI’s Global Head of Client Solutions, expands on this idea by describing creativity as a mindset shaped through questioning, collaboration and co-creation. It goes beyond what we deliver; this is how we think and work alongside our clients from the start.
Creative perspectives
Creativity at MCI is shaped not only by process but by the people who bring it to life each day. From strategy to execution, our teams draw on diverse experiences, challenge conventions and create space for original thinking.
In the video below, Sissi Buir, MCI Switzerland’s Strategic Designer and Creativity Lead, adds a creative’s view. She speaks to the daily process of reinvention, of staying outside your comfort zone, and of challenging expectations in order to find the ideas that truly move people.
Watch Sofia Cuervo, Creative Director at MCI Spain and Portugal, share how fearlessness and creative freedom are part of what drive innovation at MCI in the video below. She describes a culture where risk is supported, ideas evolve quickly, and teams learn through experimentation – all essential conditions for breakthrough thinking.
Leading with a relationship-focused approach
Partnership is built on trust over time. At MCI, trust is the pipeline and rapport is the foundation. We focus on understanding our clients’ needs, listening carefully, sharing insights and curating meaningful conversations. This relationship-led approach creates long-term value, ensuring every engagement is collaborative and purposeful.
Every interaction is an opportunity to build a stronger connection. Our teams work to ensure that the right balance of strategic insight, creative thinking and consistent communication supports lasting relationships with clients.
In the video below, Sylvia André, MCI’s Chief Marketing & Creative Officer, shares what this means in practice, reflecting on the importance of collaboration, trust and agility in delivering creative solutions across global teams.
Scaling creative impact
We remain committed to our clients’ success. Leading with intent includes developing initiatives such as our HumAIn manifesto, AI-powered tools and creative workshops that help brands embrace technology as their next creative resource.
With our planned Live Creativity series in key markets, we will build on the SXSW London approach to provide clients everywhere with high-impact experiences that make a difference. By scaling this model, we aim to show how we keep creativity at the centre of our work, ensuring that every market benefits from the same level of engagement and strategic insight.
In the video below, Avinash Chandarana, MCI’s Chief Learning and Transformation Officer, reflects on the importance of curiosity, shared purpose and entrepreneurial culture in helping both teams and clients move from intent to strategic outcomes.
At MCI, we design ideas, experiences and strategies that help our clients build genuine connections, adapt to change and achieve meaningful growth. Creativity is the foundation for delivering lasting impact.
If you’re looking to shape what’s next through insight, creativity and collaboration, we’re ready to start the conversation. Talk to us about how creativity can help you grow. Let’s collaborate.
Sylvia André - Chief Creativity Officer, mci group
