Our work.
We build from scratch
Your bespoke Creative Ladder System, built through our proprietary Discovery process.
or
Optimise what exists
For companies whose Creative Ladder System needs a reboot or deeper embedding.
D&AD
A common language for a global authority on creative excellence
THE ASK
D&AD wanted a proprietary framework reflecting their unique mission and values to help the world's creative professionals better discuss and evaluate creative work.
THE WORK
We built the D&AD Creative Compass, drawn from years of D&AD award jury-room data, with an accompanying live Masterclass to help teams understand and use it day to day.
“We worked with The Creative Excellence Company to translate D&AD’s distinctive perspective on creativity into the D&AD Creative Compass: a proprietary framework for evaluating and discussing ideas. The result is a tool that gives creatives, marketers and senior stakeholders a shared language for understanding and discussing creative work.”
THE HEINEKEN COMPANY
Refreshing the operating system behind Cannes Lions' Creative Brand of the Year 2026
THE ASK
Over a decade after Arif Haq helped develop The Heineken Company's original Creative Ladder System, they brought his team back to refresh it for the modern age.
THE WORK
We refreshed the Heineken Creative Ladder with new language and created a new Playbook with updated guidance and examples. A new Creative Councils experience was then designed, and our team now facilitates the Councils for all four of Heineken's global regions, covering over 190 countries.
“We asked the team to help revitalise two of our longest-standing Creative Excellence frameworks: the Creative Councils and the Creative Ladder. Arif was a natural partner, having helped shape both in the first place over ten years ago and bringing a deep understanding of what made them valuable, as well as what needed to evolve.
Since then, the team has been a great partner in reimagining both for today: sharpening the Creative Ladder as a practical tool and evolving the Creative Councils from case-review forums into more focused learning experiences. Crucially, the approach helps us turn individual discussions into clear, actionable learnings that can travel across markets and strengthen creative judgement and the creative quality of work globally.
The team’s facilitation has been particularly valued by our Operating Companies, creating the conditions for candid, constructive conversations while keeping discussions focused on practical outcomes.”
MARS FOOD & NUTRITION
Turning a launch into a habit across a global food portfolio
THE ASK
Mars Food & Nutrition had its own version of the Creative Ladder ready to roll out across a global portfolio of brands and markets. The challenge was making it stick: a language people use every day, rather than another framework launched and then forgotten.
THE WORK
Our Discovery process identified a key opportunity to move from basic literacy of the Ladder to deeper fluency. We designed an immersive learning experience to bring the language to life, before running the team's first Creative Council to help embed the habit.
“We engaged Arif and his team to launch and start embedding the Creative Ladder at Mars Food & Nutrition, which has already delivered a highly positive impact on our creative capability and alignment.
Through live onboarding and the establishment of our Creative Council, the framework has provided our teams with a crucial shared language, shifting evaluations from subjective opinions to constructive, growth-oriented discussions where we can ‘disagree more objectively.’
Their guidance as independent, objective experts was invaluable throughout this journey; their specialist knowledge of creative excellence allowed them to navigate internal alignment with complete impartiality and constructively challenge our thinking.
For any organization considering the Creative Ladder system to elevate their marketing performance, I highly recommend getting in touch with them.”