A successful building society, with a reputation for being a "fast
follower", anticipated that both its strategy and approach would have to change radically when it converted to being a bank. New
shareholders would expect it to generate profit growth. In turn this
required it to be a full service provider – not just a mortgages and
savings specialist, and to have marketers and product developers who could understand the impact of the change of positioning, anticipate new customer needs, and be capable of innovating.

The first task was to analyse existing research. We identified that a common consumer plea was to 'treat me as an individual'. Re- analysis of extensive annual satisfaction surveys of 100,000 customers led to a breakthrough in identifying exactly what aspects of 'individual treatment' resulted in loyalty. This was explored further in research and a new brand strategy and proposition developed. We went on to express this in a focused one page ‘customer champion’ proposition which everyone in the business could understand and identify their role in delivering.

A three year road map was developed to transform the bank from fast follower to leader. Non-aligned projects were shelved in order to free up time and resources to deliver ‘champion’ priority initiatives.

This has led to the company taking a market leading position, developing award winning creative work and a portfolio of hero products and services.

OxfordSM has gone on to develop new capabilities company wide and to train marketers in the skills and processes required to keep the business ahead of the pack.

This combination of OxfordSM’s strategic rigour in identifying a winning master brand positioning, combined with our capability building has not only produced a winning strategy but the means to implement it fast and the people skills to help sustain leadership over 5 years. It has maintained a leading position in its 2 core markets, entered 2 further markets successfully, consolidated its position across a complete portfolio of financial service products, been recognised as a leading advertiser, and improved its cross selling capability.

The leading soft drinks brand had grown strongly over the previous 3 years. The team were now looking for a fresh vision and strategy to drive even faster growth. So they asked us to get the client/agency team to an answer that would clarify direction, stop longstanding debates and engage all stakeholders.

We based the project around a series of workshops that brought members of the client and agency teams together. Before each workshop we dug deep into available data to answer key questions like: what has been driving historical brand growth? What are the best future sources of business?

We used cross-industry examples and case studies in the workshops to challenge thinking, and OxfordSM ‘powertools’ helped us clarify elements like target audience, positioning and architecture. We designed the project to balance data-based rigour and creative thinking. The end result had to inspire the whole team, and be grounded in robust thinking so that it wouldn't fall over once revealed to the rest of the business.

The new strategy was turned into action in 2006, resulting in new TV and outdoor advertising, digital marketing and experimental marketing campaigns for all 3 sub-brands. The new masterbrand positioning has also driven the NPD programme, with the first products hitting the shelves in 2007. The execution of the new strategy has driven up the brand's growth in a highly competitive market, from 12% to 17%.

10 years ago our client had a vision: to be as good as P&G in terms of marketing excellence and as a training ground for young marketing managers. We were appointed as capability experts to change behaviour and help make this vision a reality.

The initial stage of setting up a global marketing or commercial
academy is critical. We worked with the client to get passionate
sponsorship for the programme at the highest level. We spent time building a detailed understanding of the businesses culture and the needs of the target audience. And we established a brand which has become a byword for gold standard principles and tools and inspirational delivery.

We developed ten key modules and every one of them – from Consumer Insights to Integrated Communications to Brand Development – has been piloted in several countries before being rolled out globally. As the Academy has matured we've shifted the focus from introducing common tools and ways of working to embedding key skills and sharing best practice.

Common marketing language and ways of working, reinforced culture and easing globalisation. Consumer focus. The skills to build great brands that resonate with consumers. The benefits to the client have been many. 10 years on, the client still invests significant resources in the academy because of our success in encouraging behaviours which deliver results.

The development of a leading national newspaper was being driven by the editor’s gut feel and set piece promotions. OxfordSM was briefed to develop and align the business around customer-driven growth strategies.

As ever, we wanted to make sure that the effect of our work would
really endure beyond the end of the project. So we saw the
development of a new strategy as an opportunity to fully engage the client team in the process, introducing and embedding marketing tools that they could take away and use again and again. Before we could do this, some major data crunching was critical. We merged different data sources to bring new insights to existing segmentation, and used statistical analysis to understand how to hook key target segments. Then with the client task teams we developed segment portraits to bring the target to life, and reviewed all aspects of the newspaper’s customer strategy, from positioning to advertising and promotional effectiveness. Key set-piece workshops with client and agencies were used to digest all these inputs and focus on getting to the answer.

“Working girls” and “sports-mad lads” were the new buzzwords around the office as different functions started adopting the language of customer segments. Quantification of the segments led to more realistic sales targets, and a better understanding of the market decline.

Successful new positioning and advertising creative work, alongside changes to promotion and NPD strategy, created a new momentum around the business. Finally, but equally importantly, extensive use of task teams and workshopping led to fundamental changes in client working practices both internally and with their external agencies.

This company knew that it had an operational rather than a consumer focus. This was partly due to the three different management cultures that made up this business. It was making the company underperform relative to its competition. So the task was to develop the right corporate mission and brand proposition and cascade them in a living the brand programme.

We held a senior management workshop off-site to generate a brand proposition statement. We used research data, benchmarks, best practice case studies, creative thinking exercises and consumer experience mapping, with our Heart Monitor tool. The senior team immersed themselves in role playing so they could really understand consumer experiences. The proposition was verified by research, and staff and stakeholder workshops (in 3 countries and languages). OxfordSM then ran workshops for staff. These generated and prioritised activities that would bring the brand to life and engage staff with the proposition. The brand was re-launched and we designed and managed the company-wide implementation programme.

By being sensitive and objective we helped bridge cultural differences across the business. The initiative delivered focused and prioritised plans that drove consistency, a sense of common purpose, consumer- noticeable change and business success. Employees were more motivated and clearly consumer orientated. And had discovered for themselves just how critical their individual roles are in delivering the brand proposition.

A marketing department of 160 was reduced by one third. So an event was needed to raise morale, confirm a new commercial focus and introduce new marketing practice.

We created a James Bond themed 24-hour event called ‘Licensed to Sell’. The delegates started by writing a team song and were coached to sing it in 4 part harmony. Then we introduced the newly energised team to the 5 ‘Marketing Essentials’ in a ‘hear one-see one-do one’ format. Games and exercises made sure everyone could put the essentials into practice straight away. And the day finished by preparing songs from a Bond movie with words reflecting themes from the day, performed in costume to camera. We played the movies during dinner and awarded prizes, following up with a casino evening. The teams got back to the office to find a new bright, freshly decorated environment for a fresh start!

After the trauma of seeing so many colleagues go, OxfordSM's unique style of 'edutainment' provided a bonding experience and a strong message. It left people energised, working as a team, clear about what needed to be done and with the skills to do it. The icing on the cake was the office transformation that signalled the new beginning.