Content Hustlers gets investment from creative and strategy agencies

The senior management team of Communicado, an integrated creative agency, and The Contenders, a leading brand strategy agency, have taken an equity stake in visual content agency Content Hustlers.  

As part of the deal , Kerrie Ryan, Communicado MD, becomes board chair of Content Hustlers. Joe Rogers, The Contenders' executive strategy director, is appointed to the board.

David Vale and Steven Deveraux-Stanford, founders of Content Hustlers, felt that the business was better aligned with an independent creative agency and brand strategy agency versus a larger networked conglomerate.  

Vale, managing and creative director at Content Hustlers, said: “We liked the synergies, critical thinking and the people at Communicado and The Contenders. 

“Rarely can indie agencies or brands directly access a suite of skills that include the whole gamut of creatives involved in a shoot - from concepting to final delivery while streamlining the content production process, making it stress-free, consistent in quality, on time and within often tight budgets.  

“We saw real value in bringing together complimentary founder-led agencies to service client needs, each being leaders in their respective fields and together offering the best in marketing thinking across strategy, branding, creative services and importantly, content.  

“With an ever increasingly complex and fragmented marketing landscape, we believe clients need experts not generalists to shift capability at speed, with an agile structure to boot. That means Content Hustlers remains as a stand-alone business doing what it does best, but coupled with Communicado and The Contenders where it makes sense.” 

Ryan said: “Communicado has a financial interest in The Contenders while Content Hustlers was already a valued supplier so it made sense to create a more robust partnership where we all benefit - not only through business referrals but career and shareholding opportunities starting with Joy Howard, Communicado’s Finance Director, now working and invested across all three businesses.  

“Having worked in larger multi-national structures, my business partner and Communicado Director, Lucy Houldsworth, as well as Joe Rogers and I have chosen a more entrepreneurial path where we felt we could make a real difference to clients’ businesses. We felt that Content Hustlers embodied similar values which we demonstrated in our submission,” says Kerrie.  .  

Content Hustlers has also hired Kristy Buchanan as design director, joining the team after a meeting with Ryan at industry mentoring program, The Aunties.