Deloitte buys The Explainers, Australia-based corporate storyteller

Deloitte has bought Sydney-based storytelling studio The Explainers, to help the firm, among others, explain business strategies, transitions and change management projects to its clients. The deal sees studio founder Matt Taylor and his staff transfer to Deloitte’s headquarters in Sydney.

Getting ones message across in a clear, persuasive and unambiguous manner is good when it matches the needs of clients. By leveraging the ancient art of storytelling and visualisation it becomes possible to weave a more subtle path towards seeing the value of what an organisation does.

In the digital age, storytelling too has, according to corporate storyteller The Explainers, broadened its horizons. The boutique digital communications consultancy leverages a host of mediums, from animations, film and installations to infographics, written stories and graphic novels, to explain change within organisations. The studio was founded in 2013 by career animator Matt Taylor, and has since grown rapidly to a staff of nine and revenues of around $1.4 million.

Deloitte takes over the studio for an undisclosed sum, with Matt Taylor becoming a Director at Deloitte in Australia, reporting to Shane Currey, a Consulting Partner and National Design lead. The addition is aimed at boosting Deloitte’s change management strategy. As Currey explains, “if you are spending millions of dollars on a technology transformation project, you don’t want it to fail because you didn't effectively explain why you are doing it.”

The Explainers’ Sydney office was shut down as part of the acquisition, with employees transferring to Deloitte’s headquarters in the city. The acquisition represents further moves by professional firms into the creative and design space in a bid to deliver more complete services to changing needs in an increasingly digital landscape.

Currey says, “We really have to stretch our brains explaining this stuff sometimes, so it will be nice to be able to ring down to the 10th floor and have the subject matter expert help us out.”

Taylor says, “We'd hit the ceiling of what we could do as an independent studio, so the time felt right to join forces with a bigger pipeline of potential clients for our skills. Major change has become the new constant for modern business, so explaining any kind of change after it happens is often too late. Today, being successful requires communicating and explaining change as it happens.”