December 2008
Recently we have found ourselves pitching for numerous different opportunities, both large and small. They are all quite different and in their own ways represent exciting opportunities for our business. It has been said we live in interesting times, and this is certainly our view at the moment. When asked how we are finding the obvious slow down, Mark said; “We are cautiously optimistic about the way our seventh year of trading is beginning to unravel, despite the lack of confidence the credit crunch has clearly brought to the market place”.
Mark was invited, by Karen Darby, to attend the HSBC Start-up Stars awards held at the Dorchester in London in October. Karen was one of the original founders of Simply Switch and was one of the judges at the event. Rory Bremner was the warm up act before the awards were announced. Needless to say he was his brilliant self. The HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards is one of the UK’s most highly-coveted small business awards. Held annually since 2000, it recognises fledgling businesses with an inspiring blend of creativity, determination and business acumen. The national finalists can be found here. And if you don’t already know then this year’s £50,000 HSBC Start-up Stars award was presented, by Huw Morgan of HSBC, to Simon Duffy and Rhodri Ferrier of Bulldog Natural Grooming for its unique concept of creating chemical-free cosmetics for men.
We have finally delivered the completed brand story to Sirius. They are part of a pioneering group of open source consultants that daily strives to push the boundaries of IT. Tom Callway, Marketing Director at Sirius kindly said the following on our Linked-In recommendations “Mark has given us incredible insights into our business and how to open our brand. Professional, creative and trustworthy - Mark is exceptional at what he does.”
In April we delivered a new brand strategy for Power Capital. Following the successful completion of this work we were given the following testimonial; “Mark was very efficient with his questions, very insightful, and above all, an exceeding friendly person to deal with. During the process he somehow managed to defuse internal disagreements and moods most tactfully - I've no idea how he did this, but it worked. I would recommend Mark to anyone who has not formulated a brand strategy.” The design agency selected separately by the client to create the visual identity has now delivered their solution which we are pleased to say translates the brand essence very well. It is a classic example of how strategic thinking can and should drive the creative brief.
In July we were invited to attend the So What? workshop at the Design Council, facilitated by Elmwood. The objective was to find out what funding the design industry may be able and willing to contribute to its own professional development.
In January we helped Leeds based design agency Thompson win a 4-way pitch with the COI, to develop and implement a new brand strategy for NHS Direct. Following this we were also invited by Nesta and the Young Foundation to attend their Open Space workshop. The objective was to investigate how innovation can be driven forward in the NHS and what the NHS might look like in 2025.
Also in January, we started an online club called the Brand Network to drive interesting discussions on all brand topics. We now have nearly 350 members. One of them said; "I thank and congratulate Mark for having the good sense and the creative endeavour to revitalise a club whose time has come. The Brand Network is one of our more stimulating forums and it's making a valuable contribution to business thinking on Ecademy”. We have also established the Brand Network on social|median which is being transformed into a collaborative news filtering service. Our page can be found here. Feel free to get involved and perhaps grab clippings or RSS feeds that you would like to share with others.
We have now developed our long awaited seminars on how to make your brand a marque of excellence. Most organizations understand that brands and brand equities are a source of sustainable competitive advantage, and increasingly consider them among their most valuable assets. However many key decisions are often made in isolation, without fully considering their impact on brand equity, eroding brand loyalty and diminishing brand as an important business resource. Our aim is to demystify the strategic issues surrounding branding; helping you to develop a valuable and unique strategy and brand model for your business. If you are interested in knowing more please contact us here.
Read some of our most up to date testimonials here.