With the aspiration to create a global footprint, the owners of the business realised they needed a brand that would work globally.
GSP Group – the investor that owns NKD – appointed Whitecap to advise on NKD’s international branding strategy; with an initial brief to manage the tender process to find a branding agency to meet NKD’s specific requirements for a global footprint combined with an ability to manage and deliver traditional and digital marketing activities in specific markets.
Whitecap sat down with the leadership team from GSP, listening to the challenge in their words and distilling this into a concise and professionally articulated project scope.
Over the subsequent weeks Whitecap was engaged to support the creation and implementation of a global marketing strategy, encapsulating a range of initiatives in the US, UAE, and UK. A structured plan was devised and worked to, involving daily and weekly engagement with senior stakeholders within the business. Over the course of the project, NKD recruited senior marketing resources in the US and UAE, including a Chief Marketing Officer, and Whitecap oversaw a handover process resulting in NKD taking over all aspects of its marketing strategy and execution in-house, as had always been their long term goal.
Julian Wells, director at Whitecap Consulting, said: “NKD had some urgent requirements that were strategically important to their business, so the first step was to understand their priorities and take stock of their situation. There was a clear requirement to work at pace but in a structured manner. What NKD needed was a combination of additional senior level resources and proven strategic marketing capability. It is a very entrepreneurial and dynamic business.”
Peter Beaumont, managing director of GSP Group, said: “I knew of Whitecap and had confidence they would manage this project in tight timelines, which they did. They integrated themselves into our day-to-day culture and working environment and worked in a structured, strategic and highly professional manner. NKD now has the brand and marketing infrastructure on which to drive global expansion.
“Whitecap quickly understood our business and managed the process for us, keeping us up to date but minimising demands on our time. They worked efficiently, diligently and with strong communication throughout. They made sure the project ran to time and budget, and gave us a mixture of external support and challenge that was highly valuable.”
“Our brand proposition and marketing strategy now support the growth strategy we have for the business and we have been able to make the right investment decisions on internal resources and external providers.”
"They integrated themselves into our day-to-day culture and working environment and worked in a structured, strategic and highly professional manner."
