Christien de Garis departs Flare to set up own communications venture

Award winning Western Australian story teller Christien de Garis has departed content agency Flare to embark on his own communications venture.

After several years as Head of Flare – Marketforce’s video content production arm – de Garis says the time was right to bring together his two decades of wide ranging expertise to create a unique offering for WA clients.

de Garis said: “I’ll be forever grateful to the brilliant operators and creative minds I worked with at Marketforce, and the exposure to the world of advertising has built on the skills honed in my career in video and TV production, journalism and communications.

“The combination of selling something – a value, a product, a culture – and authentic story telling, is a powerful way to communicate.”

During his time at Marketforce, he has worked with clients including Harvey Beef, Leeuwin Coast, Crown, Mineral Resources, Bethanie, Rio Tinto and many local governments.

“Natural curiosity is essential in this career and I enjoyed not only getting exposed to these great businesses, but getting to know them and what they stood for – that made the story telling even more impactful and I loved seeing the sense of pride on the faces of clients when they saw the end product,” says de Garis.

Before his career pivoted to advertising and content, de Garis had conducted thousands of interviews during his journalism career – from celebrities to notorious criminals to countless everyday people with a remarkable story to tell.

“We had to get people to tell a coherent, condensed story in the single moment of their lives where they may never be more emotional – joy, fear, anger, elation. So getting people to tell you why something matters to them, like we do in advertising and content, comes naturally and nervous talent is a breeze compared to someone angry!”

de Garis added that his time as the WA Deputy Premier’s communications advisor and experience at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation allowed him to tailor content with a strategic view as well as understanding the political and corporate considerations that need to be taken into account from time to time.

de Garis has now set up his own content business producing videos and written content for clients, as well as working freelance days. You can contact him at christien.degaris@outlook.com