Managing Director, Chris Burton, has been successfully and profitably growing businesses through brands for more than twenty years.
The mini case studies featured here represent a small selection of different initiatives directed and lead by Chris.
Contact Chris today to discuss your brand
Early Learning Centre
Brand revitalisation and engagement – Align, engage and motivate retail teams to deliver the brand through ‘play-ology’.
Outcome:
Strong and consistent like for like sales and profit growth was clearly evident, producing a rapid return on investment
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Company: Mothercare Group
The Challenge
Drive like for like sales going into the most important trading period
The Solution
Recapture the spirit of the brand through brand definition and the creation of the ‘play-ology’ internal engagement concept to enhance and differentiate the customer experience in stores. Align, engage, enable and motivate retail teams to deliver the brand through ‘play-ology’ via a series of engagement events.
The Results
Sales growth – Between +6%-+9% like-for-like sales increase ahead of stores not implementing this new initiative.
Highly engaged and motivated retail teams, focused on bringing alive the spirit of the brand every day. Customers noticed and preferred the difference across the retail estate and especially in the trial stores, where a strong and consistent like for like sales and profit growth was clearly evident, producing a rapid return on investment. A positive sales response across the retail business was clearly evident, delivering rapid returns on investment from the revitalisation programme.
“Chris is a highly creative and visionary brand marketing specialist who has the ability to get to the heart of any brand very quickly. Passionate about customers and keen to educate those who work with him as to the advantages of advocacy in both commercial and environmental terms, he will act as a catalyst to focusing a team’s efforts to deliver. Engaging, optimistic and easy to work with he will bring fresh new thinking into any senior group.” Karen Bosher – Head of Group Stores – Mothercare/Early Learning Centre
EXTREME – High end living space design and installation
https://www.extreme-design.co.uk/
Brand strategy – re-positioning – revitalisation – team engagement – Align, engage and motivate the teams to deliver the new and unique value proposition.
Outcomes:
Unique and more valuable proposition for retail and commercial customers.
Sales and profit growth continues to accelerate years after this work.
The EXTREME brand-way is now embedded as the more valuable way that business is done
Sales from customer recommendations increase year after year, as do ‘willingness to recommend’ ratings and targets
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Company: EXTREME DESIGN
The Context and Challenge
The EXTREME brand business wasn’t accessing the real business potential.
The brand existed to create living spaces – kitchens – bedrooms – lounges – media rooms – that became design statements. The vast majority of projects were clearly not achieving this. They weren’t that different to other brands. Why? The brand was compromised in order to provide what the wrong customers wanted.
In effect, the brand wasn’t reaching the right customers that it could delight and be the best solution.
The Solution
Redefined the most valuable customer groups that want what the brand does best – EXTREME design statements.
Recapture the spirit of the brand through the creation of a unique proposition that was aspirational for the most valuable customers groups.
- Living spaces that were inspired by unique highlights in the life of the customer.
- Properties with living spaces inspired by the location for commercial property developers with an emphasis of creating a uniqueness for each development / property location.
Re-positioned the brand from being in the high-end space into a luxury brand, to attract and be the right solution for the right customer groups.
Redefined the brand experiences for the most valuable customer groups. Set brand standards to ensure consistent delivery.
Aligned and engaged everyone working on the brand to bring alive the new brand experiences in ways that created strong willingness to recommend the brand to others.
Customer experiences and willingness to recommend measurement process set up and activated.
The Results
Unique and more valuable proposition for retail and commercial customers.
This unique proposition, makes the brand incomparable and most valuable to the most valuable customer groups.
Sales and profit growth continues to accelerate years after this work.
The EXTREME brand-way is now embedded as the more valuable way that business is done
Sales from customer recommendations increase year after year, as do ‘willingness to recommend’ ratings and targets
Panopolis
Brand creation – Panoplis created for SSP, one of the world’s largest food & beverage brand retailers specialising in airports and rail stations.
Outcomes:
Generating £GB millions of incremental profitable sales around the world; Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Cyprus, Zurich, London City Airport, JFK (New York), Houston, Toronto.
Outperformed retail units it replaced by at least +25% sales
Rated highest for quality, customer satisfaction, (ahead of Costa at pilot store) and value for money.
Achieved the highest staff retention in the SSP UK Group.
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Company: Select Service Partner – One of the world’s largest food & beverage retailers specialising in airports and rail stations.
The Challenge
Create extra profitable sales growth for the sandwich category, especially outside the UK, by winning new business in airports.
The Solution
Created Panopolis, a unique retail brand, positioned at the top end of the market for discerning food lovers, willing to pay a premium for sandwich excellence.
The Results
Now generating incremental profitable sales around the world; Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Cyprus, Zurich, London City Airport, JFK (New York), Houston, Toronto. Rated highest for quality, customer satisfaction,(ahead of Costa at pilot store)and value for money. Also achieved the highest staff retention in SSP.
Energist
Brand and business transformation for a small professional services business
Outcomes:
Significant increases in the strength of client willingness to recommend the business.
98% of employees strongly aligned to and engaged in delivering the new brand direction and promise.
Nearly 90% of employees agreed/strongly agreed that the new brand work enabled them to make the business more successful.
90% agreed that it made their working life better.
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The Context
A small professional services business advising architects, developers and construction companies on sustainability regulations in the building industry. A brand with a proposition similar to the majority of the competitive set. In spite of high levels of customer service performance, the business faced a constant downward pressure on prices for the services offered.
The Task
“To overhaul our brand, re-energise, and crystalise our company values.”
What Was Done
Brand repositioning to carve out and own a new space in the market – successful energy assessments.
Developed and refined a new, differentiated and more valuable brand proposition – Making your world better. This focused on making the clients projects more successful through the specific advice given to each project. The market talked about passing energy assessments. EnergistUK promised passing assessments in such a way as to make the whole project more successful. This is much more valuable for clients. One example of this new proposition in action saved a client £300k on one project alone.
Employee alignment and engagement. Achieved through immersive workshops, business process change and coaching. Embedding the new, repositioned brand into a new and better way of doing business.
Brand-wide overhaul – Brand DNA redefined and brought alive through brand collateral and guidelines, brand sense of purpose, essence, promise, values and personality,brand identity design, website development and implementation. Brand measurement method was also enhanced.
The Outcomes
Significant increases in the strength of client willingness to recommend the business. All clients responding to requests for feedback on their experience were willing to recommend the brand to colleagues.
98% of employees strongly aligned to and engaged in delivering the new brand direction and promise. 90% agreed that it made their working life better. Nearly 90% of employees agreed/strongly agreed that the new brand work enabled them to make the business more successful. “I firmly believe that the brand gives us the tools need to lift Energist to the next level”
The brand took the high ground in the market place with the most valuable proposition. This translated into the enhanced profitability of services offered.
“Chris was invited to overhaul our brand, re-energise, and crystalise our company values. I can honestly say, Chris is one of THE most focused, conscientious, smart, professional, high integrity people I have ever had the pleasure of working with, and he damn well knows his stuff too! We couldn’t have achieved everything we have with our brand without Chris.” Sarah Fenwick – Managing Director – EnergistUK.
“Chris is a pleasure to work with. He brings enthusiasm, integrity, huge lashings of sincerity and is a force to be reckoned with in the brand world. The difference he has made at Energist UK is fantastic.” Ri Ferrier – Business Consultant
Toilet Duck
Innovation – Define new product innovation for the Toilet Duck brand with sufficient scale and uniqueness to warrant significant advertising investment.
Outcomes:
Significant and commercially viable new product concepts were created and successfully prototyped for each segment of the toilet cleaner market.
The first to be commercialised by SC Johnson internationally was Toilet Duck – Fresh Brush cleaning system. Created millions £GB and Euros incremental sales and profit across the world. For more than 10 years, it remained the highest priced Toilet Cleaning product available.
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Product innovation. Company: SC Johnson Wax.
The Challenge
Define new product innovation for the Toilet Duck brand with sufficient scale to warrant significant advertising investment.
The Solution
Identified new customer insights via a wildly different research programme. This informed the creation of new product ideas which were tested for business size after being prototyped. Top performing ideas were then developed.
The Results
Significant and commercially viable new product concepts were created and successfully prototyped for each segment of the toilet cleaner market.
The first to be commercialised by SC Johnson was Toilet Duck – Fresh Brush cleaning system. Addressed the issues associated with toilet brushes with a disposable head cleaning system. This created significant incremental sales and market share for SC Johnson, as the product is totally complimentary to the existing product range. Also boosted the cash value to the toilet cleaner category for retail customers.
Glade Aromatherapy Candles
Generate extra profitable sales and value share growth, to take Glade candles to a clear and sustained market leader.
Outcomes:
Double digit profit growth.
Achieved and sustained a clear market leadership position.
Research confirmed sales to be in excess of 87% incremental to Glade seasonal candles.
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Company: SC Johnson Wax
The Challenge
Generate extra profitable sales and value share growth, to take Glade candles to a clear and sustained market leader.
The Solution
Glade Aromatherapy candles with essential oils. Positioned at a premium (+50%) to Glade seasonal candles and differentiated through;
- Product – unique candle fragrances with the added credibility of essential oils, in a premium frosted glass jar.
- Highly impactful packaging that emphasised the premium glass jar.
- Advertising – different creative and proposition communicated through press, compared to TV used for Glade seasonal candles.
The Results
Achieved and sustained a clear market leadership position. Double digit profit growth. Research confirmed sales to be in excess of 87% incremental to Glade seasonal candles.
Tulleys Farm
Retail business – profit optimisation | Attractions business – event planning | Business growth strategy and planning | Business model transition.
Outcomes:
The most profitable retail business units grew sales and profit between 20%-40%.
Bank approved the financing of the new growth strategy and plans.
New business model implemented successfully.
Seasonal attractions sales and gross profit growth +20%-35%
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Context
Tulleys Farm is an international award winning farm retail and leisure attractions business. With the most profitable and scaleable revenue being produced by the leisure attractions business units, the owners needed to identify new direction and focus for the short and medium term.
The Task
Increase the profitability of the retail business units.
Working with the owners and management team, help to define a business growth strategy, plans and a new business model.
Work Done
Worked with the retail business unit teams to apply retail operations best practice to grow sales and profitability (gross and net) of the retail business units. This included the effective marketing of the business units – Ranging, merchandising, conversion and transaction spend boosting activity and staffing. Coaching the business unit managers to deliver the performance enhancements required, was a critically important part of this work.
Assisted in the project planning to make seasonal attractions more profitable. Provided the framework and templates for the commercial planning of the event, setting objectives and success criteria with the project managers and coaching them to deliver the profitable growth.
Worked with the owners and management team to identify viable growth strategies, running commercial plan scenarios and presenting to the bank to secure funding. Assisted in the implementation of the growth strategy and new business model, including commercial terms for new retail tenant, brand proposition, brand identity and continued commercial coaching of the business unit managers.
Outcomes
The most profitable retail business units grew sales and profit between 20%-40%.
Bank approved the financing of the new growth strategy and plans.
New business model implemented successfully.
Seasonal attractions sales and gross profit growth +20%-35%
