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Stan Gruel

360° brand storytelling

I find the story that carries your brand forward and engages your audience.

Then, I adapt this story to different media platforms. The message will engage, it will be memorable, and it will raise the perceived value of whatever you’re selling.

How do I do it?
With a passion for ideas and 15 years experience in advertising, working on international campaigns in Paris, London, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. I’ve created sub-stories for well-established brands on print, TV, the web and social media, and I’ve worked on stories for brands that didn’t exist before.

Some Stories I worked on:
Hype for Hewlett Packard, Mazda stories, Volvo C30 A product of free will, Opel Umparken Im Kopf, VHV Insurance, Opel Insigna, Opel Adam, Mazda CX-7, Brand birth of garden tools company Mowox, Brand story for IT company DataOne, Brand history for iconic supercar brand ISDERA, Brand relaunch for luxury French tableware brand Deshoulieres, Brand relaunch & story for HKAudio, Instagram story for CosmosDirekt insurances

What am I doing now?
Since 2020 I work from my design studio and provide freelance services to agencies across Europe.

Let’s talk!
Call/Whatsapp me on +49 (0) 170 9687 032, or send me an email.

Design, some art direction and a commissioned young director’s film for Hewlett Packard, at Publicis London.

Hype launched in Brick lane London after a guerrilla teaser campaign and a virtual gallery online. It carried on in Paris, Milan & Moscow the following years.

D&AD Website and Interface Design: Silver
Marketing Awards: Grand Prix, Best Interactive Media Initiative
Cannes Direct Lions: Gold, Integrated Solution

Art Direction for Mazda Europe, JWT Düsseldorf.

The film Mazda stories won a TED award: Ideas worth spreading.

Art direction for Volvo Europe, Euro RSCG London.

Ford Global advertising of the year award.

Art direction for Opel brand campaign, at Scholz & Friends Hamburg.

I developed the integrated national teaser campaign.

ADC Germany – Silver – Print Kampagne, Silver – Kampagne OOH, Silver – Dialog crossmediale kampagnen, Bronze – PR, Bronze – Kampagne OOH illustrations.

GWA Effie awards Gold.

Art Direction for VHV Insurance at Scholz & Friends Hamburg.

Die Klappe Bronze: Film “Cat”, Bronze: Film “Dog”

Art direction for Opel, Scholz & Friends Hamburg.

Art Direction for Opel Adam with I-link, at Scholz & Friends Hamburg.

Art direction for Mazda, JWT Düsseldorf.

Creative Direction & Brand story, Bexbach, Germany.

From pitch, workshop, brand story, visual identity & tone of voice, to packaging, B2B promotional material, videos, brand ident, website and packaging. It’s the birth of a new Global garden tools brand available in Europe, Canada and the USA since 2016.

Creative Direction & Brand story, Saarbrücken.

When your business has a high potential for growth but is hard to explain, you need to find the simple story that engages your audience. This animation was created to be used in trade fair shows and on their website.

I also helped them get the first place in a European pitch for Microsoft.

Creative Direction & Brand Story for Isdera, Saarwellingen, Germany.

The iconic super-car brand from the 70s to the 2000s, is back with a twist. For its rebirth as an automotive engineering bureau, with two new electric prototypes, I worked on a transition story and several exhibitions.

Creative Direction & Brand Story for Deshoulieres.

I worked closely with Designer Ruslan Gumennyy to bring his new creative direction in line with the established luxury tableware brand. It is the story of a brand that wants to revolutionize l’art de la table.

Creative Direction & Brand story, St. Wendel, Germany.

Brand global re-launch, global b2b brand strategy & communication, new look & feel and a new claim: ‘The Soundmakers’ brings the employees and the customers together. It creates a community of like-minded people who understand each other.

Creative Direction & Social Media Strategy, m&r Saarbrücken.

To create an Instagram presence for CosmosDirekt Insurances, I planned a campaign to reach “classical” Instagrammers and use their very pictures with the insurance’s “unexpected” recommendations.

The hashtag #versicherungsbrille means “through the eyes of an insurance”. Each caption plays with the contrast between Instagrammers trying to look good, and the over the top dangers only an insurance company with wit can notice. For example, the text on the picture of the woman on a pier (just below, on the right) says: “Just so you know, sharks can jump up to 3 meters high”, which covers holiday insurances.