Magnet specialise in beautifully crafted kitchens and is split into two key business areas; Retail (consumer focused) and Trade (focused on Trades people within the industry).

In 2024, they launched a series of 6 store-in-store concessions within Selco Warehouses, a nationwide timber and builders’ merchant with c.75 stores across the UK.

We were tasked with developing the brand look and feel within these concessions, working closely with the Magnet team to develop specific propositional, product and promotional messaging for their new audience.

This also led to refreshing their existing brand guidelines to ensure we could deliver a strong brand presence and longevity for the client’s new partnership.

We were able to utilise the breadth of our services and subject matter experts across Creative Agency, Retail & Brand Experience and Print Production. Our end-to-end offering enabled a more streamlined solution, calling upon wider expertise when needed.

The initial rollout covered 6 stores across Greater London, including the flagship store.

We pride ourselves in working collaboratively with our clients and we know that sometimes creative direction can change. After the initial roll, Magnet decided that they wanted to invest in bespoke installations to maximise the potential of their new partnership with Selco

At this stage, we onboarded our Retail & Brand Experience team to create the tailored concept and refined the messaging to suit. This led to the Croydon store becoming the new flagship, and a template to now be rolled out across other stores.

We are now in the process of building a universal kit of contents for future store rollouts to help maintain client budgets and ROI.

Despite the change in direction, good communication and reliable project management enabled the campaign to run smoothly and efficiently.

Abrdn is a global investment company structured around three core businesses- Investments, Adviser and Interactive Investor. In 2020, we took over the production of their series of four podcasts to ensure continuity of production and output as part of their existing series to expand their audience, deepen brand engagement and optimise the potential of their audio channels.

Working alongside their teams, we reviewed their processes, aims, target audience and strategies to understand the brand’s voice whilst celebrating the nuance and diversity already on offer. We established consistency across their series by centralising production processes, providing quick wins in terms of turnaround times, enhancing audio quality and industry-standard production values, and additionally introducing capabilities for broadcast quality live and remote recordings.

As well as offering production support, working closely with abrdn we continue to develop new concepts and strategies to promote the series across social media and on commercial radio in the US and UK, ensuring new and current podcasts are maximised. We regularly hold meetings to maintain schedule momentum and to ensure audience retention.

By migrating the remotely recorded podcasts to a dedicated online platform, abrdn has increased its podcast production to 8 audio series available on its website, Spotify, Apple and YouTube reaching an audience of 26,000 listeners per month. Not only are they increasing the number of listeners, but new listeners are tuning into previous episodes establishing a loyal and engaged audience.

Thank you for your invaluable help, skill and professionalism to get the first abrdn adviser podcast successfully produced. Our stats show that the podcast has been very well received by advisers and the format is one that is now very much part of abrdn adviser’s content planning.

Shona Macdonald, Senior Content Writer, The abrdn Adviser Podcast

Legendary Northern brand The Football Pools were considered the ‘original millionaire makers’, a brand with an incredible history but who had lost their way in the past few decades and had no relevance to younger audiences without a nostalgic connection, and who have a wealth of gambling and gaming brands to choose from

2023 marked their Centenary year, and as well as proudly looking back, the brand needed to find a way forward. This caused them to reinvent their offering with a more diverse selection of games designed to target more casual flutterers and those looking for fun vs more experienced gamblers – so still with the classic Football Pools game at their heart, they added Lotteries, Casino, Arcade and Free to Play games added to the mix.

To tell this new story and attract the next generation of players, The Football Pools needed a complete rebrand. Starting with a simpler, more inclusive name – The Pools – we created a fun, energetic and contemporary brand much more fitting for the modern player. With a fresh new logo that informed an entire visual system, we built new guidelines and brought the brand to life across a huge variety of executions, with the flexibility to tell different stories and cover every type of category and game from The Pools’ world.

The Pools have embraced the new brand in everything they do, and it continues to evolve and grow with their offering – marking the start of their next chapter and an ambitious, exciting second century.

Our partnership with Isle of Harris began in 2014, and for our latest project, we were involved in developing the packaging for the inaugural launch of their Hearach Whisky. The brief was to create a distinctive, premium bottle and packaging solution that authentically represented the Isle of Harris, encapsulating the spirit of its people and location. Uniqueness, material efficiency and the ability to communicate the brand story were asked for, together with the packaging allowing the bottle to be clearly visible. 

The essence of the Isle of Harris Hearach Whisky is deeply rooted in its island origin and the remarkable individuals who craft it. The packaging showcases generations of Hearach individuals who have grown up amidst the island’s elemental landscape, using debossing and photography of the local islanders. The theme of intertwining people and place runs throughout the brand DNA of The Hearach.

The name, ‘The Hearach,’ is the Scottish Gaelic word for ‘a native of Harris.’ References to the Scottish Gaelic language are continued on the packaging to reflect the strong heritage and culture of the Isle of Harris. Additionally, the packaging subtly features the texture of Harris Tweed weaving, a historic island textile protected by a unique act of parliament, adding a tactile element and elevating the premium nature of the product.  

The glass patterns and label design evoke the concept of intertwining people and place, while the organic and weathered shape of the bottle further reflects the island’s essence. 

The postal outer, sleeve, and supporting brochure, which tells the brand story, are all made from fully recyclable materials, using biodegradable glues, foils, and environmentally friendly inks. 

The online launch on 22 September 2023 had an overwhelming response, with over 25,000 customers queuing online which led to a sell out in four and a half hours! Plus, over 1,000 customers travelled from as far away as Canada to line up outside the distillery to ensure they received a ‘first-release’ bottle. Slàinte mhath! 

Delighted to share that this project won Gold at the Scottish Design Awards for Packaging Design, was shortlisted for a D&AD Award for Limited Edition Packaging Design and won Best Branding Project and highly commended in the Best Packaging of a New Product at the UK Packaging Awards 2024.