What is brand, and how are brands built? Our founder, Julian Kynaston, answers these questions and more in this no-holds-barred, fast-paced account of how he launched and grew Propaganda into one of the UK’s most successful brand consultancies.
Available now from Amazon and all good book shops.
What a lovely day at Seabrook Crisps today. The sun was shining, the crisps were flowing, oh, and HRH Princess Anne dropped by.
But really, flanked by tons of (quite frankly, very hunky) bodyguards and police, having sent in the sniffer dogs earlier, and an imposed ‘police lockdown’ after 11:30am, it was all actually very dramatic and exciting.
The Princess was there to take a royal walk around the factory with Chairman, Ken – to the delight of all the factory workers – and officially open Seabrook Crisps’ converted 19th century weaving shed, which is now its uber sleek HQ, as well as help it celebrate Seabrook’s 65th anniversary.
What better excuse for a party. Yorkshire’s movers, shakers and media were all there from 11:30am drinkers champers in the sun…. and they’re still there now…. drinking champers in the sun, toasting the lovely Princess Anne, who left in a spectacular convoy of sleek, shiny black vehicles. Splendid.
See some of our work for Seabrook here.
Posted by Claire Anderson.
Propaganda first started working with fitted furniture manufacturer, Daval, in 2006, when our Discovery process identified an opportunity for Daval to offer the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom market something special that others couldn’t: Individual Possibilities. The resulting offer – technology driven, made-to-measure and made-to-order furniture – was new, exciting and began to cause a stir, and has directed all brand and business communication since.
Fast-forward to 2010; having successfully ridden the toughest recession ever to impact on the UK furniture industry, it was necessary to understand how Daval’s offer was working for its dealers today, and what opportunities existed for growth in a market that continues to struggle. So, Brand Health 2010 began.
The Propaganda process is designed to ‘take a brand pulse’, provide an independent view into what’s working, what needs to be improved as well what opportunities can be capitalised on. To fully understand the market in relation to Daval’s offer, it was critical to talk to a broad cross-section of key stakeholders; including internal, end-consumers, independent dealers and the media.
Laura Kynaston, Joint Managing Director, Propaganda, was integral to Brand Health 2010, and commented:
“It was hugely revealing for Daval. We know that individuality is key to Daval’s end-consumers, but from talking to the independent dealers, it appears they share the same need. Brand Health uncovered a huge opportunity for Daval to respond with a carefully managed and a targeted key account strategy, which offers individual support solutions for different dealers. It is clear that the one size fits all approach won’t work.”
The Brand Health insights and recommendations resulted in Daval and Propaganda completing a UK-wide tour of the dealers, to understand face-to-face how the brand could support them individually. Following this, a series of new developments have been made, including product, service and marketing support, culminating in a new product preview event through April and May 2010. This was hugely successful and identified over 60 new dealer displays and £900,000 of potential turnover.
Simon Bodsworth, Marketing and Development Manager at Daval concludes:
“The most important learning Daval took from Brand Health was the clarity and direction it gave us moving forwards. There are a million things any business could do but, ultimately, we needed to know which ones would get results – fast, especially whilst we are in a recession.”
It seems that in an uncertain market, Daval is now sure of one thing – it is currently enjoying its fullest order book in 10 months.
A few weeks ago, we told you about the launch of Crimson Iris: The Art of Sophie exhibition, in Manchester, Robert Maltby’s series of 15 stunning paintings created to raise proceeds and awareness for www.sophielancasterfoundation.com.
After the launch night at the wonderful Blackdog Ballroom, the paintings were moved into the main part of Afflecks for even more people to enjoy and of course to buy!
But let’s get to the nitty-gritty, there has been an incredible six paintings sold, which is amazing news as they each cost around £350- £1,000 each. Afflecks has allowed the charity to keep the paintings there for another week, because there has been so much great interest from shoppers. In fact, Tony the MD at Afflecks is thrilled with the new and diverse crowd the exhibition and all the coverage around it has triggered.
We’ve had to print a second run of the ‘Crimson Iris’ art booklets and let us not forget that the wonderful Joe Corre, founder of Agent Provocateur and son of Vivienne Westwood, is even a proud owner of an original Robert Maltby masterpiece.
And last but definitely not least, the media coverage the exhibition attracted is still flooding in, and only this Saturday this great piece appeared in The Sun newspaper.
The exhibition finishes on 10th July, so you’ve still got time to fly over to Manchester’s fabulous Afflecks in the groovy Northern Quarter to have a look. If you miss it, visit the Shophie Lancaster Foundation web site for more info on how to view or buy the remaining paintings.
Posted by Phoebe Findlay.
After devising the hugely successful launch of the Cloud Nine irons last September, Propaganda has now worked with Cloud Nine to introduce a new revolution in hair styling, TheO.
TheO, a technological first, is unlike any heat styling product ever seen before. It is a heated roller device that uses unique heat induction technology to take the roller to a temperature of 130 degrees, which is the hottest any heated roller on the market can achieve. The other plus is its speed, as it takes just four seconds to heat a roller.
TheO is quite simply an extraordinary product that has taken the world of hair styling by storm.
Cloud Nine, which constantly innovates to bring new technology to the hair industry, has worked with Propaganda to develop everything from the branding and packaging, to the launch strategy, which includes a viral film, trade DM and a website, as well as ongoing advertising and PR campaigns in both consumer and trade press.
Although TheO was only launched one week ago, it is already available in some of the UK’s most prestigious salons including Daniel Galvin, Nicky Clarke, John Frieda, Errol Douglas, Richard Ward, Jo Hansford, Michael John and Urban Retreat
Laura Kynaston, joint managing director, Propaganda, said:
“When we launched the Cloud Nine styling irons, we were delighted to bring innovation to the professional salon market. Now we’ve launched TheO, we can take that commitment to innovation to another level.
“It is a stunning product and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole creative process. It was great to build on the brand that we had already created through the styling irons. The launch last week was a phenomenal success and we look forward to seeing the excitement continue to spread over the coming weeks, months, years.”
Visit TheO web site.
Find our more about the launch on our blog.
See more of our work for Cloud Nine.
You’ve probably heard about the charity we work closely with, the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. For those that don’t know about it, here’s a quick summary:
Sophie was beaten to death nearly three years ago because she was alternative, because she looked different. Her boyfriend Robert Maltby was also attacked, but survived.
The Sophie Lancaster Foundation was set up by her mum, Sylvia, who has dedicated her life to promoting tolerance, understanding and respect for all subcultures.
It’s a charity we’ve taken into our hearts, working with Sylvia to do everything we can to ensure the foundation thrives and achieves what it’s there to do – educate young people about subcultures, and make a difference in Sophie’s name.
A lot’s been achieved since the incident in August 2007, but Robert has kept a low profile, until now…
At the time of the attack Rob was an extremely talented artist, studying art at Uni, but afterwards he struggled to continue.
Slowly, he’s got back into it, and last December, he announced to our very own Julian Kynaston that he was ready to help the charity though his art.
The collection ‘Crimson Iris: The Art Of Sophie’ was born. The set of 15 brilliant canvases of varying sizes, inspired by Sophie, are absolutely breathtaking.
What’s more, look closer, and you will see collectively they tell a story, or a riddle, as Rob describes it. From one to 15, they have the most intriguing titles and small details that link them all and allow you to see a story from different perspectives.
Finally, the night of the launch came. Last night, at the sumptuous Blackdog Ballroom in Manchester, we unveiled the collection to a collective and diverse audience of international media, art enthusiasts, musicians, friends, family, fans, CEOs and young alternatives. And what a celebration it was…
It was a media circus, with long lenses and camera crews all over the place.
Nobody escaped being interviewed or photographed by ITV, The BBC, The One Show, Rock FM, Bizarre Magazine, all the local press, and even international radio stations.
The event was sponsored by rock guitar brand, Jackson, part of Fender. They were amazing and gave Rob a Dinky Guitar to design and paint, which was out of this world.
The Jackson representative was so impressed he nearly fell over when he saw it, and it auctioned of a cool £1,000 – which all went to the charity.
And for those who couldn’t quite stretch to a painting or a bespoke guitar, Illamasqua was on hand to sell its gorgeous black SOPHIE eye pencils. So the young alternatives were happy… and even more money was raised for the charity.
One of the biggest accomplishments of the night – apart from selling THREE paintings, worth £2,000 (more on that in a minute) – was how well Rob did.
Apart from producing this collection, he came to Manchester, faced hundreds of people and carried out non-stop media interviews and pictures for – no exaggeration – four and a half hours. What a star.
Back to the paintings, Julian, who snapped his up before the collection was complete, bought one. A MD of a local business bought the second, and Joe Corre – Vivian Westwood’s son and the man behind Agent Provocateur – bought the third. Rob was thrilled!!
The collection is now set to be installed in an exhibition space on the 1st floor of Afflecks in Manchester, and from tomorrow lunchtime, anyone can view the entire collection, try and work out the riddle, and even purchase one. It’s for a great cause – The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.
Thank you to:
The Blackdog Ballroom, which let us use the venue for free. Afflecks, which has given us free exhibition space throughout June. All at Jackson Guitars – who are gorgeous, generous and very, very cool. Illamasqua – which just keeps on giving and supporting the charity.
See our latest project for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation here.
Posted by Claire Anderson.
We’ve just received this image of Illamasqua’s Body Electrics image running in the Selfridges Trafford Centre main window. We think it looks fantastic. It’s just a pity the electrics weren’t fully flowing through the sign above it, at least we know where to go if we want a very posh fridge.
You can see more of the campaign here,
or view the full collection here.
Posted by: Lee Bennett
Following our Discovery process in 2009 we’ve spent the last 6 months introducing Xen-Tan’s flawless, natural tans to the UK’s fashion and beauty industry. And we think we’ve done a pretty good job of it too. But our next step was to reach out to consumers, which we’ve done with the launch of a new consumer website.
It went live on Thursday 27th May and, in response to our Discovery insights, we’ve spent a lot of effort making it as simple as possible for consumers to choose the right product for them. Together with the Xen-Tan team we developed an area where people could easily find the perfect tan for their skin-tone, a simple step-by-step guide for application, and a simplified shopping area that makes sense of the comprehensive product range. It all sounds fairly straight-forward, but as any web expert will tell you, it’s never that easy. (By the way, it’s never that easy.)
Another key insight that emerged from our Discovery was a desire from consumers to see genuine feedback from experts and other consumers. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, after all. So as well as a section that showcases all the excellent coverage that Xen-Tan’s received in the press recently, there’s a section where people can leave their own, unbiased experiences of Xen-Tan’s products. What they liked, what they would recommend to friends and what gets them the ultimate fake-tan.
Ultimately the aim of the new website is to help people feel positive about themselves and get hold of the products that will help them look fantastic too. It’s about making them FEEL GOOD ALL OVER. Less of the negative, more of the positive – that’s the way Xen-Tan works.
View the web site here.
See more of our work for XEN-TAN here.
Great news for our client, Whitehurst. It has sold its state-of-the-art, old versus new, British made clock for £150,000. The new owner is a CEO of a Chinese development company and he is the first person to own Whitehurst’s brand new weight-driven clock. Whitehurst’s luxury timepieces are the most accurate timekeepers in the world. Check it out at www.whitehurstclocks.com
Executive summary
Most people over the age of 35, living in the north of England will have some story to tell about Seabrook Crisps. Whether it’s how they were a special treat when they visited their grandparents or how they just had to have a bag after a trip to the swimming baths, the memories are endless.
It was this ‘love’ for a brand in ‘decline’ that provided the drive to undertake a challenging brief. One that required everything from business re-engineering to brand revitalization, combating 30 years of inertia in order to remain relevant in a fast changing category. Difficult decisions had to be made to break some of the legacy issues of ‘family ownership’, with a healthy respect for the past. In short, the business had to be brought into the 21st century to survive and prosper.
Propaganda’s relationship with Seabrook Crisps is without doubt one of our closest. This success is down to the hard work of all concerned, but the catalyst and guiding light for change was the 360° Discovery audit, which has facilitated 360° of change. It provided the strategic pillars of success; from a board forum to drive change, to a customer and client engagement strategy to drive growth. But fundamentally it has delivered sales uplift yoy c + 15%, in a declining category.*
(* Since this case study was submitted, Seabrook Crisps has continued to go from strength to strength. Turnover and market share has doubled and they are now officially the ‘fastest growing crisp brand in the UK.’)
“The insight and direction from the 360° audit gave us the courage to make the step change required, from the way we engaged both the trade and our consumers, to the way we policed our business strategy. Moreover, the implementation of regular, formal board meetings chaired and evolved over time by Julian has been fundamental to delivering our business growth.”
Ken Brook-Chrispin, CEO & Chairman Seabrook Crisps.
Strategic and creative agency, Propaganda, saw off major competition at the Roses Advertising Awards, in Manchester, to secure four gold awards for its work with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. The ‘Dark Angel’ campaign was awarded the prestigious Ray Sale Chairman’s award, as well as the best commercial produced for 20k, the best commercial over 30 seconds and best viral campaign.
The ‘Dark Angel’ film was the brainchild of Creative Director, Mark Williams. The two-minute film was created as a tribute to murdered Goth, Sophie Lancaster, but also as an educational tool to highlight the importance of tolerance, regardless of subculture. Propaganda worked closely with French animator Fursey Teyssier and British band, Portishead, to create the film.
Creative Director at Propaganda, Mark Williams said: “Winning these awards is a wonderful achievement for all of us who have worked so hard on the film and with the Foundation. It is great to be recognised in this way and I hope that through these awards, even more people will take the time to watch the story of Sophie in this short film.”
Sophie’s mother, Sylvia, who attended the awards, echoed this sentiment: “The film is a great help in helping people understand subcultures and tolerance towards others. I am delighted that the film was made, and even more so that it is being recognised as an iconic piece of work.”
The Roses Awards rigorous judging panel, which consisted of Chairman, Trevor Beattie, BMB, Rob Messeter, DDB and David Prideaux, Publicis, amongst others, also awarded Propaganda a silver award for the illustration and animation of the ‘Dark Angel’ film and a bronze award for the ‘This is my Habitat’ campaign, featuring Helena Christensen in the Retail Award category.
Joint Managing Director of Propaganda, Laura Kynaston, commented: “Everyone who is involved with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation is extremely passionate about it and I think this becomes incredibly clear when you watch the film. We would also like to thank Illamasqua who have been incredibly supportive. Winning these awards is fantastic for all of us.”
