SDL Group, an organisation that at the time had as many as ten brands, sought to benefit from more synergy and structure between the individual businesses. They requested a review of the marketing strategy and plans across the group business units to identify how best to deliver value to the whole organisation. SDL wanted to improve the identity and structure across their businesses to allow for a well branded and positioned umbrella organisation. Whitecap’s aim was to assess and align the businesses in a way that could help enhance the delivery of commercial value across the group.

The initial task for Whitecap was to map out the marketing strategy and plans across the whole organisation, for each brand, identifying the activities, skills and resources required for it to succeed over the next three years.

Working in partnership with the Group Marketing Director, an assessment was conducted of key factors associated with each business unit, such as: the market proposition, target audiences, USPs, critical success factors and marketing channels. From here, it was possible to clearly present how each brand should fit within the organisation in both role and purpose.

“SDL is an entrepreneurial organisation with a diverse, yet complementary range of businesses and brands. Our approach was to develop a clear understanding of each individual brand and systematically position and strengthen their role within the group.” – Julian Wells, Director, Whitecap Consulting.

“Whitecap’s assessment of our individual business units helped us to understand what each brand’s role and purpose was. From this, we then developed a fresh group brand that clearly highlighted how our organisation fits together and the different areas we can serve.

“The change provides the group’s trading businesses with a coherent set of visual cues, helping internal and external stakeholders to appreciate the synergies that are available across the group.” – Rob Clifford, Group Commercial Director, SDL Group.