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PROJECTS
Bruce develops brand strategies for clients in Europe and the US in ‘business to business’ and ‘business to
consumer’ across a range of sectors including software, fashion, fair trade, AI, mission and financial services
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WORLD EXTREME MEDICINE
Extreme medicine, a term first coined by World Extreme Medicine founder Mark Hannaford describes the practice of medicine in remote, inhospitable and challenging environments. World Extreme Medicine is a unique organisation that offers an incredibly broad range of services including the world’s first MSc in Extreme Medicine, a wide range of courses that draw on at least 200 leading medical experts and the world’s only extreme medicine global conference, now in its 11th year. Through the Brand Arrow workshop Bruce worked with the leadership team to provide clarity on how best to harness all their diverse services into a more coherent whole. As well as the brand strategy Bruce developed a market strategy and wrote their first Positioning and Messaging Guide.
“Well that was fun! Although from different walks of life, Bruce is a kindred spirit and very quickly understood who we are, how we work and what we needed. His work with us has been very influential in shaping how we now market the disparate elements of our brand - and if he can do that for us, he can do it for anyone!”
Prof. Mark Hannaford FEWM, CEO World Extreme Medicine
Big Title
ACIN
The exponential rise in the accessibility of data, along with the increased pace of regulatory change is driving the need for companies to take a more robust approach to operational risk management. Without making a change many will face significant regulatory fines and increased operational costs. Acin has developed a pioneering proprietary technology platform that combines the shared data of its peer to peer network with an accessible SAAS based platform that equips its customers to continually improve how they manage their operational risk. To support Acin’s next growth phase, the Senior Leadership Team all attended a one day Brand Arrow workshop that delivered crystal clear direction for how best to define the benefits of their brand and be able to grow into new markets.
Bruce’s methodology and workshop was very effective– in short order we aligned everything from Vision to Positioning with full team buy-in along the way. Thank you from the Acin team.
Paul Ford, CEO, Acin
MEETUPCALL
Meetupcall combines audio and video conferencing to help anybody communicate and collaborate in the most effective way possible - wherever they are and whatever their technology is. Over the last 10 years, it has built up a successful business because the brand is easy to access, simple to use, affordable, and, unlike most other conference and video services, it does not require the user to download anything. However, the brand needed a refresh to be able to maximise the opportunities that a lock down world presented. The Brand Arrow workshop clarified meetupcall’s vision and better defined and prioritised its key messaging. The resulting brand strategy was used to direct the web agency in the creation of a new web site, identity, and marketing materials.
"Bruce has the ability to extract the true essence of a brand from the team and put it into a meaningful structure, allowing you to develop an effective strategy within the brand arrow process.".
Simon Moxon, MD, Meetupcall
NEOTA LOGIC
A pioneer in expertise automation for the legal profession, Neota had developed a world leading platform that created automation software without the need to hire programmers. However the brand needed a new language to engage its audience that first focussed on the unique benefits its automation could deliver and second on the features of its formidable technology platform. Bruce worked with the global leadership team to develop a new brand strategy that helped Neota to be relevant to its audience and distinct from its competition. The new strategy’s proposition Liberating Expertise through Automation captured the brand ambition and delivered a logical framework that began with the benefit - the why - and finished with the process, the how.
"Yes, Bruce delivered a brand strategy that has shaped how we communicate with our customers, but, it was the way he engaged with us that was actually more influential because it created space for the whole global network to work together to create a strategy that we all own and are proud of".
Rick Seabrook, Managing Director, Europe.
VMRay
VMRay uses proprietary third generation sandbox technology and is regarded the world’s most effective platform for analysing and detecting the most dangerous threats to an organisation’s operations. However, the challenge for the brand strategy was to elevate the VMRay brand above the ubiquitous presence of sand boxing technology in most organisations malware detection systems. Working with colleagues from YUnique Marketing, we used the Brand Arrow framework to develop a brand strategy that included an elevator pitch that led with the benefits VMRay could deliver that no other sand box technology could claim. This framework is now being used to re define how the brand is presented across its marketing channels.
"We recently worked with Bruce revising our company brand & positioning strategy by utilising the Brand Arrow process. While it took some time for me as a techie to get the "point", Bruce was very professional and helpful in educating me and explaining things, and the result is awesome".
Dr. Carsten Willems, CEO, VMRay
WORLD FAIR TRADE ORGANIZATION
The World Fair Trade Organization has been around before anybody really know what fair trade was. Set up in the 1980’s it’s a membership organisation and verifier of social enterprises that fully practice Fair Trade. Spread across 76 countries, WFTO members number over 1,000 social enterprises and 1,500 shops. Bruce has worked with the WFTO on and off for over three decades and in 2021 was asked to work with the board to develop a new brand strategy. This strategy has defined the core elements of WFTO in a way that is accessible, directional, and practical. It ensures that all its varied audiences have a crystal clear understanding of what the WFTO stands for, its key benefits, what makes it distinct.
"Bruce is a skilled brand strategist who helped us navigate the complexity of the WFTO brand and its key messaging. Using the Brand Arrow methodology, he worked inclusively with me, the leadership team and board to facilitate a process where we co-created and co-owned our brand strategy."
Erinch Sahan, CEO, World Fair Trade Organization
ACCESS GROUP
The Access Group provides business management software to mid-sized organisations. In 2020 it brought together a number of leading HRM companies to form Access People. Bruce worked with the team to develop a process to discover the different strengths of the companies, to define what made them unique and what brought them together. This was used to guide the development of a set of value propositions that reinforced the Access Group brand strategy and provided a cohesive communications platform the new division.
FISCAL TECHNOLOGIES
Fiscal Technologies is a market-leading cloud-based platform that uses forensic payables analysis to identify process gaps, protect a customers working capital, minimise fraud, and reduce overpayments - especially important given the current economic climate. This releases a customer to focus on what’s important, to make rapid and informed decisions, and ultimately to improve the performance of every aspect of the finance department. The Brand Arrow IDEA process was used to help the leadership team at Fiscal develop a benefit led brand strategy, focussing on the value its technology could release for its customers. The resulting brand strategy led to a complete overhaul of its sales and marketing messaging and collateral.
"Brilliant! Bruce took the senior leadership team through the Brand Arrow process, helping us focus on the value we deliver to customers, shift our mindset and identifying the need for a benefit led brand strategy that is now shaping the content of our new web site, marketing collateral and messaging. Great job thank you."
Sal Murdoch, Marketing Director, Fiscal Technologies
TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES
BLUE YONDER
Blue Yonder takes a myriad of data sources and using AI, predicts with an extraordinary degree of accuracy the level of demand its clients can expect for their products.
Bruce was asked to help develop and implement a brand strategy that would help Blue Yonder better engage with retailers, who tend to only want to deal with other retailers and are suspicious of anybody from outside their industry. The resulting strategy helped the brand to stop focusing on the science and start to focus on the problems the science could solve. The brand and marketing materials were completely redeveloped to reflect the retail world to feel like it was part fabric of retail through its choice of language, imagery and identity. And it worked! The first integrated demand generation campaign exceeded its KPI's by 400%!
"Bruce worked with the management team to develop a brand strategy that enabled Blue Yonder to better focus on the retail sector as a target market. He then managed the implementation of that brand strategy across our marketing communications programme".
Uwe Weiss, CEO, Blue Yonder
DR FOSTER
Dr Foster helps healthcare organisations to make better and faster decisions using a suite of data and insight services.
The health sector has gone through enormous change over the last decade and this change is continuing to accelerate as the collection, analysis and implementation of data related practises picks up speed. Bruce delivered a new brand strategy that positioned Dr Foster as the trusted guide to help navigate through this changing landscape, an expert that would deliver actionable insights to make the most of their limited resources. This required the brand to evolve its mission, to focus on the benefits and not just the features of its software - to put the ‘why’ before the ‘how’. The brand strategy recognised that ultimately, Dr Foster was about helping their customers make better decisions - a simple insight that led to the new brand proposition: ‘turning data into decisions’.
JUST US! COFFEE
Founded in 1995 as Canada's first fair trade coffee roaster, Just Us! is a worker co-operative roasting specialty grade, certified fair trade and organic coffee.
Started 25 years ago as a worker owned co-op it now has a range of fair trade organic coffees, tea, chocolate and sugar, four bustling cafes and is distributed throughout the region in grocery chains and independent stores and restaurants. Bruce was commissioned to make strategic recommendations on how the brand could better differentiate itself in a market with many ‘ethical’ competitors and where fair trade has become a commodity. Over the project period, a brand strategy, a revised corporate identity and a set of brand guidelines were delivered.
"Bruce ‘gets us’ better than anyone else we have worked with in the brand, marketing and strategy context in the past. Bruce brought up key priorities that many of us carry around but have struggled to articulate and put into action."
Austin Anderson, Director of Coffee, Just Us! Coffee Roasters
HAMPSTEAD TEA
Founded by Kiran Tawadey in 1989, Hampstead Tea is a pioneering and award winning range of bio-dynamic tea available in stores across the world.
What is plain to see is Hampstead Tea is a thoroughly modern and stylish brand that provides the highest quality of tea to its customers. This gives the brand a clear and distinct profile. What isn’t plain to see is the brand’s pioneering leadership in biodynamic organic growing methods, its deep commitment to fairtrade and Kiran’s passion to bring alive her journey into the world of tea. Bruce developed a brand strategy that brought out those ‘hidden’ assets, providing a clear direction for the design team and a more relevant and intimate experience for Hampstead’s customers.
"I suppose the most striking thing about Bruce is his capacity to listen. He was able to take what's in the culture of Hampstead Tea - the way we do things here - and develop a strategy that has become a powerful tool in helping us evolve our brand."
Kiran Tawadey, Founder, Hampstead Tea, London
TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES
As one of the world’s largest and oldest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from 120 artisan groups in 35 countries.
Back in the early nineties Bruce led the development of a new name and identity for the retailer. 24 years later Brand Arrow was invited back to review the brand to see if it needed updating . The brand was in good health, the challenge was more around refreshing how the client thought about, and used the brand. It had slipped into being treated as three words and a logo instead of a source of inspiration and direction for the staff, their partners and most of all, their customers. This insight ensured that the brand and its name were always embedded as part of their story.
TELEHOUSE EUROPE
Telehouse Europe is one of the largest, global data centre providers in the world, operating a network of 47 data centres in 23 locations across EMEA, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.
Bruce worked with senior management of Telehouse Europe, a global provider of data centres, in the development and implementation of a brand strategy. The assignment required the delivery of short-term leads and to grow awareness of the brand after a long period of marketing under-investment. The results were excellent with the new strategy delivering an impressive 97% increase in leads to the sales team. It also shaped the branding, marketing and web platform for a new £135m data centre. The assignment also involved working closely with parent company KDDI to create the name, positioning and marketing communications for Telehouse Enhanced Connect, the company’s first new product launch in 10 years.
"Bruce acted with enthusiasm, creativity, integrity and gave us his all. He delivered an increase of 97% in inbound leads and dramatically increased the market profile of our new data centre. I would thoroughly recommend working with Bruce for his breadth of experience, insight, interpersonal skills and energy. "
Andrew Fray, Director, Telehouse
PAUL COSTELLOE
Paul Costelloe has been an influential fashion designer for decades, and is well known for his iconic womenswear collections, having designed for royalty and stars alike.
Working with the team at Berwin & Berwin, Paul Costelloe has created a range of mens suits and formal wear which is sold in the UK and globally. Bruce was brought in to bring a fresh perspective to the brand, to inspire and direct new ideas and directions for messaging and marketing based on a clear and relevant understanding of what the brand is all about. Since then, the brand identity and range have been overhauled to deliver a more single minded direction for the brand.