The task
To re-name and re-position The Community Channel which had been on-air for 16 years and had just become a charitable Community Benefits Society, making it more accessible to a broader audience.
The solution
We worked closely with the management team, stakeholders, members and influencers over an 18-month period conducting research, interviews and focus groups to gather insight and validate each step of the process.
The result
A new name, a new brand positioning and a new programming strategy to inspire, motivate, facilitate and above all connect people to do more.
The task
A partner was required to create and launch the i12WRK brand, initially in the Middle East. This innovative digital product combines location functionality with vacancies streamlining the recruitment process for both employers and candidates.
The solution
We worked with the team in Dubai to position the brand in the market. A unique tone of voice and communications strategy was essential. The visual identity followed along with UX design and a launch campaign for consumers along with all B2B sales collateral.
The task
Bafta urgently needed to raise £30m to redevelop 195 Piccadilly to gain the crucial space needed for an increased charitable programme and provide new best-in-class technology to help educate and nurture talent globally.
The solution
After creating a carefully planned 12-month launch campaign along with the campaign identity we focused on the launch: A three-day exhibition for potential donors; a film and all member communications.
The task
A well-established and well-loved Italian restaurant chain embarked on an ambitious global growth strategy. It realised very quickly that the this easily understood offer in Italy needed to change its brand communication to stand out in much more competitive markets: London, Hong Kong and Cupertino.
The solution
We worked extensively with the team in Milan to define the new global values and core proposition “The Italian Art of the Panino” to create a framework helping them to stand out and communicate simply their Italian essence to a global consumer. The communications strategy provides clear instruction to unifying, simplifying and where necessary “dialling-up” the message appropriate to each location.
The task
A new brand promise needed to be brought to life in an engaging and simple way to motivate all stakeholders around the globe to make change and think differently.
The solution
This short video showcases the new visual identity and tells the new brand story in a succinct and engaging way.
Brand strategy, naming and focus group research for a new AETN channel
Conceived by James Patterson, author of more than 350 million book sales, Bookshots meets the modern reader’s desire for shorter-length ‘shots’ of action-packed entertainment that fit in with their busy lives, by offering them great stories in a more concise format. An entirely new way of reading.
BookShots is a truly revolutionary idea: potentially the greatest innovation in publishing since the mass-market paperback. With attention and time in decline and technology racing ahead of human behavior, the BookShots brand needed to capture this very essence and place the reader at the centre of this 21st century conundrum wherever, whenever and however they wanted to read.
KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services employing 174,000 people and operational in 155 countries.
KPMG and McLaren formed a strategic alliance that is unique. KPMG brings a wealth of knowledge of business sectors, data analytics and operational excellence. McLaren brings predictive analytics and simulation through high performance design and technology. Together they transform the ability of big businesses to respond at pace to challenges and to improve their performance. They needed an identity that encapsulates this highly innovative and fluid proposition.
As this strategic alliance is unlike any other consultancy. Delivering results that were previously unimaginable. So the visual identity looks like nothing you’d expect from the world of consultancy.
It's a dynamic, flexible fluid brand fit for the digital world and can take advantage of a wide array of applications and situations as demonstrated here.
Rescued from the administrator Deloitte in April 2013, by the capital investment company Hilco, HMV had a huge task on its hands. Despite being a much-loved heritage high street brand, negative perceptions and significant competition required a brand re-think.
We partnered with the new management teams at HMV Retail, HMV Digital and HMV Online to define the umbrella brand philosophy and its relationship to each business.
The brand re-launch titled “home of entertainment since 1921” re-ignited the brand in-store (including way-finding and POS) and online and launched a new digital download offer. The ATL campaign launched in the the UK was subsequently taken up in Ireland and Canada and reminded customers of its core offer.
This re-positioning enabled HMV to capitalise on its USP: physical location. Live events increase footfall by 7.5%. Focusing on this has seen a year-on year rise in sales of 9.2% (Q2/FY14). Physical album sales have increased by 12% compared to the sale of digital albums, which slumped 17% as the download market battles with streaming services such as Spotify.
Another brand made better by The Council, or in Paul McGowan’s words (Chairman, HMV). “This business is flying”
PHD Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Media Group required a collaborative partner to work with their broad stakeholder team to refresh the global identity.
The first step was to move the 25 year-old PHD mark to a contemporary space, without losing any of its recognisable brand equity. Next step was to rationalise and re-structure the myriad of ‘sub’ logos that had evolved over the years to develop a slick, sharp presentation system.
We have delivered a truly agile identity that works equally well in New York as it does in Shanghai.
All this without losing the all-important PHD spirit and energetic attitude!
With The Council, PHD Worlwide “found a better way”!
With 84,000 employees and 32 million customers in 190 countries it is no surprise that this global healthcare brand had a wide variety of fragmented brand communications and needed our help to “clean up” their global on-screen expression and help them present themselves at their best.
We raised the bar creatively to create a coherent on-screen presence that minimises reinterpretation and reinvention. We thought beyond ‘end frames’ to create a cohesive ‘housestyle’ toolkit across all screens that is practical and flexible for all.
To refresh the off-air campaign brand and re-design the press and digital templates for BBC Worldwide’s Lifestyle channel broadcast across Europe, South Africa and Asia.
Our challenge was to find a level of regional harmony in the design whilst ensuring local appeal. This was of particular importance because the programming mix and local tastes are different, production capability varies, but the need for brand consistency was absolute.
Our approach involved a high degree of consultation with the regional teams and immersing ourselves with their particular challenges. This ensured all design templates, guides, press and digital applications met both regional and global needs.
The channel UKTVG2 was virtually invisible. People didn't understand the name and spontaneous awareness was less than 2% and the channel had the highest misattribution of any of the ten UKTV channels.
A brand new name, a new positioning “the home of witty banter” based on consumer insight and a unique identity he first of a ten channel network re-brand, based on detailed consumer research and insight. “The home of witty banter” was born.
IPA gold winner 2008.
67% uplift in reach (Source: BARB)
71% uplift in pay TV (Source: BARB)
£4.5m additional profit in 6 months (or £3 return for every £1 invested in marketing)
We were briefed to create a name, brand and microsite to target “young career starters”.
We challenged the brief with a bigger solution which BAFTA embraced. We have been retained since since 2010. During this time we have overhauled their brand architecture, their digital engagement strategy and delivered a full suite of clearly named, branded and targeted channels through effective UI and UX design. In the process we have migrated dot org to open CMS, we've increased their brand footprint and developed a full suite of brand guidelines for international affiliates whilst keeping a member and governance board involved and onside with some major communications changes.
Recent projects include the new brand and website for Bafta 195, the social media campaign to launch and promote Bafta Breakthrough Brits in association with Burberry and the internal comms campaign to announce the new building plans to open up and extend Bafta’s flagship premises.
With most M&A’s come brand hierarchy problems. This was no exception with RLJ Entertainment’s (itself A subsidiary of RLJ Inc.) acquisition of Acorn Productions, the proud owner of some of the world’s best known content brands including Agatha Christie.
With the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christies birth in 2015, it was time to solve the brand endorsement problems and create a new hierarchy for the organisation. With a multitude of stakeholders both UK and US, a broad range of products: B2B; TV end-boards; online; print; DVD and merchandise in different languages, a simple and elegant solution was required.
KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services employing 174,000 people and operational in 155 countries.
KPMG Spectrum is a new technology based business offering tailored capabilities, tools and insights. Intelligence generated from the software solutions (third party governance, operating efficiencies, technology, tax and regulatory compliance) will enable organisations to make impactful decisions that sustain and drive growth and solve business issues.
Emulating the very foundations of the business, we delivered a launch identity for KPMG Spectrum that is different, disruptive and experience-led. Only recently launched it has triggered exceptionally positive reactions from existing and prospective clients for such a market-disrupting business.
We created the original “Bone Daddies” restaurant brand - the iconic Daddysan – marking the offer from renowned chef Ross Shonahan communicating the positioning “if you don’t like ramen, you don’t like rock ‘n’ roll and you don’t like beer, you can f-off!” Our next task was to create a brand system for multiple venues.
Each venue has its own unique food concept and with that is the need for a unique brand identity, at the same time creating a portfolio that increased consumer awareness and investor interest. Using the Daddysan as the brand endorser, identities have been created for Flesh & Buns, Shakfyuyu, High St Kensington and Old Street.
We had just 8 weeks to get this brand new national Indian entertainment channel (owned by STAR India) on-air.
With a new ownership structure and a new development strategy it was time for this award-winning television production company to upgrade its outdated visual identity to a brand.
Not just a new logo, but a brand. A brand that tells the betty story clearly and consistently. With a great set of values that are used not just as the benchmark for great story-telling, but also as a framework for recruiting, rewarding, and recognising staff contributions and delivering stand-out amongst their competitors both on-screen and on the desk of commissioning editors!
With the loss of the 2016 Olympics to a rival broadcaster, we believed Yle needed to unite their individual sports programming under a single brand brand driving credit back to this respected Finnish public service broadcaster.
We worked with many stakeholders across the organisation and the in-house teams at Yle, both creative and programming to create the umbrella “Urheilu” multi-platform brand endorsed by Yle.
A brand strategy re-think and a new communications plan to facilitate the growth of this pioneering offer for real chocolate lovers.
The re-positioning led to a refreshed visual identity across all collateral including packaging, consumer communications and of course the website.
A name, a strategy and an engaging brand identity was required for this ground-breaking peer-to-peer currency exchange app.
Designed upwards from the app button, with simple signifiers to create quick understanding and stand-out in the increasingly crowded app store.
Funded by four of the UK’s leading publishers including Penguin Random House and Harper Collins the objective of this consumer brand was to move Amazon book purchasers to a more trusted peer-endorsed supplier.
Using the book-club strategy, the functionality of this brand provided book-lovers with topics and groups of like-minded people to ensure any recommendations were real, valuable and not an algorithmic nuisance.
A new contemporary dining experience from chef Mark Sargent required an equally contemporary identity.
From our brand positioning and name (inspired by the first cartographers of Soho) we created a visual identity that was both accessible and premium given its location on this vibrant and eclectic street, a stone’s throw from Leicester Square.
A graphic device enabling promotion of ITV network family
With a new corporate brand and a positively perceived new channel identity for itv, it was time to leverage the brand across the wider ITV family.
An elegant graphic device which houses content can promote the week, the channels, the platforms to inform and retain viewers within the ITV network.
A brand new wealth management company required a brand new corporate identity
A new business with extensive experience of managing wealth at some of the worlds biggest financial companies decided to offer an independent service. A new name and corporate identity that communicated this high calibre business was required.
A right royal brand commemorating the 60th anniversary of the coronation
An iconic brand was required to celebrate this icons 60th anniversary of the coronation.
•••••An ambitious new restaurant launch in the very heart of London
A large restaurant overlooking Trafalgar Square, offering all day-dining required a brand to match the ambition.
The global brand had been “diluted” over several years of “local” ownership. A re-think was required to ensure global consistency to drive credit back to the master brand.
A simple but elegant typographic solution provided a framework for “localisation” whilst building brand consistency. This initially European solution was taken up globally and the single toolkit worked across 28 languages. On air idents, an off-air campaign and comprehensive global brand guidelines were also delivered.
With more than 2m subscribers and a loyalty card scheme that had been “on hold” for almost a year, the path to success for the re-launch of purehmv was steep!
A revised logotype, a new positioning: “cool stuff that money can’t buy” and a seamless transition from the old card to the new (with previous earned loyalty being transferred) its become the card to carry.
Its re-launch success is adding more than 7,000 cards per week. At £3 each it offers you the pass to exclusive content. There were 27,000 cardholder applications for the recent 5SOS (5 Seconds of Summer) event alone when they launched their new album at the HMV flagship store at 363 Oxford Street.
A “tired” TV shopping channel lost on the French EPG needed a complete makeover.
A new name and a new positioning which reflected the new product strategy targeting a more up-market, youthful demographic was our starting point. The end goal being a multi-platform shopping destination integrating complex sales data to new live streamed graphic information system across TV, web and mobile. Not forgetting a re-launch campaign.
A fine-dining and cocktail bar for London’s glitterati set on an exquisitely restored London Routemaster. This bus needed a name, an identity and a customer experience that exceeded expectations.
From logotype to call-centre script and website to coasters, we delivered the end-to-end brand experience. If you are lucky enough to experience this it will stay with you forever.
Common with almost all European public service broadcasters is the aging audience profile and the reduction in relevance to the younger consumer. The primary objective of this brand repositioning was to address this issue.
Over a twelve month period, we worked collaboratively with Yle News, Yle Marketing and the in-house production teams to re-invigorate the news identity and revolutionise the presentation style and tonality of all bulletins. With 400 daily news bulletins in 7 languages across TV and radio, you begin to realise the scale and complexity of this project.
The result was a re-launch that generated significant earnt media coverage, trending on twitter during and garnering its own hash tag conversation.
As a young and growing start-up, it was time for Poncho No8 to re-evaluate their brand to ensure they were ready for significant expansion in the burgeoning Burrito market. They called The Council.
We re-calibrated the Poncho 8 design identity, making the logotype easier to understand and injected some all-important humour in the visual mix.
We developed a single-minded positioning and refreshed the visual languauge ensuring the brand stayed witty and engaging across all customer touch-points from signage and napkins to website and promotion.
The world’s biggest female entertainment channel was coming to the UK. Already present in most countries around the world, the brand had little or no awareness in the UK. Whilst the logo was being imported, the new on-screen identity had to bring relevance and pertinence to the UK audience.
Our ‘triptych’ creative concept ensured the highly visible content was anchored in and around the signature logotype, which itself became a playful, spontaneous agent provocateur within the identity.
Billed as ‘Europe’s first social ping pong club’, with no track record and investors requiring a return. The pressure on this innovative leisure destination was immense.
We took the team at Bounce on their journey from concept to reality. The venue launched to great success, topping the table of Time Out London’s top pastime picks and breaking all predictions on visitor numbers and revenue.
We worked with Star to bring a breath of fresh air to their Bengali general entertainment channel Star Jalsha.
Positioned as “Chalo paltai” meaning “Let’s make a change” , we brought an optimistic injection of gloss, glamour and excitement to the channel identity.
London’s first and finest American restaurant, brimming with history and character came to The Council to reinvigorate their brand identity for a younger more contemporary Covent Garden diner.
We were happy to oblige, creating a chic and glamorous American Art Deco inspired icon that brought three brand offers (Martini Bar, Dining Room and Club Room) together cohesively with a range of collateral that included way-finding, website, menus, uniforms and a cocktail shaker or two.
Established in 1903, this heritage brand, by Royal Appointment needed a re-think for the 21st Century.
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A brand loved by many Londoners that needs to communicate across a broad range of consumer touch-points whilst allowing flexibility for partners and sponsors.
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Having created the B2B brand for Camm & Hooper we now needed to create a brand system for the individual venue brands so they could exist independently but together combined to deliver a portfolio family of brands to attract investment and build brand equity.
Drawing on the heritage of each location, the solution delivers a unique consumer brand for each event space whilst allowing them to co-exist as a family for the investor brand and the corporate purchaser.
The first venue in the portfolio was a “tired” Bermondsey restaurant and live event space followed swiftly by the 300-year old Banking Hall, soon to open its doors is the Victorian Bath House. Watch this space for many more venues in 2016.
Eye-catching internal comms for the biggest commercial broadcaster in the UK
A wide range of communications requirements fulfilled by The Council, these ranged from high-profile VIP invites to eye-catching internal communications reaching out to more than 5000 staff across the UK.
A brand refresh for this sympathetically restored original 19829 gin palace
After the authentic restoration of this original 1829 gin palace a sympathetic refresh of its brand identity was required.
An elegant identity for this very British seasonal produce specialist
A brand new restaurant in the centre of ‘Noho’ asked The Council to deliver its identity.
Our simple, yet elegant solution focused on the core proposition “British food, using the best seasonal, specialist and wild produce from around the UK”. A traditional logotype, combined with a simple illustrative style and subtle colour palette is at the heart of this identity and is delivered consistently across all collateral including web, menus etc.
A PR campaign for Wellcome Collection’s incredibly curious audience
Wellcome was making its collection more accessible to the public by building an amazing new spiral staircase to connect every floor and every gallery making access easier – the downside is the building will need to close for up to one year.
A positive message and a positive comms campaign was required not only for current visitors but for press and new visitors. Our intriguing design deployed the spiral schematic to emphasise the breadth and depth of the collection whilst remaining true to the “incredibly curious” positioning.
With an increase in cyber attacks targeting the Media industry (involving stealing information, broadcast takeover and reputational damage), ITV wanted to raise awareness about the importance of information security.
Our fully integrated internal comms campaign reaching more than 6,000 staff in the UK and across the world provided clear instruction. It delivered the information and actions required to make everyone aware about the potential risks to ITV and its information in an entertaining and memorable way. It demonstrated how they could personally contribute to ITV security and how they could protect their work and ultimately ITV.
