Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson is a global, award-winning strategist connecting retail, brand and customer experiences to tangible business solutions.
With 18+ years experience in New York, London, Australia and Asia, he is also an industry commentator and speaker (ADMA Forum, Good Design Australia’s Design as Strategy Forum, AIMIA and POPAI events, Talaris and others). His achievements include 3 B&T awards for Experiential Design & Specialist Services, 3 POPAI Awards for Retail Excellence, 4 Melbourne and Sydney Design awards and, his proudest achievement, the Best Retail Design Asia award in 2012. E2, the company he co-founded, also was ranked in BRW’s Fast Starters list in 2010 and 2011 – just three years after inception.
Robbie’s expertise in retail has helped brands such as Apple, BlackBerry, Coca-Cola, Caltex, Ford, IBM, Shell, Vodafone, and Bupa develop winning consumer strategies, overhaul brand identities and create innovative and immersive customer experiences.
Some notable projects spearheaded by Robbie include:
- Design and innovation of Luxottica’s revolutionary touchpoint OPSM Eye Hub retail store (Asia Pacific Property Awards for Best Retail Interior Design winner, Oracle Retail World Awards Store Design of the Year finalist, BRW Australian Retailer of the Year finalist – OPSM and Corian Design Awards winner)
- The design and roll out of 74 Virgin Mobile retail stores across Australia (idea10 Interior Design Excellence Awards finalist)
- Development and implementation of Qantas’ $10 million Centre of Service Excellence (Australian Interior Design Awards finalist in Workplace Design)
- Development of the Commonwealth Bank’s “Bank of the Future” retail store; and, Development of the customer experience and store design of the BUPA™ – global concept store and rollout
Over the past 10 years, Robbie has taken his passion for design and integrated end user experience to new heights by the establishment of two creative agencies, Mash Up and E2, and a consultancy firm, Polaris Partners.
Under his stewardship, Mash Up and E2 have employed more than 50 people, completed more than 800 projects and served more 95 clients in the financial services, telecommunications, medical, motor-vehicle, insurance, fashion, FMCG and travel industries. Projects have encompassed everything from complex brand, retail and end-to-end customer experience strategy, customer experience mapping, business auditing and market research to retail and exhibition design, event management and product launches.
In addition to this, Robbie has worked in different senior roles in London, New York and Sydney at well-respected creative agencies and design firms, including Imagination, Jack Morton, Landini Associates and Landor.
With both a Masters in Urban Design and a MBA, Robbie represents a new and distinctive multi-disciplinary voice in the creative industry. His unique skill set brings together strong lateral thinking and analytical skills with profound commercial acumen, ensuring his clients results that are in tune with commercial realities and focused on profit performance.
His opinions about future trends in retail and consumer behaviour have been featured in BRW, the Financial Times, Marketing magazine and several other media.
Outside of work and spending time with his family, Robbie dedicates his spare time to raising money and awareness for Prostate Cancer through the annual charity event he created called Table4Ten. Now in its 6th year, it has raised over $500,000.