UK Enterprise 2020

115 | UK Enterprise Awards 2020 Brand Satellite, so called for its ‘bigger picture’ insight into a business’ image, is a brand consultancy and integrated advertising, graphic design and marketing agency dedicated to helping start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs think, look and act like big brands. As founder Giles Etherington celebrates success at the UK Enterprise Awards 2020, we took a closer look at the Scottish-based agency. Best SME Branding Company - Scotland Giles Etherington, founder of Brand Satellite, has over thirty years of experience working with brands and, having worked with major advertising agencies brands across Europe and the USA including BT, Kellogg’s and Persil, understands how important the brand of a business is. It exemplifies the personality of the business, allowing customers to engage with the business on an emotional level. By appealing to the customer in this way, the business ensures the customer will not only return, but become advocates for a business too. While many smaller businesses shy away from cultivating a brand image, either due to lack of time or confidence, Brand Satellite maintain that it is even more important for these companies to do it than larger brands. With a three-stage process of brand creation, brand development and brand communication, and core values of Evolution, Improvement, Empathy, Engagement and Lack of Ego, the company gives businesses the focus and confidence they need to transform customers into loyal followers of the brand. A Brand Satellite Brand Workshop takes a strategic look at the client’s business to ascertain where they are, where they want to go and how they might consider doing things to get there. It looks at several areas of the business and establishes a compelling brand proposition. Once a brand has been created, Brand Satellite shares the skills and experience with the client that they require to continue developing their brand identity and improving brand connections. Since its establishment in 2013, Brand Satellite has helped an impressive portfolio of businesses create and cultivate their brands, as well as adding a start-up arm to the business called Brands Start Here. Born from an association with the Cultural Enterprise Office, it helped over 30 start-ups by offering affordable brand advice and branding packages at a time when no-one was offering this service, and small businesses didn’t understand the need for it. Whilst small businesses now better understand the importance of establishing a brand, they are still not sure how, nor have the means to do it, and compared with their US counterparts, many SMEs and start-ups in the UK lack essential branding. Given that SME’s account for 99.9% of the UK’s business population, Brand Satellite’s services are in high demand. This interest was not dampened by Covid-19 either. During lockdown, 850,000 online businesses launched in the UK, and existing business owners were given time to think more strategically about their business. By investing in the creation of their brands, these businesses recognise their capacity not just to survive in the currently uncertain climate, but also thrive, much like Brand Satellite has done. Brand Satellite proves that it is constantly evolving, and progress is not slowing down any time soon. Alongside projects such as the rebranding of the Green Action Trust in support of Scotland’s plans for environmental regeneration, Brand Satellite is seeing exciting developments at home. Most recently, the company has become the first Scottish GC Partner to feature on the GC Index, a business decision-making tool that offers a new way of measuring a person’s energy for different roles within an organisation. Jul20305 With this tool, businesses can identify how individuals and teams are able to make the biggest impact on a project, company or brand. Brand Satellite understand that the people are what make a business unique, and by utilising the information provided by the GC Index, will be able to create a more accurate and authentic brand for their clients. The most recent project, grown from the pandemic, will incorporate this tool and offer a completely unique rebranding process, as the working environment issues of lockdown has brought to light UK businesses’ need to better engage with their employees on key decisions. Brand Satellite will soon offer an on-site brand package that will include Etherington going on-site for six weeks to conduct a full rebrand, whilst using the GC Index to ensure that the employees behind the brand remain at the centre of all decisions. This package can be done anywhere in the world and is another example of Brand Satellite’s continued and triumphant expansion. Company Name: Brand Satellite Contact Name: Giles Etherington Web Address: www.brandsatellite.co.uk