What can't be solved over a good chat? Well, imagine you're having that chat with someone with 13 years' experience of working with brands who wants to help you get your business established or taken up a level? Sounds pretty good doesn't it? And that's because it works. We've been offering consultation since 2013 and we're proud to have been a part of so many brands' success stories.
Consultancy Case Studies
Cocktails in the city
Business age: 7 years
Business type: Events | Food and Beverage | Social
Issues we addressed:
#1 Business has grown but lost sense of original brand and event ethos
#2 As a business that works by championing multiple drinks brands and bars, Cocktails in the City had a very indistinct brand of their own - a logo but not much personality.
How consultation helped: From my discovery session with the CITC team I learned that there was a mismatch between their marketing and their target audience. The event was established for 'foodie' cocktail connoisseurs but had become synonymous with a night out.
By helping the client see this misalignment and have the courage to identify as a high-end experience they have been able to elevate their entire brand, and this has shaped the events with a return to cocktail making demos and workshops at their recent London event, placing the focus back on a love of well made cocktails and new and interesting drinks brands.
Tools used: Audience identification, website and social media review, mission statement, tone of voice workshop, image guidance, graphic design, brand guideline, art direction
Oxford HR
Business age: 23 years
Business type: INGO | 3rd Sector | Executive Search
Issues we addressed:
#1 The business image was stuck in the 90's and badly needing modernising
#2 The company's USP was not being played up enough
#3 Staff disengagement and high turnover
#4 Expanding into a new market
How consultation helped: When I first met with Oxford HR, they were reluctant to embrace change - they were stuck in a rut and wanted to keep visuals as similar as possible but also modernise. Sometimes all you need to see that you're holding back your business is an objective outsider, and that's the role I played for the company at the beginning. Put simply, I was there to remind Oxford HR that if they kept doing the same thing, they would get the same result.
Secondly I worked with the MD and board to understand the roots of the business, and their values. This revealled that the company was the first to introduce Executive Search methods to the 3rd sector in 1995 - a practice that has now been widely adopted by other firms. The discovery also revealled a very unique team - everyone employed at Oxford HR, from the finance manager to the marketing executive all had hands on knowledge of international development and human rights, most of whom had worked or volunteered in the field previous to their employment. This resulted in a strong proposition for the brand: Pioneering People. We used this thought to underpin the entire rebrand, and to come up with the brand's powerful tagline: Word Leaders.
Their trust in me paid off as they underwent a company-wide rebrand - new logo, new look, new language, new website and a new approach. Internal engagement increased to an all time high, with staff feeling motivated and clear about the company's mission once again.
Oxford HR has gone from strength to strength with high profile clients including Oxfam, Save the Children, Amnesty International and many more. In 2016 they took on a new CEO, in 2017 they opened new offices in London and Amsterdam and in 2018 a 4th global office is planned.
Tools used: Audience identification, deep website and company review, competitor review, proposition creation, values workshop, art direction, project management, graphic design, marketing, website design and build.
