Justin Drape launches Creativity & Commerce to rethink creative value

Justin Drape, co-founder of The Monkeys has launched a new outfit Creativity & Commerce, a practice designed to help organisations unlock the commercial value of creativity.

Positioned deliberately as a "practice" rather than an agency or consultancy, Creativity & Commerce aims to embed creative problem solving into boardrooms, classrooms, cultural institutions and policy-making. Drape said the goal is to shift how creativity is perceived - not as a cost, but as a strategic investment.

“The two cultural forces of creativity and commerce influence our lives daily, yet their pairing still struggles to be taken seriously in most boardrooms, in policy and in classrooms,” he said. “Too often they are thought of or utilised separately: left brain/right brain, logic/emotion or sandpit/spreadsheet.”

Since launching, the practice has worked with a mix of brands and founders including Emotive on the launch of El Arquero Tequila for co-founder and cricket icon Adam Gilchrist, Bullfrog, The Many, Marriott Luxury Collection, Intercontinental Hotel Group and Millennium Hotels via T3 Media - producers of Eating Inn, featured on Netflix and SBS Food. Other collaborations include Movember and Gillette with Australian Cricket Captain Pat Cummins, in partnership with The Many and Wellcom.

Drape said Creativity & Commerce is built on experience, objectivity and results - not speculative pitches or “cheap and cheerful” work. Projects are taken on only when there’s clear commercial intent and each team is custom-built to suit the challenge.

“Clients engage us when they need proven creative experience and commercial acumen in an ally who can think beyond the limitations of advertising,” he said. “And when I say ‘us’ or ‘we’, I’m referring to the diverse talent I can bring to every project.”

The practice also draws on the global network behind Drape’s other venture, Exceptional Alien — a travel platform curating recommendations through the lens of creative talent. This gives clients access to a borderless community of Grammy winners, Michelin-starred chefs, Oscar winners, Olympic champions and entrepreneurs.

Drape said the pairing of creativity and commerce will only grow in importance as AI reshapes industries, and that organisations must learn how to harness and commercialise creativity to stay competitive.