Propaganda Brand Consultancy has appointed Sarah Shakery as its first Head of Ecommerce amidst huge growth in ecommerce clients. Over the last year, Propaganda has seen a huge increase in demand for its ecommerce trading services. Sarah will lead the online sales team to deliver tailored strategies for a wide array of businesses such as Power Sheds, Arighi Bianchi designer furniture and DeliVita pizza ovens.
Starting out in merchandising, Sarah then spent two decades in-house in various senior ecommerce roles, for the likes of Ted Baker where she was Global Head of Ecommerce and most recently The Cambridge Satchel Company where she was Head Of International Ecommerce. In these roles, Sarah led global multichannel strategies for the brands, boosting online sales by implementing marketing initiatives that optimised traffic, conversion and ultimately ROI.
Sarah will work alongside James Winfield, Propaganda’s Digital Director. On Sarah’s appointment James said, “Over the last year, we’ve been inundated with brands that want us to take their ecommerce to the next level. With this huge growth, it was vital that we brought in an experienced leader in the space to manage our ecommerce offering. Sarah’s background in the industry speaks for itself, and having spent her career in-house she is able to closely align our delivery with exactly what the client needs. We’re delighted to welcome Sarah to the team.”
Propaganda Brand Consultancy has rebranded James and James Fulfilment to J&J Global Fulfilment as the company targets international growth alongside a focus on supporting ecommerce business to manage the risk, complexity and cost associated with scaling domestically and internationally. Propaganda will continue to deliver brand strategy, PR and creative services to J&J as part of an ongoing retainer. Notably J&J is the first new client in the logistics and fulfilment space Propaganda has announced since the end of its 14 year partnership with Clipper after they were sold to GXO for £965m.
Having undergone Propaganda’s Brand Discovery™ consultative process – which provided Propaganda with the strategic insight and direction to reposition J&J – the rebrand is a natural progression for the business to support its next planned growth stage and future ambitions. Work carried out by Propaganda includes a new corporate identity, website, a print and digital brand campaign and the development of a new consultancy service proposition. The brand refresh reflects the business’ dedication to becoming a true partner for its customers, providing world-first tech, 24/7 real-time data and insights to increase efficiency and profitability and people-powered fulfilment services to help them reach their true growth potential.
Richard McMurrough, Director at Propaganda said “The seismic shifts that have occurred across retail and ecommerce over the last decade are proof that this sector never stays static. In order to stay ahead, it is vital for businesses to evolve alongside the industry. Through our in-depth research and customer and market interrogation, we were able to identify J&J’s key strengths; their ability to provide the technology, knowledge, and infrastructure to enable growth and operational excellence for their clients. Our rebrand perfectly positions J&J as a true partner for ambitious ecommerce businesses.
Laura Kynaston, Managing Director at Propaganda said, “The results we delivered for Clipper over the span of a decade and a half are well-known and they speak to the team’s ability to go above and beyond client expectations. After transforming Clipper into the UK’s retail logistics market leader and supporting its successful sale to GXO, we were looking forward to tackling a new challenge in the sector. We were approached by several logistics businesses keen to recreate this successful partnership but it became clear from early on that J&J was the right fit for us. We are excited to continue working with them and look forward to a long-term partnership.”
Emma Dempsey, J&J CEO said, “I’ve worked with Propaganda in the past, so when we were reconsidering our brand at J&J, I knew that they were the right team to bring on board. Propaganda have really captured the essence and energy of our business in the rebrand and I am looking forward to working with the team to help drive our growth over the coming months and years.”
Propaganda has boosted its Consulting team with the addition of Katherine Mayer-Jones as a Senior Consultant. This new appointment comes after a flurry of new client wins for Propaganda, having recently announced major brand positioning briefs for Reward Finance, Principle Healthcare and Ventrolla.
Katherine has recently moved from London where she led accounts for the likes of MAOAM (HARIBO) and Savills at creative agency, isobel. She has also worked in-house, having been Brand & Consumer Marketing Lead at Free-to-View (FTV) satellite television platform, Freesat, where she was responsible for brand strategy and consumer communications.
Katherine will work alongside Consulting Director Tom Fowler, leveraging her agency and client-side experience to deliver Propaganda’s Brand Discovery™ offer across multiple clients.
Tom Fowler said, “With our long-standing ‘no pitching’ policy at Propaganda, new business mostly comes through recommendations and referrals from previous clients, highlighting the level of insight and expertise within the team and our ability to surpass client expectations. Katherine is a welcome addition to the team and her experience will prove invaluable as we continue to transform brands and drive value for our clients.”
Propaganda brand consultancy has created a brand film for GenM, the menopause partner for 90 retailers and brands such as Tesco, Boots, QVC and Sainsbury’s. GenM is debuting the film at LIVE 2024, the UK’s leading retail conference, alongside their world-first menopause aisle concept, developed in collaboration with Propaganda. The film comes as part of wider rebranding strategy for GenM including a brand new CVI, updated TOV and new creative.
Placing the viewer in the shoes of the confused, overlooked and underserved menopausal consumer, the film effectively communicates the unique proposition that GenM offers as menopause partner for the UK’s top retailers and brands. With GenM research showing that 87% of menopausal women feel overlooked by brands and 66% feel that they don’t signpost menopause-friendly products clearly, GenM empowers retailers and brands to understand and serve the UK’s 15.5 million menopausal customers. Notably, a huge 80% of women want clear menopause-friendly labelling when shopping, which GenM is empowering brands and retailers to deliver.
The film shows a stylised version of the current predicament faced by consumers – little to no signposting for menopause-friendly products – with a solitary woman wandering a never-ending line of colourless shelves full of blank, white bottles. This seemingly infinite status quo is then contrasted with the GenM difference: a vibrant, bustling and colourful world of clear signposting to a myriad of helpful solutions.
The concept was developed by Propaganda’s creative team and the filming was produced by Tungsten Media. Propaganda has been GenM’s strategic partner since 2021, and continues to support them across brand strategy, creative, social and PR on a retained basis.
Propaganda was also instrumental in helping GenM develop the MTick – the world’s first universal shopping symbol to signpost menopause-friendly solutions. Proudly displayed on packaging, advertising, marketing, online shopping pages, or at point of sale, the MTick is already visible on hundreds of product SKUs and is also positioned in Boots and Tesco stores across the UK.
Lee Bennett, Propaganda’s Head of Creative said, “This brief was a fantastic challenge for our team to get stuck into. As the menopause partner for brands and retailers, GenM performs a role that is new to the industry, and that most people won’t have heard of before. It was exciting to find a clear and engaging way to communicate their unique position to key stakeholders and consumers alike.”
Heather Jackson, co-founder of GenM said, “Working with Propaganda over the last few years has completely transformed GenM and the team has been instrumental in the impact that we’ve been able to achieve. We are so proud of this brand film that demonstrates our vision clearly and effectively in an engaging way. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Propaganda to bring visibility to the menopause market.”
Brand consultancy, Propaganda, has announced three major new account wins.
Reward Finance, Principle Healthcare and Ventrolla all commissioned Leeds-based Propaganda in January on major brand positioning briefs to secure their future growth.
These account wins continue to cement Propaganda’s growing profile in the advisory space with two of the three clients coming via a corporate finance referral.
Laura Kynaston, MD at Propaganda said ‘Propaganda has worked tirelessly to get the strategic brand debate to its rightful level at C-Suite. We were therefore delighted when all three of these new clients approached us via their senior board, based on the results we are delivering and the impact we are making. We are really excited about working on the new briefs. It’s a fantastic start to the year.”
Principle Healthcare, backed by German Private Equity firm Capiton, approached Propaganda to help author a strategy to grow their Vitawell brand of vitamins and supplements currently stocked in several leading retailers including Tesco, Morrisons and Amazon.
Principle Healthcare Group MD John Sutcliffe said ‘As a GenM member, we’ve been really impressed by Propaganda and felt they were the perfect partner to work with us on our next stage of growth. We’re looking forward to seeing where they take the Vitawell brand.”
Leeds-based Reward Finance are a leading short-term lender for SMEs and have enjoyed rapid growth in the last 5 years. Propaganda has been appointed to advise on a strategy to support significant further growth for the brand and its geographical expansion.
Nick Smith, Group MD at Reward Finance said ‘We’re an ambitious brand, keen to push the boundaries and perceptions of the short-term lending market. When we met Propaganda, we knew we’d met an equally ambitious partner, ready to disrupt our market.”
Ventrolla are a market leader in heritage and replacement sash windows and are looking to build on their market leading product and service with a brand strategy which can drive a 3-year growth strategy.
Ventrolla CEO Ian Flanagan said ‘We first met Propaganda in 2021 and were impressed by them then. I’m delighted that Ventrolla is now in a position to capitalise on Propaganda’s approach and look forward to working with them to develop our future growth plans.’’
All three clients are currently in Propaganda’s Brand Discovery™ consultancy phase with recommendations and implementation due in Spring.
ENDS.
Propaganda has been listed in the prestigious Financial Times’ Leading Management Consultancies 2024. This year marks the 7th annual listing from Financial Times and the 5th time Propaganda has been included in the list.
The index is based on three rounds of surveys undertaken by Statista. A completely independent process, the rankings are generated through recommendations from clients and peers.
James Bacon, Senior Key Account Manager at Statista said, “The Special Report identifies the most highly recommended management consultancies and consulting networks in the UK, primarily based on surveys launched by Statista and the Financial Times among peers and clients. It was through this process that Propaganda stood out – and is named among the UK’s most highly recommended consultancies and networks.”
Laura Kynaston, Managing Director at Propaganda said, “We are delighted to be recognised for the 5th time by the Financial Times as one of the top management consultancies in the country. With over 30 years of working with a variety of challenger and leading brands to transform their businesses, the results that we have delivered for clients over the decades speak for themselves. We are honoured that our work continues to be recognised and are grateful to all of the clients and peers who recommended us.”
Propaganda brand consultancy has delivered a brand refresh and updated proposition for ReFood, the UK’s leading food waste recycler, in response to challenging market dynamics and increased competition.
Propaganda has worked with ReFood for over 10 years, having created the UK launch and brand strategy back in 2013. The evolved repositioning focuses on ReFood’s pivotal role within the renewable energy sector and communicating how food waste is a sustainable energy solution – a message no other anaerobic digestion food waste business truly owns.
The new strapline ‘ReEnergising Britain’ encapsulates ReFood’s significance in not simply collecting food waste for recycling, but uniting communities and businesses in driving towards more sustainable solutions.
ReFood collects commercial food waste and transforms the waste into renewable energy and biofertilsers through the process of anaerobic digestion. The clean energy produced then goes to supply the National Grid, while the nutrient-rich biofertilisers are used in agriculture, creating a unique closed-loop system.
Over recent years, the food waste recycling sector has evolved exponentially, driven by a wide range of factors; COVID, the energy crisis, inflationary pressures, and most recently food waste legislation. Propaganda undertook a Brand Health audit for ReFood, providing the insight and strategic direction needed to evolve, strengthen its position, and retain its competitive advantage.
Tom Fowler, Planning Director at Propaganda said: “Having developed ReFood’s brand strategy in 2013, our challenge was to evolve this in a way that felt true to their original proposition whilst acknowledging the new role that ReFood plays in the renewable energy industry. This bold re-articulation communicates the substantial value that ReFood offers businesses – not only aligning with ESG initiatives and promoting carbon reduction, but quite literally powering the nation and the many businesses within it.”
The brand positioning is supported with a complete brand refresh across the marketing mix encompassing its digital estate, sales materials, OOH advertising and a new brand film. The evolved brand identity and messaging will be part of a campaign running later this year.
Philip Simpson, Commercial Director at SARIA Group (ReFood’s parent company) said: “ Propaganda’s strategy for ReFood provided the business with a coherent and highly original approach to the market which has proven successful over the past decade. We look-forward to accelerating our position and are confident that the repositioning will support our plans for continued growth and success.”
Propaganda has created a campaign around the recent launch of Absolute Collagen’s Deep Lift skincare range. Starring TV presenter Emma Willis, the campaign marks the first celebrity-fronted product launch for the brand.
Propaganda worked closely with the in-house creative team at Absolute Collagen to create the through-the-line campaign. Deliverables included TV advertising across Youtube with an ad starring Emma, as well as an extensive digital campaign.
Having worked with Propaganda in the past, Absolute Collagen approached the consultancy to deliver this campaign because of their experience delivering game-changing results for brands in the competitive beauty industry. The launch represents the first skincare range from Absolute Collagen who is best known for their collagen supplements.
Emphasising Absolute Collagen’s scientific credentials and leveraging the endorsement of Emma Willis, the creative displays the efficacy of skincare products that go beyond the surface. With the tagline “more than skin deep”, the assets promote the uniqueness of the collagen-based range that works from the inside out, rather than just sitting on top of the skin.
Lee Bennett, Propaganda’s Head of Creative said, “Skincare is a very saturated market so we knew we had to create a campaign that would cut through the noise. At Propaganda, we have a history of building iconic beauty brands from the ground up. From Illamasqua to ghd to Cloud Nine, we are experts at breaking into markets and making a splash.”
Propaganda brand consultancy has developed a comprehensive launch strategy and positioning for frozen carbonated beverage (FCB) Calippo Burst. Strategically positioned to target Gen-Z, the launch campaign includes brand assets for sales, retail and online, supported by a robust corporate visual identity (CVI).
Propaganda was appointed by Polar Krush Group who licence the Calippo Burst brand from Unilever. Polar Krush Group chose Propaganda following recommendations and the impact of Propaganda’s thought leadership on the power of brand, evidenced by their whitepaper (Brand Multiple).
Propaganda’s insight-driven strategy aims to distinguish Calippo Burst’s fizziness from the many non-carbonated slush drinks on the market. The strategy capitalises on the Gen-Z trend of utilising social media platforms as a method of self-expression and identity curation. Calippo Burst becomes not just a product, but a sharable moment.
Tom Fowler, Planning Director at Propaganda said, “Gen-Z are thoughtful shoppers. With limited disposable income, treat purchases have strong social currency. We’re seeing more and more viral snack trends as a result, creating huge opportunities for brands. Our research showed the potential for Callipo Burst to become an ‘event’ purchase, sought out and documented on social media.”
Propaganda’s creative direction brings to life the joy and fun of individuality, epitomised by whimsical visuals of bursting fruit heads, vibrant colours and fizzy bubbles. The tagline ‘Burst It’ captures the essence of Calippo Burst inviting consumers to revel in an innovative fizzy, fruity, slushie experience.
This marks the first campaign Propaganda has delivered that utilises AI. Lee Bennett, Head of Creative at Propaganda said, “The creative springboard for the campaign was ‘refreshingly weird’, which perfectly encapsulated the product’s unique drinking experience. AI added a new dimension in achieving our concept due to its nature of creating bizarre and unreal visuals. The final campaign imagery is a composite of photography, 3D renders, vector illustrations and AI.
“There are understandably concerns over the use of AI and it won’t be suitable for all creative briefs. Used well it can enhance creativity but it can’t replace the vital human skills of photography and illustration, and the idea generation itself.”
Simon Hewitson, CEO at Polar Krush said, “Propaganda came highly recommended to us when reviewing partners for the Calippo Burst launch. There were some strong themes in the Brand Multiple whitepaper that really resonated with us and we were impressed by the team from the outset and their ability to deliver our brief. We are delighted with the work the team has created and are certain it will help us to stand out in the market.”
To access the free whitepaper Brand Multiple, visit: www.propaganda.co.uk/brand-multiple-whitepaper/#wp-form.