Garth Lidbetter
UX & Systems Designer
Location
Sawtell
NSW, Australia
Connect
© 2002-2025 Garth Lidbetter
Garth Lidbetter
UX & Systems Designer
Location
Sawtell
NSW, Australia
Connect
© 2002-2025 Garth Lidbetter
McCrindle
2019–20
BA, Systems, UX, Website design
McCrindle is a social research agency that helps organisations understand social trends to inform strategy.
Known for generational insights (Mark McCrindle coined “Gen Alpha”), work culture, and leadership, they work primarily with education, city planning, not-for-profits, and government.
I joined to provide strategic advisory on client projects but quickly identified ways to improve internal systems and the customer journey. Over two years, I led a full digital overhaul, streamlined processes, and took on a leadership role within a strong team.
McCrindle is a social research agency that helps organisations understand social trends to inform strategy.
Known for generational insights (Mark McCrindle coined “Gen Alpha”), work culture, and leadership, they work primarily with education, city planning, not-for-profits, and government.
I joined to provide strategic advisory on client projects but quickly identified ways to improve internal systems and the customer journey. Over two years, I led a full digital overhaul, streamlined processes, and took on a leadership role within a strong team.
McCrindle is a social research agency that helps organisations understand social trends to inform strategy.
Known for generational insights (Mark McCrindle coined “Gen Alpha”), work culture, and leadership, they work primarily with education, city planning, not-for-profits, and government.
I joined to provide strategic advisory on client projects but quickly identified ways to improve internal systems and the customer journey. Over two years, I led a full digital overhaul, streamlined processes, and took on a leadership role within a strong team.
Role & team
Role: Systems / User Experience designer & Comms team lead
Team: Principal, General manager, Visual data designers (3), Lead researchers (4), Researchers (6)
Role: Systems / User Experience designer & Comms team lead
Team: Principal, General manager, Visual data designers (3), Lead researchers (4), Researchers (6)
Role: Systems / User Experience designer & Comms team lead
Team: Principal, General manager, Visual data designers (3), Lead researchers (4), Researchers (6)
Tasks
Stakeholder interviews
Business analysis
User journey mapping
Marketing strategies & tactics
Success metric setting & tracking
Process documentation
Website design
Stakeholder interviews
Business analysis
User journey mapping
Marketing strategies & tactics
Success metric setting & tracking
Process documentation
Website design
Stakeholder interviews
Business analysis
User journey mapping
Marketing strategies & tactics
Success metric setting & tracking
Process documentation
Website design
Deliverables
System Map
Information architecture
Complete intranet build
Multiple marketing micro-sites
Monthly performance presentations
System Map
Information architecture
Complete intranet build
Multiple marketing micro-sites
Monthly performance presentations
System Map
Information architecture
Complete intranet build
Multiple marketing micro-sites
Monthly performance presentations
300+
processes documented
1150%
increase in marketing qualified leads
3200+
registrations to the first four webinars held
60%
increase in sales enquiries
Background & Brief
McCrindle benefits from a huge presence in the media. As a leader in social research, McCrindle is often relied upon for social commentary on a range of demographic, sociographic and leadership topics. Despite these opportunities, there was a breakdown in the customer journey when connecting the significant media presence to commercial projects.
I had an open remit to explore, uncover and enhance areas of McCrindle's customer journey experience and efficiencies within client engagements.
McCrindle benefits from a huge presence in the media. As a leader in social research, McCrindle is often relied upon for social commentary on a range of demographic, sociographic and leadership topics. Despite these opportunities, there was a breakdown in the customer journey when connecting the significant media presence to commercial projects.
I had an open remit to explore, uncover and enhance areas of McCrindle's customer journey experience and efficiencies within client engagements.
McCrindle benefits from a huge presence in the media. As a leader in social research, McCrindle is often relied upon for social commentary on a range of demographic, sociographic and leadership topics. Despite these opportunities, there was a breakdown in the customer journey when connecting the significant media presence to commercial projects.
I had an open remit to explore, uncover and enhance areas of McCrindle's customer journey experience and efficiencies within client engagements.
Challenges
Heavily reliant on manual, inefficient processes
Many parts of McCrindle depended heavily on a few high-performing individuals. Critical knowledge was locked up in their heads, making onboarding and upskilling slow and inconsistent.Outdated and fragmented systems
McCrindle’s tech stack had grown piecemeal over many years. The mix of CRM, CMS, internal documentation, and marketing tools didn’t integrate well and often failed to meet the organisation’s evolving needs.Misaligned team perspectives
McCrindle’s culture is strong and celebratory. However, different teams often held conflicting views on how to pursue shared goals, creating friction and slowing alignment.
Heavily reliant on manual, inefficient processes
Many parts of McCrindle depended heavily on a few high-performing individuals. Critical knowledge was locked up in their heads, making onboarding and upskilling slow and inconsistent.Outdated and fragmented systems
McCrindle’s tech stack had grown piecemeal over many years. The mix of CRM, CMS, internal documentation, and marketing tools didn’t integrate well and often failed to meet the organisation’s evolving needs.Misaligned team perspectives
McCrindle’s culture is strong and celebratory. However, different teams often held conflicting views on how to pursue shared goals, creating friction and slowing alignment.
Heavily reliant on manual, inefficient processes
Many parts of McCrindle depended heavily on a few high-performing individuals. Critical knowledge was locked up in their heads, making onboarding and upskilling slow and inconsistent.Outdated and fragmented systems
McCrindle’s tech stack had grown piecemeal over many years. The mix of CRM, CMS, internal documentation, and marketing tools didn’t integrate well and often failed to meet the organisation’s evolving needs.Misaligned team perspectives
McCrindle’s culture is strong and celebratory. However, different teams often held conflicting views on how to pursue shared goals, creating friction and slowing alignment.
Solution
To quickly identify and prioritise key blockages, I began by mapping the end-to-end customer journey through internal and external interviews. This gave a clear view of the business, customer experience, and friction points.
I tackled high-impact issues first by linking popular blog content to targeted lead magnets, connecting strong engagement with commercial outcomes.
We launched micro-sites for key industries, each offering tailored content, reports, and webinars—creating more relevant, high-value experiences. I also built a focused website for McCrindle Speakers, with intuitive booking journeys that showcased each speaker’s strengths.
The new lead magnet structure guided users by industry, nurturing ongoing relationships with ideal clients.
In parallel, I drove operational efficiency by leading a company-wide push to document 200 processes in five months. This improved production speed, onboarding, iterative improvement, and performance management—laying the groundwork for scalable growth.
To quickly identify and prioritise key blockages, I began by mapping the end-to-end customer journey through internal and external interviews. This gave a clear view of the business, customer experience, and friction points.
I tackled high-impact issues first by linking popular blog content to targeted lead magnets, connecting strong engagement with commercial outcomes.
We launched micro-sites for key industries, each offering tailored content, reports, and webinars—creating more relevant, high-value experiences. I also built a focused website for McCrindle Speakers, with intuitive booking journeys that showcased each speaker’s strengths.
The new lead magnet structure guided users by industry, nurturing ongoing relationships with ideal clients.
In parallel, I drove operational efficiency by leading a company-wide push to document 200 processes in five months. This improved production speed, onboarding, iterative improvement, and performance management—laying the groundwork for scalable growth.
To quickly identify and prioritise key blockages, I began by mapping the end-to-end customer journey through internal and external interviews. This gave a clear view of the business, customer experience, and friction points.
I tackled high-impact issues first by linking popular blog content to targeted lead magnets, connecting strong engagement with commercial outcomes.
We launched micro-sites for key industries, each offering tailored content, reports, and webinars—creating more relevant, high-value experiences. I also built a focused website for McCrindle Speakers, with intuitive booking journeys that showcased each speaker’s strengths.
The new lead magnet structure guided users by industry, nurturing ongoing relationships with ideal clients.
In parallel, I drove operational efficiency by leading a company-wide push to document 200 processes in five months. This improved production speed, onboarding, iterative improvement, and performance management—laying the groundwork for scalable growth.
300+
processes documented
1150%
increase in marketing qualified leads
3200+
registrations to the first four webinars held
60%
increase in sales enquiries
Conclusions
This work gave McCrindle sharper focus, stronger lead generation, and a more scalable business.
By connecting high-engagement content to targeted lead magnets and industry-specific micro-sites, McCrindle turned interest into qualified leads and long-term relationships.
Meanwhile, documenting core processes unlocked faster delivery, smoother onboarding, and clearer performance—setting McCrindle up for sustainable growth.
This work gave McCrindle sharper focus, stronger lead generation, and a more scalable business.
By connecting high-engagement content to targeted lead magnets and industry-specific micro-sites, McCrindle turned interest into qualified leads and long-term relationships.
Meanwhile, documenting core processes unlocked faster delivery, smoother onboarding, and clearer performance—setting McCrindle up for sustainable growth.
This work gave McCrindle sharper focus, stronger lead generation, and a more scalable business.
By connecting high-engagement content to targeted lead magnets and industry-specific micro-sites, McCrindle turned interest into qualified leads and long-term relationships.
Meanwhile, documenting core processes unlocked faster delivery, smoother onboarding, and clearer performance—setting McCrindle up for sustainable growth.
Feedback
Mark McCrindle
Director & Demographer
"We were delighted to have had Garth work with our team on implementing marketing systems, lead automation, and bringing design excellence to our output. Not only is he world-class in the solutions that he brings but his customer service, personal character, and warmth are superlative."
"We were delighted to have had Garth work with our team on implementing marketing systems, lead automation, and bringing design excellence to our output. Not only is he world-class in the solutions that he brings but his customer service, personal character, and warmth are superlative."
"We were delighted to have had Garth work with our team on implementing marketing systems, lead automation, and bringing design excellence to our output. Not only is he world-class in the solutions that he brings but his customer service, personal character, and warmth are superlative."
Sophie Renton
Head of Research
"Working alongside Garth was an absolute pleasure! He is a fantastic blend of structural and strategic thinking with a creative flair. This combined with his unique ability to translate big ideas into action, makes him an asset to any team. The legacy that he set in motion during his time at McCrindle still lives on today."
"Working alongside Garth was an absolute pleasure! He is a fantastic blend of structural and strategic thinking with a creative flair. This combined with his unique ability to translate big ideas into action, makes him an asset to any team. The legacy that he set in motion during his time at McCrindle still lives on today."
"Working alongside Garth was an absolute pleasure! He is a fantastic blend of structural and strategic thinking with a creative flair. This combined with his unique ability to translate big ideas into action, makes him an asset to any team. The legacy that he set in motion during his time at McCrindle still lives on today."
Grant Dusting
General Manager
"Garth brought brilliance in strategic thinking, helping us create some much-needed systems for our business as we steadily grew. His marketing and brand nous was incredibly helpful internally as well as being able to deliver new & better value to our clients. And he modelled an ever-helpful, humble and highly professional attitude to the rest of our young team and built great rapport with our clients. I know his future colleagues and clients will be equally delighted."
"Garth brought brilliance in strategic thinking, helping us create some much-needed systems for our business as we steadily grew. His marketing and brand nous was incredibly helpful internally as well as being able to deliver new & better value to our clients. And he modelled an ever-helpful, humble and highly professional attitude to the rest of our young team and built great rapport with our clients. I know his future colleagues and clients will be equally delighted."
"Garth brought brilliance in strategic thinking, helping us create some much-needed systems for our business as we steadily grew. His marketing and brand nous was incredibly helpful internally as well as being able to deliver new & better value to our clients. And he modelled an ever-helpful, humble and highly professional attitude to the rest of our young team and built great rapport with our clients. I know his future colleagues and clients will be equally delighted."