"Helping substance brands grow" is workshop product from Given London designed for brands for whom social or environmental goals are a core part of their proposition, to help them turn this into commercial success. The workshop is in two parts. - How to become the most customer centric brand as well as the most conscientious - Activating this both inside and outside company to win new mainstream customers and markets

1. A brand development workshop to help grow brands
that create value in peoples lives...

2. Story telling is one of our most powerful inventions.
It’s the way we absorb and understand the world
around us. We use story telling to learn and capture
past experiences, and to project and plan the
future.
Stories are everywhere in culture from music,
through to sport and computer games
Brands are STORIES
Brands are stories told through every
interaction people have with a
company. Some are rich, meaningful
and compelling while others can be dry,
seem irrelevant or fail to capture
people’s attention.

3. Brand stories come to life through the
behaviour of companies in everything
that they do.
Some of today’s most exciting and innovative
brands are substance brands; companies that have
a positive role to play in society or the environment.
But there’s a risk that by focusing on the GOOD
things they do in creating social value or reducing
environmental impact, they lose sight of being the
BEST brand in their category
Innocently one of the UK’s
Substance brands will only be truly successful when
they put the needs, attitudes and behaviours of fastest growing companies
people who aren’t all “ethical consumers” at the
heart of their business and focus on creating
personal value for people, as well as for the world at …bringing a niche product
large. mainstream i.e. ‘health food’ for
the masses.

4. The outcome of the workshop are ways to
create positive impacts in the lives of your
customers – as well as the world at large.
To become recognised not just as a ‘good’ company
but as a ‘great’ brand, your customers have to be
hardwired into your brand story.
This brand story will guide future actions while making
...is one day workshop designed current customer interaction more compelling.
to help good companies grow
In other words, you’ve got substance in your brand, now
by putting customers at the its about turning this into greaster commercial success.
heart of your brand

5. 2 A simple two-part structure
part 1 - writing your story (Morning session)
The workshop is based on the idea
that a brand story is no more part 2 – expressing your story (Afternoon session)
complicated than one you could tell
in a face to face conversation

6. Part 1 - writing your story A story that delivers on all of these levels
makes for brands that outshine expectations
Any compelling story needs to think about who it is
being written for. Our starting point for this workshop is Example brand story for In-N-Out Burger,
creating a well defined customer portrait. a Californian fast food restaurant
The morning session will focus on writing a brand story ME
against the customer portrait. To bring the convenience that people expect from fast food
with personal service, quality and healthiness, that they would
The story needs to begin with how you meet people’s not.
everyday needs but then reaches beyond this into
creating broader, impacts in peoples lives, their MY WORLD
communities and the world at large. In N out Burger never wants to stop being a neighbourhood
restaurant. We seek to make a positive contribution to the
communities where we do business and have a special place
in the hearts of local people.
THE WORLD
THE WORLD
Our personal approach means that we favour natural, local
MY WORLD and hand-made produce whereever we can. We think
keeping it simple can contribute to a better world.
ME

7. Part 2 – expressing your story A story with substance will come to life
in a meaningful authentic way when it is
The afternoon session is about exploring ways that this told creatively and imaginatively in all
story can be told through projects, programs and areas of your business.
initiatives that touch upon all of the key parts of your
business ecosystem.
Example brand behaviour
greentomatocars…
Inside your business Outside your business From London’s greenest taxi company
Green hello – not only will
they take women in
Time is money – labour to the hospital,
customer get they will also plant a tree
to celebrate the birth
money off their
journey if the car
is late.
The twook -
the first taxi
company
to take
bookings
by twitter
To London’s BEST taxi company

8. This workshop should be attended by the following
people in substance brands:
• Company management with responsibility for
sustainable business growth
• Executives in charge of brand development and
marketing communications
• Employees with responsibility for CSR or social/
environmental initiatives
Who should attend
• Other employees involved in the operations of the
this workshop? business, such as sales, customer service and HR

9. You will get a digital story book, just like this, containing
the outputs of the workshop. Your very own brand
substance handbook.
This will include further thinking and implications of the
key ideas that emerge during the session.
It will also include the working up of creative ideas
What will you get to developed on the day or subsequent to the workshop.
take away?

10. Benefits
BRAND BUILDING & CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT
✓ Makes your brand story and sustainability
initiatives more relevant to customers
✓ Gives a strategic platform for substance-based
initiatives in the future both internally and externally
✓ Creates new tactical opportunities to engage
customers in meaningful yet cost effective ways
✓ Helps you compete with larger competitors on
the things that customers care about the most.
INTERNAL COHESION
✓ Brings key people together to listen to a number
of different perspectives and align to pull in the
A strong framework with executable same direction
✓ Helps align sustainability initiatives with brand
ideas for growing your brand initiatives
✓ Provides a basis for engaging employees across
the organization in more meaningful ways, growing
a passionate and committed team of people to
support you as you grow

11. To get in touch.
Email: David@givenlondon.com or Becky@givenlondon.com
Call: +44 207 7017 3990
Visit: 34-35 Great Sutton Street, London, EC1V 0DX