Putting it into practice: Implementing a distinctive strategy and - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Putting it into practice: Implementing a distinctive strategy and identity in a commercial organisation John Rhys Chairman, S.A. Brain & Company Co-founder, Heavenly Brand Consultancy

S.A. Brain & Company  Family-owned company founded in 1882

S.A. Brain & Company  Brewery and head office in the centre of Cardiff

S.A. Brain & Company  250 pubs and bars in Wales and South-West England

S.A. Brain & Company  £120 million turnover; 2,000+ employees  Most famous for Brains SA and sponsoring Welsh rugby

Brains brand = .... Beer + Pubs + People + Company

Starting point  Gain full understanding of current perceptions of Brains through comprehensive research programme Consumers Employees Trade

Consumer research summary Positives Negatives  Tradition, heritage  Old-fashioned, conservative  Familiarity, warmth  Uninspiring, predictable  Local affinity  Cardiff-Centric  Quality beer  ‘Basic’ pubs  Appeal to older drinkers  Alien to younger audience

Employee and trade research  Similar take to consumers  Established company, integrity as an employer, but...  ...punching below its weight  ...staid and risk-averse  ...followers not leaders  ...unenterprising approach to branding and marketing  Although, new management team beginning to generate optimism for the future

Company vision statement To be Wales’ leading independent brewing and hospitality business, increasingly recognised by consumers throughout the UK

Why relaunch the Brains brand? Externally  Increase trade and consumer demand  Raise profile of the company  Generate positive publicity  Improve relationships with other businesses

Why relaunch the Brains brand? Internally  Enhance employee sense of pride and belonging  Improve morale and sense of esteem  Aspirational company to work for

Requirements for revitalised brand  Be engaging  Have a point of view  Be distinctive and different  Deliver it consistently

Requirements for revitalised brand Must work internally and externally  Branding not just about external advertising & marketing  Employee understanding and buy-in is vital  Brand and its values delivered by employees every day  Both business-to-consumer and business-to-business

Living the brand “There is little benefit to a well-devised brand positioning, if it remains something that people decorate the walls with rather than live during their working day”

Living the brand “ Value is created when customers interact with the organisation, not just when they consume its products or services…”

Your people are vital to your brand Most likely reasons to repeat purchase/visit?  56%  Product quality  45%  Price  41%  Treatment from staff  24%  Brand reputation  23%  Product range  21%  Staff knowledge  17%  Staff handling of query complaint  15%  Promotions/special offers  11%  How staff represented the company  11%  Staff enthusiasm  6%  Policies on community/environment  5%  Advertising

Your people are vital to your brand Single most important reason not to repeat purchase/visit  Staff-related issues*  45%  Quality/range of products/service  17%  Advertising/promotions/brand  14%  Price  13%  Other  11% * Staff-related issues include:- - How staff treated you - How staff handled your enquiry/complaint - Staff enthusiasm - Staff knowledge - How staff represented the company

Developing the revitalised brand  Work out what we want Brains to stand for  Brains equivalent of:  Orange - forward looking – the future’s bright  Tesco – customer focus – every little helps  NatWest – helpful banking  Nike – self-belief – just do it  Researched a number of options  Refined into a single-minded solution

A more confident Wales

Core brand idea Positivity

Why ‘positivity’?  Taps into new spirit and confidence within Wales  Reflects the feeling of positive change at Brains  Highly relevant to the drinks and hospitality market  A positive attitude is a great thing to have in life!

‘Positivity’ & Brains  Positivity works across the business: o Company: positive culture change - a can-do attitude o Pub staff: a positive welcome o Sales force: never say “no” o Marketing: more positive thinking from Brains  Alignment of internal and external communications

‘Positivity’ & Brains + External Internal Culture Communication

Rebuilding the Brains brand Migrating the Values CURRENT DESIRED CORE CORE Tradition/Neutrality Positivity COMPANY VALUES COMPANY VALUES = Family Heritage Family Heritage = Integrity Integrity = Independent Independent Forward-thinking Conservative

Rebuilding the Brains brand Migrating the Values DESIRED CURRENT PRODUCT VALUES PRODUCT VALUES Cardiff Welsh Unadventurous Innovative

Rebuilding the Brains brand Migrating the Values DESIRED TONE OF VOICE Engaging Optimistic Knowing sense of humour Contemporary

Brand relaunch and marketing

Positive change from within  Face-to-face employee presentations by Chief Executive  ‘Half full sessions’ - employee workshops  Highlighted positives  Identified issues  Drew out suggestions for positive change  Feedback from Directors  Address issues  Champion positive initiatives

Positive change from within  Improve communication

Positive change from within  Improve recognition of positive behaviour

Positive change from within  Focus on training and development • Management development programme • The Power of Positive Leadership

Positive change from within  Behaviour change in pubs

Positive change from within  Business development in pubs

Positive change from within  Recruitment and induction

Company logo

Pub signage

Vehicle liveries

Product design

Testing the mood of the people Consumer Research  95% proud to be Welsh  80% think ‘Wales is on the up’  78% see glass as ‘half full’  Welsh more optimistic

Creating a national debate Peter Hain “Wales has an awful lot going for it – spirit of the people, sport, music, natural beauty - there’s a lot to be proud of” Sian Lloyd “In the last 5 to 10 years the positive change is immense - Cool Cymru is just beginning” Owen Money “Wales is definitely on the up. The glass is most definitely more than half full here!”

Launch poster

The press were hooked

Positive result?

Not this time

Wish we were there

On tap at home

New distribution drive?

Forecast looking good

‘Thumbs up’ TV commercial

Ours is unique

Think about it

The ultimate Christmas present

Wales rugby sponsorship

Always think positive – 2005 poster

Match day atmosphere

Victory v. England – at last

The girlfriend was pleased

We couldn’t resist it

Western Mail and Daily Mail coverage

Problem or opportunity?

I t’s official

Just imagine….

Grand slam heroes are back

Wishful thinking

Biased ref?

....and the press ran them too

Revitalising our most famous brand

Tying it back into sponsorship

Grand Slam treble – 2005, 2008, 2012

Employee engagement

Innovation and new product development

Updated presentation

Wales’ answer to Guinness

Brains Craft Brewery

Salt

Grape & Olive

Café bars

How has Brains performed?

Sales and market share  Market share in Wales growing at 1% p.a.  Brains Smooth now the No.1 ale in Wales  Brains cask ales outperforming the market  Brains sales in England +30% in past 3 years  UK-wide take home distribution in:  Tesco , Sainsbury’s, Waitrose & Morrisons

Quantitative research  Brains awareness in Wales higher than all other brands  Significantly higher scores to the following statements: o A company that’s going places +35% o Forward thinking company +24% o Brains beers more popular nowadays +25% o High quality pubs +14% o Authentically Welsh not just Cardiff +38%

Qualitative research  Focus groups to explore reaction to Brains marketing:- o It delivers the brand values: “It’s got Brains away from the spit and sawdust image” o It’s popular and humorous: “It’s insightful and funny – it grabs your attention” o It has stature: “It’s slick and professional. It’s what you would expect from a top flight drinks brand”