Strategy that lives: Steph on the Sounds of Eclat podcast

Stephanie Waters, founder of Melbourne integrated marketing agency Mulberry Marketing Group, is the guest on "Strategy That Lives", a 21-minute episode of the Sounds of Eclat podcast released in July 2026.

What is the episode about?

An integrated agency. A rare edge in the Chinese market. And lessons every agency owner experiences.

Steph built Mulberry on the belief that brand is a system of belief. Not a logo set, not a colour palette, and definitely not a document that sits unopened in a Google Drive folder. Her obsession is making sure strategy actually lives inside the businesses she works with, not just in the work Mulberry delivers.

She's also candid about the harder parts of the journey. Growing a team, losing clients, scaling back, and sitting across from people she'd invested in and letting them go. What came out of it was learning to separate ego and big emotions from decision-making. She's still curious about everything.

What does Mulberry Marketing do differently?

Mulberry is an integrated agency, so strategy, paid advertising, social and web all pull in the same direction rather than sitting with four suppliers who never speak.

On top of that is a specialist capability almost no Australian agency offers: genuine reach into the Chinese market through WeChat and Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu).

What's covered in this episode?

  • The hardest decision. Letting go of her team when the pipeline dried up, and learning that success isn't measured by headcount.
  • Why curiosity is her core hiring criteria. It's what drives fresh thinking in industries the team hasn't worked in before.
  • Using AI with intention. Her weekly client update process used to take 90 minutes. It now takes minutes.
  • What she's teaching her kids. Empathy and compassion, because in a world increasingly shaped by AI, the human skills are the ones that will matter most.

Where can I listen?

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Watch on YouTube

Twenty-one minutes, or roughly one commute. If it lands, we'd love to talk about what an integrated approach could look like for your business.

Strategy that lives: Steph on the Sounds of Eclat podcast

Stephanie Waters, founder of Melbourne integrated marketing agency Mulberry Marketing Group, is the guest on "Strategy That Lives", a 21-minute episode of the Sounds of Eclat podcast released in July 2026.
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