Marketing Excellence

Deuchars IPA

After an overhaul of the Deuchars Cask brand, Caledonian Brewing Company saw solid sales growth, especially in England. Their focus on product quality, consistency, increased sales resource and a new communications strategy continue to underpin the rise of this brand.

Glencairn Crystal

Brandy and champagne have long had a recognised glass of its own. With this thought the Glencairn Glass was born. Designed to enhance the enjoyment of whisky and with a marketing strategy to involve the whisky industry worldwide, the glass has proven to be an unprecedented success.

Gleneagles

To maximise the value of the Gleneagles’ brand, the team investigated the possibility of extending into the new market of timeshare. By investing in marketing principles and techniques Gleneagles has successfully undertaken this product extension, reinventing the sector and becoming the UK market leader in terms of quality, innovation and price point.

Kronenbourg Blanc

Kronenbourg Blanc complements the Kronenbourg essence of taste, superiority and sophistication. The unique presentation is key to its premium price. 50 to 100 per cent of Blanc sales are incremental, with Blanc’s presence often causing increased Kronenbourg 1664 sales.

VisitScotland

This paper demonstrates how VisitScotland capitalised on the adventure sport phenomena by extending Brand Scotland to become “Europe’s Adventure Capital”. An impressive brand development and communications programme utilising TV, PR and events generated an extra £39m for the Scottish economy, providing an ROI of £54 for every £1 spent.

INTERNATIONAL BRAND DEVELOPMENT

The Famous Grouse Malt

Famous Grouse Malt launched in July 2004 in a livery consistent with the Global “Finest” repack and a strong creative message “Red Carpet”. The range offered a unique consumer proposition of “Malt is Better” and has delivered an incremental four per cent of brand volume worldwide.

The Macallan Fine Oak

The Macallan Fine Oak is the most ambitious launch in the brand’s 180-year history and has already received accolades from whisky experts. In 2003, a brave step was taken to launch a more subtle style of The Macallan, which would ultimately appeal to a wider audience and step-change brand growth. Since August 2004, The Macallan Fine Oak range has been successfully launched in 12 markets internationally.

VisitScotland – European Brand

Based on consumer insights, VisitScotland took a new pan-European approach to promoting Scotland. The resulting print, web and DM campaign was launched in eight European markets and was an excellent example of brand consistency and efficiency. Evaluating research confirmed that the new approach led to a two-fold increase in return on investment.

MARKETING CAPABILITIES

Scottish Courage

Launched in early 2004, Scottish & Newcastle’s marketing excellence programme is an initiative with one goal in mind: to create a team capable of delivering world-class marketing programmes. These programmes will improve brand performance and thus deliver competitive advantage and profitable revenue growth to the business.

CUSTOMER INSIGHT

Miller Homes

When Miller Homes set out to create a recognisable brand they investigated a range of strategic options which would identify them within a crowded field and justify a price premium. It was apparent that the best basis for building the brand was going to be the one aspect of their activities that was genuinely innovative - the way they actively worked to understand the purchase process from the customers’ point of view.

The Bridge – New Blood New Strategy

Research had shown that the biggest single reason non-donors gave for not giving blood was that they felt they had never been personally asked. A new marketing strategy focused on making that personal connection with the donor. This paper shows how the new strategy began to reverse a long-term decline in donor levels within one month of launch.

Quality Meat Scotland

Of all the meat types on offer, pork joints for roasting have historically proven difficult to sell in Scotland. Having identified such a major issue, it was QMS’s responsibility to address it by fundamentally changing consumers’ behaviour and attitudes. Without the consumer insight at the heart of this campaign, sales of Scottish Pork would have continued to decline in both volume and value terms. This campaign reversed the trend for the first time in four years.

VisitScotland – European Brand

VisitScotland undertook a dual-pronged approach of qualitative and quantitative international research, which revolutionised its European brand positioning and customer communications. As a result, a radical new creative strategy was devised for eight countries entitled “Scotland. Welcome to our life” and led to massive increases in interest in Scotland.

VisitScotland – Adventure Sports

A very effective, but economic, research project provided vital new insights for VisitScotland’s marketing activities to increase adventure sports tourism in Scotland. In particular it identified and profiled a sizeable market of people interested in trying, or doing more, adventure sports in Scotland, enabling the development of highly targeted marketing campaigns.

CAUSE RELATED

Covey McCormick

The ARCHIE Foundation marketing campaign was developed and implemented to create and build awareness of the ARCHIE brand and to raise the profile to encourage brand loyalty. From a small, new and largely unknown charity with little exposure, ARCHIE has now become a recognised and high-profile brand with an extremely high level of repeat donations. In the three-year appeal period ARCHIE raised over £5m, which was £2m more than the appeal target.

Highland Spring and 3x1 - Pure & Natural

Highland Spring and Breast Cancer Care became marketing partners in late 2003. Each organisation’s objectives are complementary; Breast Cancer Care wants to maximise awareness of its charity to a mainstream consumer audience at least cost and to raise essential funds. Highland Spring aims to increase brand value by communicating a salient cause to consumers, trade and employees, and to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care. Pure & Natural is the resultant campaign.

The Bridge – How Henry Saved Lives

Annually over 530 people in Scotland are diagnosed with mouth cancer – only 50 per cent survive longer than five years, often because the cancer is detected too late. This campaign increased awareness of the symptoms and encouraged people to present earlier. The real ROI is the human one. But it can also be quantified in monetary terms, and a calculation suggests a saving of £695,000 – an ROI of 278 per cent.

2. COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE

DESIGN EXCELLENCE

Hampton Associates – Ritson Smith

Our approach to rebranding Ritson Smith was to go back to first principles. We conducted a robust market research programme. We used the results as the basis for our marketing and design strategy. Our creative approach was to position the company as colourful, vibrant, friendly, professional and accessible.

Hookson – Lauder College

Challenged with increasing student enquiries, providing pre-entry guidance and inspiring students to consider Lauder College in Fife, Hookson embarked on a journey which included brand strategy and creative development to deliver the 2004/05 student prospectus. Breaking all records, Hookson increased student enquiries by 23 per cent, leading to a 15 per cent increase in recruitment figures.

Tayburn – RR Spink & Sons

After acquiring RR Spink & Sons of Arbroath, Scot Trout embarked on a £130K rebranding exercise. To test the core proposition, Tayburn conducted UK-wide qualitative research. Findings led to the creation of a new brand identity and deli-style pack, which has increased sales by 38 per cent.

ADVERTISING EXCELLENCE

Glenmorangie – Bailie Nicol Jarvie

From the product history, the team built a charismatic and intelligent brand identity. The advertising breaks with category conventions – rise above the torrent of contradictory information that bombards you every day, reject it intelligently and enjoy a drink of BNJ instead. In short, reach for the blended Scotch with the highest malt content and “Give it Two Fingers!”

Leith – Game of Two Halves

This submission shows how the UK’s biggest-selling lager brand, Carling, strengthened its position in Scotland through a novel marketing strategy more similar to a piece of social policy marketing than one associated with a drink’s company. It is the story of how Carling persuaded the Scots to take a more responsible attitude to their drinking.

Leith – Irn Bru

In late 2004, Irn-Bru’s advertising took a fresh direction. Addressing key issues uncovered in research and reacting to increased competitive activity, Irn-Bru needed to reassert its position as Scotland’s number one grocery brand. It did so by developing a new brand property and communicated this with Irn-Bru’s biggest ever marketing campaign. It proved to be a PHENOMENAL success.

Newhaven – How Scotland won Euro 2004

During Euro 2004, Tennent’s faced huge challenges when competitors tried to out-muscle it in the core territory of football. Tennent’s responded by behaving like a supporter, not a sponsor, and creating whatthefaro.com, Scotland’s “staying at homepage”. Supported by a truly integrated campaign, whatthefaro increased brand saliency, cemented consumer loyalty and outperformed the competition.

Scottish Courage – John Smith’s

The John Smith’s Peter Kay “No-Nonsense” campaign has had a phenomenal impact on the brand in Scotland. Treating communication as entertainment has freed John Smith’s from the declining cultural relevance of the ale category. Not only has John Smith’s taken greater share of the ale market in Scotland, sales volume has grown in a declining category.

Scottish Enterprise – Broadband

The Broadband for Scotland initiative demonstrates how an integrated advertising and marketing campaign addressed a threat to the nation’s future economic prosperity and competitiveness. The campaign entered into popular consciousness, enabling Scotland to achieve bigger growth than the rest of the UK and see billion-pound increases in GDP.

DIRECT AND PROMOTIONAL EXCELLENCE

1576 – Bank of Scotland

1576 developed a campaign for Bank of Scotland to capture interest in a new corporate finance product. Directors of major corporations received a striking mailing which achieved a 13.5 per cent response rate and its success led to a national campaign being developed supported by press advertising, events and PR.

BD NTWK – McCain

Consumers are aware of McCain Home Fries as a great tasting oven chip, however do not necessarily know that Home Fries can be fried. A campaign to drive trial among consumers who currently fry competitor products delivered a sales increase of 14.6 per cent and brand penetration increase of 2.9 per cent.

Family – The Drive of Your Life

This paper demonstrates how the effectiveness of a tactical promotion for Overgate achieved a 13 per cent increase in sales, 16.5 per cent increase in footfall and a 42 per cent increase in spend per head. The campaign broke the norms of a normal car promotion, creating word of mouth and an external talking piece.

Scottish Courage – Strongbow Halloween

Strongbow’s Halloween promotion was created to drive Strongbow sales beyond the traditional summer period and into the comparatively quieter winter months by ‘owning’ Halloween. Using the largest ever multi-disciplined campaign commissioned by Scottish Courage, we successfully leveraged Strongbow’s brand equity and generated an uplift in the purchase frequency of our primary target audience.

WWAV Rapp Collins – VisitScotland

Brief: Attract UK walkers and further build segmentation.

Challenge: Three types of ‘walkers’ with very different needs and motivations – not identifiable on database.

Solution: Proposition that brings these together under diversity of walking experience. The results were a 25 per cent response rate, £1.2m in tourism revenue and 95 per cent recall with 80 per cent taking action.

ONLINE EXCELLENCE

Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival, attracting 500,000 visitors annually and selling over 1.25 million tickets. In recent years www.edfringe.com has seen phenomenal growth and is currently one of the most successful arts websites in the UK.

Miller Homes

Miller Homes were quick to use the internet for promotion, and have continually looked for ways to drive up its value as a marketing tool. This has now borne fruit in a major revision of the Miller Homes website (www.millerhomes.co.uk) which makes much greater use of the possibilities and the flexibility that the technology offers. The site is now far more than an online brochure, or a shop. It is a way of building a one-to-one relationship with each individual customer.

Scottish Rugby Union

The Scottish Rugby portal lies at the heart of the organisation’s communications activities. While doubling the number of website visitors, thanks to a CMS that allows access at all levels of the game, it has also provided administrators with an invaluable facility through which complex and time-consuming duties are now conducted.

PR EXCELLENCE

3x1 – Easy Drinking Whisky Company

Jon, Mark & Robbo’s Easy Drinking Whisky Company was launched with a no nonsense approach into the Scotch Whisky market. The brainchild of two brothers and the Macallan’s Master Distiller, JMR has positioned itself as the industry mavericks. 3x1’s PR campaign “whisky without the waffle” has helped JMR secure numerous awards and recognition throughout the UK, challenging the centuries old Scotch brands to reconsider their approach to marketing.

Citigate SMARTS – Mental Health

“See me” tackles negative attitudes towards people with mental health problems, and the PR campaign has effected a 57 per cent reduction of derogatory terms in the press which were freely used to describe them beforehand. Achieved by a strategically driven programme, the results are unlike any other anti-stigma campaign within the mental health field.

Scottish Borders Tourism

Working with Artisan PR, the Scottish Borders Tourist Board introduced a continuous PR campaign, in January 2003, to support its marketing. Creativity was paramount with PR activity including the creation of a dress made entirely from leaves and the appointment of a Borders dog ambassador.

Scottish Courage – Responsible Drinking

As the UK’s leading brewer, it is hugely important for Scottish Courage to lead in the promotion of responsible drinking. A PR campaign during 2004 highlighted the actions and responsibilities of our business, to a variety of audiences and stakeholders. The campaign left the company’s reputation in this area greatly enhanced.

VisitScotland – Media Adventure Challenge

VisitScotland’s in-house team launched an adventure sports website with a one-day media challenge that delivered extensive media coverage, superb sponsor support and most importantly, real benefit for the adventure sports industry. Scottish media teams of three competed in Scotland’s key adventure sports: mountain biking, surfing and sea kayaking.

SPONSORSHIP AND EVENT EXCELLENCE

Lloyds TSB – Portfolio

Following a rebrand, Lloyds TSB Scotland (LTSBS) created an integrated marketing campaign where sponsorship became the primary vehicle for communicating the brand values to its target audience. Through a high-profile arts and sports sponsorship strategy, LTSBS has strengthened its profile, market position and achieved business objectives.

Material – T in the Park – Tenth Year

Tennent’s Lager’s sponsorship of T in the Park is the cornerstone of the brand’s highly successful music strategy. The tenth year of the event presented a fantastic opportunity for the brand to connect with its target consumer, communicating heritage and commitment. The surrounding campaign delivered staggering results for Tennent’s Lager: 98 per cent recognition of the brand’s involvement with target consumers and a £6.5m PR campaign media value.

Maximise – Coca-Cola 7s

Established in 2000, the Coca-Cola 7s is Scotland’s largest schools’ football tournament. Open to U-13 boys and U-14 girls, every participant receives coaching from ex-Scotland player Murdo MacLeod and his team of coaches. The competition gives pupils the opportunity to play at selected SPL and SFL grounds with the final played at Hampden Park. The winning teams also receive a football trip to Europe.

Scottish Courage – Strongbow Rooms

The Strongbow Rooms was a spectacular ‘destinational’ brand experience that visited seven top UK music festivals during 2004. Featuring an impressive line-up of renowned DJ talent, as well as table football, raised dancefloor, outdoor sundeck and 3,600 bar; it gave consumers the chance to enjoy ice-cold pints of Strongbow in a highly enjoyable setting.

VisitScotland – Building the Golf Brand

Golf tourism is a lucrative product area, with golfers spending double that of normal visitors to Scotland. The International Pairs, an amateur golf event, presented VisitScotland with the opportunity to reach club golfers in the UK and Ireland, and a three-year sponsorship deal was entered into. Results show that the event has maximised economic benefit to Scotland by providing an excellent ROI of almost double the target.

Whyte and Mackay and Football

Whyte and Mackay has successfully used football to grow brand equity/sales in the UK. This has been achieved by expanding localised football sponsorships and by securing and activating national properties. By associating with UK football at every level, Whyte and Mackay has become one of the top 20 brands spontaneously associated with the sport.

3. BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

MARKETING ACHIEVEMENT – SMALL ORGANISATION

Quality Meat Scotland – Raised the Way You Want It

Scotch Beef is one of the iconic products of our country, with a worldwide reputation for quality and taste. The Glen character used in the marketing of Scotch Beef symbolises all that is good about the product, and his good looks and masculine appeal endeared him hugely to Scottish housewives – which is why he has become an icon in Scottish Marketing.

Scottish Borders Tourism – The Borders Touch

Scottish Borders Tourist Board launched a unique drive to engrain a customer service culture not just within tourism businesses, but across the Borders region as a whole. Targeting its own team, tourism businesses and the local Borders community, the Borders Touch surpassed its objectives showing that although customer service is not traditionally thought of as a marketing department role, marketing techniques can be brought to customer service.

MARKETING ACHIEVEMENT –

MEDIUM ORGANISATION

Martin Currie – Building the Big Boutique

Safe, but staid. Too small. Decent, but dull. That’s what people were saying of the long-established, independent investment house, Martin Currie, two short years ago. No more. Today a reinvigorated and rebranded specialist business is thriving as never before. Record new business reflects what is now a leading ‘big boutique’.

MARKETING ACHIEVEMENT –

LARGE ORGANISATION

Miller Homes – Place to Chill

Our marketing achievements can be reflected by looking at the feedback from our customers. Across all regions in 2004, overall customer satisfaction was the highest ever. And a pleasing 85 per cent of customers – 20 per cent more than last year – would recommend us to their best friend. These are our best customer ratings ever: due, to a combination of the creative marketing techniques we use to build strong relationships with our customers to satisfy their needs and improve build quality.

Scottish Courage – McEwan’s Sessions

As Scotland’s definitive ale, built on craft and heritage, McEwan’s is proud to have promoted traditional music sessions in over 120 pubs throughout last year. Sessions are a great living tradition with locals and visitors, young and old, all getting involved. The response has been fantastic – with 83 per cent of licensees reporting busier pubs and lots more keen to be involved in 2005.

ScottishPower – The Bridge

Marketing helped ScottishPower become one of the UK’s leading energy supply companies. It re-established ScottishPower as the key player in its homeland, and helped it ‘own’ the critical territory of value for money. Losses fell, acquisitions improved and customer numbers in Scotland grew by 11 per cent, a return on the advertising investment of 1,600 per cent.

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

Agripa Ltd – Driving Fleet Media

Launching Fleet MediaTM in 2003, Agripa linked its innovative advertising system for vehicles with a strategy that was equally as pioneering. Successfully changing perceptions in just 18 months, Agripa has created a new market and boasts a client list of major international brands now integrating its fleet into their communications strategies in Europe and USA.

Glencairn Crystal – The Glencairn Glass

Brandy and champagne have long had a recognised glass of their own. With this thought the Glencairn Glass was born. Designed to enhance the enjoyment of whisky and with a marketing strategy to involve the whisky industry worldwide the glass has proven to be an unprecedented success.

Miller Homes

Early in 2004, www.mymillerhome.com website was launched to allow purchasers of Miller Homes access to their own unique website. Customers can find out about the build progress of their new home through an innovative timeline, and receive e-mail and text message updates about its progress. To date, an average of 43 per cent of these customers regularly access mymillerhome.com for their plot progress updates.

Scottish Borders Tourism Board – Scotland’s Dog Friendly Holiday Destination

The Scottish Borders is the only Area Tourist Board in Scotland, and one of few in the UK, to develop a dog friendly initiative leading the way in providing dog friendly assistance to visitors using innovative marketing including introducing a Scottish Borders dog ambassador, creation of a dog charter and introduction of a dog friendly guide.

Sainsbury’s Bank

SaveBack is a world first. The country is not saving enough. Customer research shows that convenience is key to getting people saving again. Sainsbury’s Bank developed a new service allowing customers to add to their savings from their current account through a secure and simple process at the checkout. SaveBack.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS

Agripa Ltd – Driving Fleet Media

Agripa® has developed a patented advertising system for vehicles and launched its Fleet MediaTM concept to brand owners in 2003. Eighteen months later having won over major brands including GlaxoSmithKline, Microsoft, Tesco, The Post Office, and B&Q, Agripa has extended its Fleet MediaTM strategy from Glasgow to Europe and the USA.

1576 – Bank of Scotland

1576 developed a campaign for Bank of Scotland to capture interest in a new corporate finance product. Directors of major corporations received a striking mailing which achieved a 13.5 per cent response rate, and its success led to a national campaign being developed supported by press advertising, events and PR.

4. CHAMPIONS OF BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

BRAND COMPANY OF THE YEAR

s1

2004 saw s1jobs strengthen its market-leading position in the face of unprecedented competitor activity while returning 100 per cent revenue growth YOY. A reinvigorated B2C campaign, new B2B channel marketing strategy and the launch of two product extensions were part of the brand strategy that yielded significant and measurable business gains for s1jobs

Tennent’s Lager

Tennent’s pre-eminence is under threat on all fronts. This paper recounts how Tennent’s has risen to the challenge and used its inherent passion to link, leverage and rejuvenate the core brand equities of football, music and ‘the pint’, and deliver Tennent’s highest ever recorded market share.

Scottish Courage

Scottish Courage is unique in possessing three of the UK’s top ten long alcoholic drinks: Foster’s, Strongbow and John Smith’s. Kronenbourg is a strong contender. 2004 saw an upswing in developing the Scottish markets of John Smith’s and Foster’s, while McEwan’s consolidated its position as Scotland’s favourite family of ales.

VisitScotland

VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation, is responsible for marketing Scotland both within the UK and overseas. Demonstrating strategic rigour and exceptional excellence VisitScotland has demonstrated that a destination can be repositioned within the hearts and minds of a global audience.

MARKETING SERVICES COMPANY OF THE YEAR

BD NTWK

Bd-ntwk/Scotland has continued to develop big brand ideas, built from compelling consumer insights, and turn these into effective integrated marketing programmes, with proven results. Strategic thinking, striking insights and impactful creative have earned a place on the shortlist.

Frame©

Frame© are a growing creative communications agency. With a business model, which allows them to punch above their apparent weight, this case study illustrates their abilities and determination in driving and measuring client success. Focus on best people, best practice and great relationships, makes them valued partners to their clients.

The Leith

The Leith Agency creates important ideas that make brands, products and issues matter more. This isn’t about nice ads. It’s about intellectual properties that engage multiple stakeholders in a variety of media to address complex business issues. Our ideas are recognised by client chairmen and chief executives as significant business assets.

The Union

At the end of 2003 The Union faced a huge challenge on losing its key account, Intelligent Finance, which represented 30 per cent of revenue. The agency’s management knew that a new strategy for growth had to be developed. The agency developed a new positioning, focusing on delivering 360 degree marketing communications. This involved internal restructuring and new planning methods. The new strategy paid off. From forecasting a significant financial loss in 2004 the agency turned in a strong pre tax profit, with sound margins and good cost control and The agency finished 2004 less reliant on a single client.

Elmwood

Elmwood opened an Edinburgh office less than three years ago to demonstrate a commitment to its Scottish clients. Turnover has almost doubled and the client list now includes HBOS, Glenmorangie, NHS Scotland, National Museums of Scotland, Scottish Executive, Scottish Water, Jenners and Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Elmwood has also won a hatful of awards, including Scottish Design Consultancy of the Year 2004, less that two years after opening its doors.

The above papers will be available to read in full via a

link at www.thedrum.com from early April.

The Excellence in Marketing Awards will be held on 22 April at Prestonfields Hotel in Edinburgh. For tickets please contact Kylie Forrest at KL Events on 01698 459966 or e-mail kylie.forrest@klevents.co.uk.