Who We Are
Meet the teamWe’re a little fish in a big pond, but that doesn’t mean we can’t swim in the deep end with the piranhas. In fact, here’s our promise – fast moving, small fees, BIG ideas, huge creativity, great results, no biting. We’re pretty sure it’s the no biting thing that has seen our working relationships prosper and in the process your business. But, that could also have something to do with our award-winning creative.
There are no shoulder pads here – you won’t get tangled up in an impenetrable wall of suits, you’ll get to talk directly with our creatives. But just as a kindergarten isn’t run without teachers, neither is Beans & Rice without a bit of management. We’ve got just the right mix to keep it fresh and accessible but also to keep it moving.
Chris Alder
GO-TO GUY
As diverse as his sense of humour, Chris’ career has spanned over a decade within various commercial creative gigs that all have design at its core. He’s gained experience across signwriting, graphic design and film for both NZ and international brands, working on exciting and challenging projects. Never shy of mucking in to get a project done, he’s developed an instinct of knowing what works and will stretch our clients to think outside of their comfort zone. He’s adept at seeing the big picture and reading our clients needs and meanings between the lines.
His high-energy approach to taking care of clients and the Beans and Rice team means he’s our go-to guy for whatever we need – especially when it comes to giving lunch time meal suggestions or to fly down a YouTube rabbit hole.
Steve Goldie
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
While he may say that he’s a bit long in the tooth, we like to think of him as our wise silver-haired wizard. Steve began his career as a Graphic Designer back in 1988, armed only with blue pencil and guache. Following his innate sense of design, he kept learning and up-skilling as the industry changed, becoming an Advertising Art Director in 1994. He’s made his mark in some of NZ’s biggest agencies, and over the years has earned numerous awards both locally and internationally.
With his experience in through-the-line advertising, he has gained extensive knowledge in all facets of communication and media channels, both creatively and strategically, executing many successful campaigns for some of the country’s biggest clients. While being the busy magical designer and thinker that he is, he still manages to keep humble and keep us entertained with home-made beer, and tales of discos with his kids from his backyard bush in Muriwai.
Viviana Garcia
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Viviana was just a spring chicken when she started as a receptionist at one of NZ’s lead advertising agencies. She got a taste for the industry and fledged into Account Service, working in boutique agencies across various disciplines for some of New Zealand’s most loved brands. She loves a good natter with any and all, and is a keen listener. She has also developed a pretty good teacher tone of voice to keep projects on the go.
She’s a people-first, get-stuck-in type of team player, who can change hats with ease, whether it’s taking care of clients, seamlessly managing a project, or crafting some copy.
Always up for a challenge, give Viviana a sheep, and she’ll turn it into a cardy. You may have even heard her sneeze in a radio ad or two.
Charles Li
DESIGNER
Apparently no relation to Jet Li, but Charles can still bust out some pretty mean moves and kick butt with his mad design skills. We call him Chuck. Chuck has a number of years experience under his belt and can make anything look pretty darn amazing. Give him a brief and a deadline and he’ll give you a piece of art that talks to you.
Nathaniel Meyer
DEVELOPER
There are some clever people in this world. You put a mountain of a problem in front of them and they can find a way through it; in Nathaniel’s case in 1’s and 0’s. And that’s how he has become known fondly as ‘Boy Wonder’. He might be young of age but he has the wisdom and maturity of an old soul beyond his years.
Maureen Pryor
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
As the adage says “know thy self”, well, we know ourselves to know our strengths and weaknesses. Maureen is by far one of our strengths.
Realising that her childhood dream of becoming Margot Fonteyn wasn’t going to happen, she started off in the working world as an Office Junior making tea and running office errands. She was so good at that, that they gave her a promotion. And onwards she went up and up…
Ever humble with a strong work ethic, she keeps us and our books above board. She’s a ‘go-getter’ kind of gal, she started her own business in 1990 while becoming a Mother and doing a University degree. Her psychology degree is probably coming quite handy as she sits listening to our banter. She might even throw in a few comments by way of a social experiment. We’ll never really know.
Some words our clients made us share
Four immediate observations from my dealings with Beans & Rice are: service readiness, careful thought, practical applications and creative craft. Beans & Rice helped Hunting & Fishing New Zealand reposition its iconic brand as leaders in the outdoor recreation market in ways that appealed to a much wider market catchment than before, without diminishing our long established core market appeal. Challenges included the redesign of our store presentations, publications and promotional templates. The process relied on a careful interpretation of our market insights and strategies, with fresh and adaptable market presentations, incrementally developed over time as our budget and operational practicalities would allow. Beans & Rice have consistently proven to be reliable and an absolute pleasure to deal with.
Brilliant – you and your team are exactly on my marketing page which is a breath of fresh air, it is so refreshing to finally see some highly professional branding in this business!
We were thrilled to have them on board, it was a great partnership. We loved working with them, they are easy to get along with, they had an instinctive understanding of what we were trying to achieve – and they have a nice sense of humour. When you have them around, it’s easy.
I just wanted to say a big thank you to the Beans & Rice team for your amazing work pulling together the NZSQ website. We are really thrilled with the way it looks and the functionality of the site. Also really grateful to you for pulling out the stops and making this happen within the timeframes. With your input, the NZSQ has freshened its overall look and we’ve achieved a consistent set of marketing collateral that we feel really proud of. We thank you for taking the work on and know that the NZSQ will look forward to working with you in the future.
Everything went incredibly well, it was awesome!!! You guys did a terrific job and it was very much appreciated within the wider Fonterra business. The workshop certainly turned a few heads and we’ve had nothing but praise and positive feedback come back from everyone that attended. The actor we had was unreal and just brought everything together perfectly.
Beans & Rice by the Gram
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