Highly Commended: Demelza Green (Marketing Excellence)

We are thrilled to announce that our Co-CEO, Demelza Green, has been awarded Highly Commended in the Personal Marketing Excellence category at the 2025 ARN Innovation Awards.

In the technology sector, marketing is often viewed as a support function, a department that "colours in" the strategy. Demelza has flipped this script. By applying Product Management discipline and Engineering rigour to the Patient Zero brand, she has demonstrated that marketing is a primary driver of business strategy, culture, and revenue.

The Catalyst: From Socks to Cult Status

The evolution began with a simple experiment: a live A/B test at a major industry conference pitting standard corporate merchandise against zombie-themed designs. The market overwhelmingly chose the zombies.

That experiment proved that B2B buyers crave authenticity. Today, those socks have become legendary collector’s items, with special annual releases eagerly anticipated by the industry. But the socks were just the spark for a much deeper transformation.



Designing the "Team of the Future"

Leveraging this insight, Demelza led a total strategic redesign of the Patient Zero identity. She moved the brand away from "Corporate Grey" into a distinctive Retro-Apocalyptic aesthetic that honours our "Zombie" origins while telling a story about the future of work.

The new visual identity blends 1950s optimism with Space Age futurism, creating a deliberate juxtaposition that highlights the contrast of the world around us. But every element serves a strategic purpose:

• Human + Machine: The imagery depicts humans and robots working side-by-side, symbolising our vision of the Team of the Future, where AI augments human potential rather than replacing it.

• Sovereignty & De-globalisation: In an era of de-globalisation, we leaned heavily into Australian iconography. Flying koalas and armoured kangaroos aren't just mascots; they represent the resilience and protection of Sovereign Capability.

This isn't just branding; it is world-building. It communicates complex themes, sovereignty, innovation, and collaboration at a glance.

From Generative to Agentic: The New Marketing Engineering

While the visual strategy is grounded in psychology, the execution is pure engineering. Demelza has pioneered the transition from simple Generative AI to Agentic AI Workflows.

She isn't just "prompting" tools; she is orchestrating a digital workforce. By treating marketing operations as a software architecture, she has deployed autonomous agents that don't just create content but plan and evolve workflows.

• The Evolution: Moving beyond static prompts, Demelza runs self-correcting agentic loops. These agents handle complex chains of tasks, from research and synthesis to asset generation and formatting, requiring human intervention only for strategic approval.

• The Scale: This "Marketing Engineering" approach allows a single leader to output the volume of a multinational department. In a recent sprint, this agentic architecture delivered a calculated efficiency gain of 6,000%, producing a full suite of sales assets in a single day.

• The Rigour: This isn't "AI Washing." It is the result of systematic architecture that ensures every agent operates within strict brand guardrails, delivering output that retains a distinct human voice.

Systems Thinking, Not Silos

Finally, the award recognises her application of Systems Thinking to culture.

For Demelza, "Brand" is not a logo; it is the sum of every interaction. By building a Distributed Content Culture, she has empowered technical staff to become brand owners. This "Pull, Don't Push" strategy means we don't rely on cold sales.

Prospective clients arrive already trusting our technical capability because they have engaged with the deep-dive insights written by the engineers who will actually do the work.

Why This Matters

This award validates a new model for leadership:

Storytelling with Substance

Branding isn't just aesthetics; it's a tool to communicate sovereignty, resilience, and the future of human-machine collaboration.

Agentic Velocity

Smart AI orchestration allows lean teams to output enterprise-level volume without sacrificing quality.

Authentic ROI

When you strip away the corporate veneer, you build stronger relationships, higher retention, and measurable growth.

Explore Demelza's Strategy

THE FUTURE OF WORK: Listen to Demelza on the ABC's "This Working Life." Details Here

THE CO-CEO SERIES: Explore the humorous strategic vision driving Patient Zero. Watch Here

UX/UI DESIGN: See how we apply this "Experience Design" mindset to client products. Explore More