State your needs. Create with purpose.
That’s what we do.
At State + Create, we bring clarity, creativity, and confidence to your marketing. Founded by Mara Nieuwsma—a seasoned marketing executive with 20+ years of global experience building brands, driving growth, and scaling teams—our consultancy helps ambitious companies define their message, shape their strategy, and bring it to life.
Mara’s career spans the corporate world, high-growth startups, and purpose-driven entrepreneurial brands across a wealth of industries. With a penchant for bringing clarity of communication to complicated products, she’s led marketing at scale, built departments from scratch, and shaped brand narratives that resonate—always with a strong bias for action and results. Through State + Create, she now brings that experience to companies seeking flexible, expert marketing leadership and creative execution.
Our service models are designed to break the mold of traditional agencies and consultancies. Instead of one-size-fits-all retainers or high-level strategies with little follow-through, we offer flexible, right-sized partnerships that meet you where you are. Whether you need full strategy and execution, a clear plan your team can run with, or just great creative delivered fast, our structure gives you access to senior-level thinking without the overhead—and hands-on support without the lag. It’s marketing help that’s actually helpful.
Hi, I’m Mara!
Hi, I’m Mara Nieuwsma—strategic marketer, brand storyteller, and someone who genuinely loves helping businesses figure out who they are, where they’re going, and how to bring people along for the ride.
For more than 20 years, I’ve led marketing and brand initiatives across a pretty wide spectrum, from global biotech and medtech companies to design-forward startups and e-commerce brands. No matter the industry, my work has always been about the same thing: blending strategic thinking with bold creativity to help teams connect with their audiences in ways that are clear, meaningful, and real.
I’ve built brands from scratch, reimagined ones that needed a fresh start, and guided companies through moments of big change—new leadership, new markets, new ambitions. Along the way, I’ve led teams, collaborated across continents, and gotten very good at turning complex ideas into smart, actionable marketing.
Now, I partner with businesses as a fractional CMO, strategic advisor, and creative problem-solver. Whether you need to rethink your brand, launch a product, or finally get that overdue marketing roadmap in place, I bring clarity, curiosity, and a hands-on approach to everything I do.
If you’re looking for a partner who can both zoom out and dig in—let’s talk.