Branding workshops with Nutcracker

How brand workshops transformed these businesses’ identities

Whether they are new, a few years old, or decades into operation, many businesses feel the need to consider their brand, what it says about them, how it fits their market, and whether it is a help or a hindrance to claiming market share.

Here is how we gave six very different businesses the focus, momentum, and clarity to discover or express what is unique about them, and to shape their brand stories.


Creating the identity for a new product | Skilltech

Skilltech provides endpoint assessment (EPA) software for training providers. Legislative and market forces in qualifications meant that the market for flagship product was almost certain to plateau in 18 months to two years. They were launching a new product to serve the evolving skills and assessment market, and asked Nutcracker to help form the identity for the new offering, Accolade.

We ran a brand workshop with Skilltech’s leadership team, establishing a positioning statement and an identity for Accolade in the context of the wider brand’s core pillars, the personas of the ideal customers, and the business’s five-year plan.

‘The structure of the day flowed really well. We got a lot out of the workshop, and it has helped us to plan our next steps moving forward.’

Libby Timms, Customer Success Project Manager, Skilltech


Adapting to protect a market-leading position | Robe

Robe manufactures lighting equipment for concert tours, installations, and theatres. It is one of the premier brands in the industry, but competition (especially from cheaper equipment from China) was threatening its market share, and the quality gap was shrinking between Robe and its premium competitors.

Robe is also part of a value chain in which end users are not the customer, but lighting rental companies are the primary buyer. In that environment, the brand needs to appeal to both, especially when the rental company has an incentive to encourage the rental of cheaper equipment for higher margins.

Our brand workshop helped Robe create a roadmap to:

  • Strengthen the brand so much that end users will not accept the next best alternative
  • Decide how to balance product and brand recognition when different audiences are drawn to one or the other
  • Define, express, and promote the strengths that are unspoken in Robe’s existing marketing

‘We achieved exactly what we wanted from it, thank you.’ Mick Hannaford, UK Managing Director, Robe


Setting the brand’s direction after acquisition | Avolites

Avolites is a leading lighting console manufacturer. Having been acquired by Robe, a manufacturer of lighting systems, Avolites needed to establish where to take the brand in support of its ambitious growth targets, in a fiercely competitive sector, under new ownership and with new investment.

Our brand workshop helped Avolites to:

  • Describe their devoted customers, to better understand how to secure future business
  • Agree a tone of voice for the brand that would resonate with the ideal customer profile
  • Draft a positioning statement and a value proposition that would promote the unique qualities of the offering, which had been poorly (if at all) marketed

‘It has been a Great Workshop, thanks a lot for that. Looking forward to the outcome of this.’ Tim Ehm, Product Manager, Avolites


An umbrella identity for a diversifying renewable energy business | Innasol

Innasol’s heritage is the distribution of ETA boilers, one of Europe’s leading wood chip and wood pellet boiler brands. Having built and maintained a reputation in that sector, the business diversified, acquiring a wood pellet distribution business, developing a wood heat boiler efficiency and diagnostics tool, and launching its solar panel installation arm.

With a brand workshop, we helped Innasol to:

  • Distil its core themes and messaging
  • Get on the front foot in combatting misconceptions about the wood heat sector
  • Decide whether to give each proposition its own identity, or to unite them under one broad renewable energy brand

‘The day was a great success. We really got a lot out of it — thank you so very much.’ Paul Shearin, Solar Director, Innasol


A new brand for a new country | CPL Software

Having historically dominated block management software in Scotland, CPL Software was launching a platform for the differently-regulated English market. As part of that launch, they intended to rebrand in both countries as Proptimo.

Meanwhile, competitors were updating their products, with new and improved software in development that could threaten CPL’s market share. CPL thought that these updates were 1-2 years away, creating an urgent need and a perfect opportunity to consolidate the business’s position.

Our brand workshop helped CPL to:

  • Clarify whether or not to incorporate CPL into their Scottish branding for familiarity
  • Define the Proptimo USPs to lay the foundation for market dominance
  • Guide the brand towards balance between presenting the Proptimo brand as an exciting challenger in England, while still leveraging CPL’s heritage in Scotland


Defining a confident brand for a specialist contractor | DPH Management Services

DPH Management Services is a well-established electrical and mechanical contractor, working predominantly in the rail and building services sectors. With a track record of delivering complex projects safely, on time and to budget, the business has earned the trust of clients across London Underground, Network Rail and beyond.

As the company continued to grow, the team wanted to define a brand that would reflect their high standards, practical culture and plans for the future.

Our brand workshop helped DPH to:

  • Define the DPH standard, a clear internal benchmark for quality, safety and delivery
  • Align on a sharper brand purpose and values that capture their on-the-ground mindset
  • Set the direction for a refreshed tone of voice and visual identity to support future growth

‘Yesterday was fantastic, all of us loved it, feel completely re-energised, good to have a direction to go in now and do our homework to get the most out of this now.’ Myles Harding, Director, DPH Management Services


If your brand isn’t telling the right story to the right people, then you’re not getting the recognition or the results you deserve. We’ll help you shine a light on what makes you special, so you can stand out from the crowd and take your place in the market.

Nutcracker has created, updated, and refreshed some of the UK’s most exiting, ambitious, and innovative brands, turning new entrants to market leaders, and taking brands from flying under the radar to setting the agenda.

A brand workshop is the perfect kick-off for a branding project, helping your team to discover what makes your business special, why you stand apart from your competitors, and how to communicate that to your prospects and customers.

Email our CEO at jenny.knighting@nutcrackeragency.com to discuss your business goals, and to see if we’re the right partner to help you transform your brand.