15/09/20

Spinach Branding helps businesses refine identities and future strategies

Branding

Needless to say, the 2020s have seen a stormy start. The pandemic took us all – individuals, businesses, governments – by surprise, creating challenges on a global scale not seen since the last world war. And so much is being absorbed from this crisis. Many of us quickly adapted to new modes of working remotely. We also realised that even though operating from our homes can function perfectly to a degree, collaboration requires some human face-to-face contact. It need not mean returning full-time to the traditional office – for many involving a monolithic environment – but in certain industries like ours, it has shown that the physical world remains a necessary component in the creative process.

Likewise, as brands begin to emerge from this crisis, many are also finding themselves rethinking their business models. The pandemic may not be with us forever, yet its effect and impact will. Some of the changes we are witnessing – the decline of the High Street and the emergence of new forms of commerce, in particular – were already happening. Equally, the Information Age and the cost of the coming wave of AI and automation, have gradually been contributing to major societal change. The Covid crisis has simply amplified and accelerated the speed of progress.

Spinach Branding has been extremely busy these last few months working with businesses requiring our guidance more than ever. We are in a position to objectively evaluate where the market is heading, and how best for businesses and brands to navigate their space within this new landscape. For many industries, trapped in the echoes of the past, this period in history can offer a renaissance.

We have been continuing our work with Campari this year, refining the Italian drinks giant’s brand advertising and messaging throughout the UK. Our initial ‘Ready for Bitter?’ ad campaign, rolled out nationally last year, has been a great success for Campari, with increased brand awareness in this market. Our latest advertising takes the Campari aperitivo message a step forward and so far, seems to be working remarkably well. We also helped create a new cocktail book for the brand that is dedicated to the Negroni and, not surprisingly, proved a success for Campari during the lockdown period.

Elsewhere, we helped Thunderbird Fried Chicken roll out nationally. The company has an amazing business model, brand proposition, and product. We learned a great deal from working alongside a stellar team which included the investment firm TriSpan, the founder of Tortilla Brandon Stephens, and Marcel Khan, the brain behind burger giant Five Guys’ entry into Europe. We are also working with the international restaurant group Chotto Matte and with its founder, chef Kurt Zdesar, who is serving up delicious Nikkei cuisine from his London, Miami, and Toronto establishments. Furthermore, Spinach has been helping one of the most respected Japanese restaurateurs in creating Bisushima in London’s West End. We will be in the position to reveal more about both these projects soon.

Away from hospitality, we helped refine the Gluckman Smith brand, envisaging a new company name for the architecture practice. Working with the team, the name Woldon was created as a reflection of the firm’s Cotswolds and London connections – an anagram of the two worlds each given three letters and a sharing fourth. Also in the built environment, our studio has been deeply involved with a landmark development project for London, which we are hugely excited to be able to share with you in the near future. All we can reveal at this stage is that the scheme is a remarkable project, one of the most comprehensive in Europe and with some thoughtful ideas behind it, which will benefit the capital city for generations to come.

The pandemic has had a devastating impact on people’s lives, on communities, and on economies around the world – and it will take some time to recover from its shock. Yet, there remains plenty of opportunities for brands who are progressive in mind and flexible in attitude. One clear lesson to take from the current coronavirus crisis is that we all need to be a lot more agile, and able to adapt quickly to new ways of thinking and working. And there is so much hope in that. Change, after all, is the engine of progress, and progress is never a straight line.

To quote the former UK prime minister, Tony Blair, speaking at the Financial Times Weekend Festival 2020: ‘We’re living through a 21st-century revolution that’s the equivalent in terms of scale and impact as the 19th-century industrial revolution, except it’s going to go deeper, and it’s going to move faster.’

Spinach Branding is a specialist branding agency based in London. We work with established businesses and start-ups around the world to build and refine their brands. See how we work and get in touch to discuss your brand.