Based in Somerset, BFF was founded in 1952 as a division of Courtaulds and was subsequently acquired as part of an MBO in 2003 led by chairman David Lamb. Following several years of challenging market conditions and a transformation of its manufacturing focus and capability, BFF has seen dramatic growth in custom from the global snus market, where it enjoys + 60% market share, as well as maintaining a loyal customer base in the wipes, medical and smart fabrics sectors. As a result, BFF has recently reported its strongest figures since 2003 and has ambitious plans targeting new products and new markets for growth.

But what has been at the centre of this transformation?

The simple answer is many things.

A gifted entrepreneur at the helm providing the vision and drive, a focused and capable management team, a talented technical and engineering team, a product that is simply superior to its competitors…and a compelling brand proposition.

Propaganda were commissioned by David in 2003 when he led the MBO to provide him and his fellow directors with insight into his recently acquired brand and to provide him with a brand strategy for growth.

Brand Discovery™ took a long hard look at the BFF business and identified what made them different to their competitors and why their customers enjoyed working with BFF and what they valued in their relationship.

The answer back then? That BFF Care.

They care about their people, their products, their technical capability and the superior service they provide to their customers. BFF’s reputation is built upon its dedication to product excellence and a focus on delivering against its clients’ needs. Working closely with customers throughout the development process, BFF’s strengths lie in its ability to produce unique products made to an exact specification that many other manufacturers find hard to match.

This was also the resounding feedback when we conducted our follow-up Brand Health programme in 2009. But importantly on each occasion both in 2003 and 2009 the challenges and opportunities faced by the business were different, for 9 years Discovery™ and Brand Health have provided a strategic road map, that has directly contributed to the growth and transformation of BFF.

So how time flies, it’s now 3yrs since our last interrogation of BFF and this time the programme of work takes us to the USA and Sweden as well as Bridgwater in Somerset, to conduct the brand audit and answer the questions… do BFF still Care? And what are the opportunities to transform BFF still further in the next 3 years?

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) is the representative body for management consultancy firms in the UK. Recently, the association put together a compelling set of case studies and testimonials to illustrate the diversity of the work of its member companies. We were delighted to be included in the resulting report for our work with Boost Drinks – specifically, a project that involved working strategically to accelerate the brand’s sales and profit growth. You can read more about this project below.

Introducing The Management Consultancies Agency.

MCA’s 46 member companies comprise just under 60% of the UK consulting industry, employ more than 30,000 consultants and work with over 90 of the FTSE 100 companies and almost all parts of the public sector – making them an important force in the economy.

The MCA’s tough entry criteria and Code of Practice mean that member companies are widely acknowledged to provide high-quality services to their clients, and they are well known for providing authoritative data on the industry. Propaganda are delighted to be a part of this elite group of companies, trusted and respected for our management expertise.

Boost Drinks’ challenge for Propaganda.

We’ve partnered with Boost Drinks for four years, working on everything from their strategic direction to their advertising and marketing collateral. When the brand originally approached us in 2008, they had a healthy turnover of £8.4m – yet with major ambitions for growth, they felt it was the perfect time to obtain more of the fast-growing functional drinks market.

Our strategic solution for sales and profit growth.

Boost’s request to Propaganda was single-minded – to help them identify the best ways of accelerating sales and profit growth. We began by taking a 360-degree view of the business, working with founder Simon Gray and his team to develop an effective strategy for growth whilst raising awareness of the brand amongst consumers.

Following the 360-degree appraisal, we worked with the company’s sales team to implement a number of internal improvements, strengthening team spirit across Boost’s independent salesforce in the process. With internal morale raised, we began engaging key partners with promotional activities and awareness initiatives. As a result, 94% of Boost revenue now comes from key account customers, and the brand has joint business plans with 11 of its top 15 customers.

Developing lasting relationships with both wholesalers and customers was also key to our strategy, so we developed engaging brand messages to help strengthen Boost’s relationship with wholesalers, and created a highly targeted strategy including social networking, guerilla marketing and outdoor communications to engage with their target market.

Boost’s brand reappraisal – the results.

Following Propaganda’s work with Boost, a brand health evaluation in mid-2010 showed that Boost had increased engagement and loyalty with customers and its internal team. Externally, the brand was number three in the impulse sector, according to Nielsen. In 2010, Boost’s turnover rose 44% from the previous year to £17.1m, with 2011 revenue predicted to reach £24m. Naturally, Boost are very pleased with these results and we look forward to growing their brand even further over the coming years.

You can visit the MCA website to find out more about the company, or download a PDF of their ‘Diversity and choice in management consulting’ brochure now.

Last Thursday was The Roses Awards, the national awards show for agencies outside the M25.

Everybody was there from large networks to small independents.

And we were there too, as one of the few representatives from Leeds.

We enjoyed a successful night – two Golds were handed over to our team for our work with Simon on the Streets.

One in Best Ambient, the other in Best Special Build.

So a huge, massive well done and slap on the back goes to Ben, Sarah, Krystal, Steve and everyone else involved.

You can find out more about out Simon on the Streets project here.

We’re delighted to announce that Propaganda received a ‘Highly Commended’ award at last weeks MCA Awards 2012 held at the London Hilton.

We were finalists in the hotly contested Customer Engagement category for Clipper alongside consulting giants Ernst & Young (consulting for BMW UK) IBM (consulting for Nationwide Building Society) and Transform (consulting for Argos) It’s a great result for both Propaganda and Clipper and continues our run of being recognised every year at these prestigious awards since we joined the MCA in 2005.

In an increasingly aggressive marketplace with competitors commoditising the sector with price-led promises, what could we advise our client, FMG? Join the race to zero? Or find a new way to differentiate and connect with the real issues your clients face, rise above the dogfight, and seek out revenue streams that recognise and reward the real value you can deliver for your clients. We called it Thinking ahead, but the real insight was – it’s just what several stakeholders were thinking, but were either afraid to say or unprepared to promise.

See some of the great work to launch this bold new thinking to FMG‘s clients, prospects and people.

Just a quick note to thank Clipper for inviting us to speak at their 2012 Management Conference, hosted by their client John Lewis at their very impressive and very large UK distribution centre at Magna Park in Milton Keynes. We delivered the findings and strategic recommendations from the annual Brand Health programme we conduct for Clipper. It’s great to be part of a successful brand journey.

After delivering a successful 2011 campaign for Boost, celebrating their 10th anniversary milestone, Propaganda are getting ready to take the brand to the next level; to reach out to more people to get more, keep more, engage more and sell more…in the Boost way.

Boost’s phenomenal success over the past few years (Boost is now the No.2 energy drink brand within impulse*) is based on a strong value proposition, offering products with great taste and energy at a great price to retailers and consumers alike, which is why the Boost ‘It’s a No Brainer’ proposition is so fitting.

The 2012 Olympics is a major focus for leading sports and energy drink brands, many of whom are already beginning to flood the market with huge sponsorship deals and multi-million pound marketing campaigns, all jostling for attention in the ‘main arena’. After all, competing toe-to-toe in this way is just not the Boost way.

So, we’ve created a campaign that reflects Boost’s challenger brand mentality, one that’s relevant to its value proposition, expanding product portfolio of caffeine, glucose and sports drinks, and – most importantly – the target audience; everyday people, rather than sports athletes and adrenalin junkies.

One of the main objectives for 2012 was to gather data on the ever-growing pool of people purchasing, consuming and engaging with Boost to allow us to better understand their needs. Secondly, as Boost’s product portfolio expands, it’s essential to begin educating and building awareness of the sport and glucose ranges on offer, with the aim of gaining greater distribution and raising Boost’s profile across trade and consumer audiences.

The Boost Champions campaign sets out to make heroes of the everyday man and woman getting through the daily grind. It’s been developed to work across trade and consumer audiences using a range of integrated on and offline tactics. The campaign offers consumers the chance to win a top prize of £10,000 by playing a series of online games, plus the chance to win £10 instantly by entering unique codes found on promotional packs, plus a points loyalty reward scheme using promotional codes to redeem for music downloads or cinema vouchers. The campaign will be supported through street sampling teams, PR, online advertising, in-depot and in-store POS, email marketing and social media.

Want to get involved?…We think it’s a no brainer.

Boost Champions launches Monday 19th March.

*Source: SalesOut for year to August 31st 2011 (based on wholesale sales to more than 30,000 independent stores)

Continuing in our strong relationship with Cambridge Weight Plan, we are working with them on a consultative basis, to grow and enhance their social channels.

Most men and women will have a story to tell about dieting and weight-loss. Whether it is how liberated they felt when they met their weight-loss goal, or the motivation at simply losing a few pounds, and the average woman worrying about her weight every 15mins, it is no surprise we have some really rich content opportunities.

Standing by our principle of knowledge before assumption, our journey started by conducting online market research as part of our Digital Intelligence process, to monitor the brand’s reputation and identify key online influencers and channels to engage with consumers.

Establishing our digital share of voice and brand sentiment allows us to confidently put our stake in the ground within the digital landscape and join existing conversations with our audience. Our key measures of success will be to create, facilitate and grow an engaged audience via appropriate online campaigns and channels.

After a complete creative strategy review including a significant audit of market and competitor messaging, Propaganda are now developing a completely new brand campaign for The Car People set to break the codes of the used car sector.

In an increasingly noisy and aggressive market place, where consumers are being assaulted with price driven value messages across every media channel, there is very little differentiation and marked choice from which to select between the alternative car retailers available.

The Car People’s success has been built on a clear and consistent brand truth – the hassle free way to buy a car – and it is this genuine differentiator that will be showcased and leveraged within the new campaign. Working with award winning directors and performers of some of the UK’s funniest TV comedies, the strategy will deliver a memorable and distinctive campaign to create authentic and relevant cut through in the market.

In production now, the campaign is set to launch in early Spring.

Davies Recker Surety (DRS), the UK’s leading specialist broker of contract guarantee bonds, has appointed us to undertake a Brand Discovery.™

The company, founded by insurance professional Chris Davies and corporate governance expert Fiona Recker in 2009, works in partnership with UK surety providers and banks to identify and secure the most effective bonds for their clients across the construction, engineering and import sectors.

Since launch, DRS has enjoyed immediate success and with over 20 years’ previous experience to understand the requirements and challenges of their clients, the company has earned its reputation as a sector expert. However, in order to drive business growth and to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market, DRS has recognised the need for a cohesive and customer driven brand strategy to realise its ambitious growth plans.

Fiona Recker, director and co-founder of DRS said; “We feel that we have achieved a great deal in a short period of time, and the company has continued to grow by using our client knowledge and insight to secure completely workable solutions and deliver outstanding levels of client service. In order to achieve our vision and to maintain our position at the forefront of the surety broker sector, we need to implement a clear and concise strategy that delivers upon the needs of the market. I look forward to being a part of the Brand Discovery™ process and the strategic direction it will provide to help drive DRS to the next level.”

The MCA Awards have now been running for 15 years and are the benchmark for quality within the consulting industry. They are the ideal way to demonstrate and recognise the value of consulting. They also celebrate how clients and consultants working together achieve the best results.

Propaganda are delighted to have been shortlisted, for the Customer Engagement category for the work we have done with Clipper Logistics, alongside Ernst & Young with BMW, IBM with Nationwide, LOC Consulting with Truvo and Transform with Argos. The Awards are assessed by an independent judging panel, with particular focus on the value they created for the client organisation.

This year the Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday 19 April at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, London, attended by over 500 senior consultants, clients and stakeholders.

Ladies clothing retailer, Irisa Group (formerly Alexon Group PLC), has appointed Leeds-based strategic brand and communications consultancy, Propaganda, to raise the profile of the group, alongside implementation of new brand strategies.

Irisa Group, recently acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Sun European Partners, has offered ladies fashion ranges through its well-established brands for over 80 years. The retail group, which is based in Luton, has an annual turnover of £130m and it’s brands which include, Alexon, Dash, Eastex and Kaliko, retail via its department store concessions, own stores, and online.

Propaganda has been appointed as the outsourced marketing function for the group whilst also fulfilling the position of interim Marketing Director on Irisa Group’s executive board. The partnership between Irisa and Propaganda follows on from an initial consultancy, which included Propaganda’s in-depth ‘Discovery’ programme, which delivered rich insight into the habits, needs and buying aspirations of consumers.

Jane McNally, Chief Executive, Irisa Group said: “This appointment represents the next stage in our ambition to evolve and grow our brand portfolio. Propaganda’s strategic approach and creativity matched with their ability to offer an outsourced marketing solution made them the perfect partner.”

Propaganda will work with Irisa Group to raise the profile of its corporate identity whilst defining and implementing brand strategies for each of its brands. Work will also commence on developing new-to-market brands and online retailing will play a key part in the marketing brief as this area has grown exponentially over the last two years.

Julian Horberry, Planning Director, Propaganda, explains further: “We are delighted to be working with Irisa. Whilst often viewed as niche, Irisa are in fact operating in some of the fastest growing fashion market segments including the over 50s and plus size. We are looking forward to helping them to deliver against the opportunities available, especially via online channels.”