DBA Members’ Forum | February Summary
In our February DBA Members' Forum, we were delighted to be joined by Michael Lennington, co-author of the '12-Week Year'. We had an...
It’s been over two years since Modern Recipe changed the face of Sodexo’s corporate canteens and won the DBA Design Effectiveness Grand Prix Award. Briefly remind us about the original objectives and impact of the project.
Philip Koh: Sodexo provide corporate services to some of the world’s leading businesses. Their B2B approach however, focused on the corporate client, was struggling to connect with staff increasingly distracted by the high-street. As success began with happy customers using the space, we started with the end user: creating a modern, flexible, all-day brand that would connect with today’s professionals. This, in turn, became inherently appealing to forward-thinking facilities managers.
The impact of the new brand was clear. Immediately after launch, we saw a sustained 45% increase in utilisation, 13% increase in average transaction value, and within 6 months, the brand was winning a host of new multi-year, multi-million pound contracts with blue chip corporate clients.
What did the win mean to Without and how has it impacted on your business since?
PK: Without has always been an agency that delivers design not just for style, but for impact. The work we do works – whether for challengers looking to break into new markets, or global brands looking to confound expectations, our thinking solves problems effectively. So the Design Effectiveness Awards, with its panel of business experts, has always been one of the most important for us. And to win the Grand Prix – it’s something we’re very proud of.
After the award win, it is clear that we’re having much deeper, strategic conversations with potential clients – the credibility that the award bestows has been really helpful in this regard.
Anecdotally, we know that clients do look at award lists for reassurance, and for us, this award is one of the best at establishing the value of our work.
And because this is an award for the client as much as it is for the agency, we’ve seen a positive impact within the client organisation itself. A pride and confidence in the new brand, greater commitment to its growth, and much deserved recognition for the forward-looking individuals who took the bold decisions.
Modern Recipe has gone from strength-to-strength. Bring us up to speed on recent developments?
PK: Our original brief was to reimagine corporate catering and re-establish canteens as vibrant, valuable assets for Sodexo’s UK market. But the result, Modern Recipe, has been so successful in the UK that it’s been quickly adapted for the US market. With Sodexo’s North American team, we’re developing and evolving the brand to address not just the cultural nuances of the American audience, but to retool the brand kit to address wider markets – from corporate, to university and healthcare sectors. It’s now being rolled out across 300 client sites in the US – at a pace we could barely have imagined when we started the project.
In your view, how has entering and winning in the Design Effectiveness Awards influenced this success and your relationship with Sodexo?
PK: It’s worth re-emphasising that the DBA Design Effectiveness Award is a joint award, for both client and agency. Entry into the award is itself a joint effort, and a successful entry requires collaboration. Simply making an entry together is a commitment to a deeper relationship, trust, and alignment with the client’s ambitions and goals.
We’ve found that in entering and winning the award, we’ve demonstrated our focus on our client’s success, and this has helped build trust and credibility across their organisation. It’s opened doors to new conversations and new projects, one of which, a new product tackling the challenge of nutrition in schools, we hope will be a DBA Design Effectiveness Award winner of the future!
Has it impacted the way you work with other clients too?
PK: We’ve always approached projects with our clients’ goals front and centre, and our strategic and design processes have been honed over the years to focus on effectively harnessing creativity to deliver commercial outcomes. What the DBA award has taught us, is how to better track, measure and account for that success. It’s a long-term way of thinking with which we approach every client project.
Also, the rigour with which the tracking, measuring and accounting is done is critical in demonstrating the value that design brings, and that can only be a good thing for our industry. Design is often undervalued – creativity isn’t easily accounted for in a budget line – so the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards plays a really important role.
The call for entries for the 2024 Awards is now open. The entry deadline is 5pm GMT 3 November 2023.
Find out more about the Awards and download an entry pack.
Read Without and Sodexo’s Modern Recipe case study and browse all of the winners’ case studies.
You can also book a consultation with the DBA’s Strategy and Business Director, Sally Lukins on Calendly here.
These consultations are opportunities to discuss all things design effectiveness – from thinking through what might make a good entry to submit to the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, to discussing working drafts of your entry case studies, or having a conversation about the practices within your business that would support a focus on creating effective outcomes and proving the impact of your work.
Without is a brand design studio helping pioneers define their difference. Founded by a historian and an engineer, Without understands the power of difference to defy, define and create categories. Since 2005 Without have helped beloved brands like Third Space, Savoir and Caravan to grow, build community and make life better, and in 2021 won the highest recognition of design effectiveness – the DBA Effectiveness Grand Prix.
There was much more covered in the hour – these are just a few notes to provide a flavour of the conversation. Do make sure you join us in our next DBA Members’ Forum when we’re going to be talking about AI in design.
It will be taking place online on Tuesday 8 August at 4pm BST as the Monday is a Bank Holiday in Scotland. If you would like to attend, get in touch here.
The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards winners’ announcement was held live online on Thursday 29 June and celebrated the wide-ranging impact of design on businesses and people’s lives across the world.
Spanning work for global companies and major retailers, to start-up challenger brands and charities, 23 shortlisted projects were awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.
Congratulations to all of the winners.
Established in 1989, the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise and celebrate the compelling influence of design on the success of a project or business.
The Awards are entered jointly by client and designer and winning projects have been rigorously judged by business leaders from organisations such as Airbus, Carlsberg, Ericsson, Google, PWC, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Volvo Group in three rounds of judging. Crucially, the awards are evidence-based, the impact of design measured and verified.
All of the winning projects demonstrate the significant impact design makes across a broad section of industry. The judges found five particularly outstanding, awarding them Gold awards. The Gold winners are:
Philips Foundation and Philips Experience Design (Grand Prix & Gold): The High-Risk Pregnancy Referral Tool is improving maternity care in low-resource settings in Africa by communicating technical medical knowledge as easy to digest information. The tool has touched the lives of over 280,000 women and their families and helped train more than 700 healthcare workers. As a result of its impact in Sub-Saharan Africa, there are now plans to adapt and scale the tool to reach remote, rural communities in China.
Says DBA CEO, Deborah Dawton: “In using design to respond to a key priority within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the DBA Design Effectiveness Grand Prix Award winning, High-Risk Pregnancy Referral Tool is having a profound impact on the lives of women and their families. As the world increases its reliance on technology, there are many communities around the world which those advancements cannot reach. The design of the HRP tool is a fantastic example of how design can deliver powerful, appropriate solutions to reach communities across varying socio-demographics to create positive change for people and the planet.”
Find out more about the Grand Prix Award winning High-Risk Pregnancy Referral Tool >
Diageo with Butterfly Cannon: Top of mind awareness reached an all-time high following Black Dog’s brand and packaging transformation. The redesign has made the Scotch Whisky more culturally relevant, more authentically Scotch and more recognisable on shelf; it’s attracting younger, affluent Indian consumers and having placed third previously, it now tops the category for brand equity. Read more >
Eichhof with Pearlfisher: Making a stunning come-back, Eichhof’s volume increased +4.7% within six months following a complete redesign. In a highly competitive category, and following seven years of continuous market share loss, Eichhof grew market share an impressive 1.2% in the year following the redesign. Read more >
Gordon & MacPhail with Contagious: Addressing the complexity of its product portfolio, Gordon & MacPhail’s redesign has enabled the business to maximise opportunities in a buoyant sector. A clear consumer pathway was created, and revenue has leapt 71% from selling 18% less whisky. Value sales of Gordon & MacPhail’s luxury products increased 61% within a year, while the global luxury whisky market grew only 4% in that time. Read more >
Diageo with Dolmen Design & Innovation: The ground-breaking Guinness NitroSurge dispense system enables consumers to achieve beautiful Guinness pints at home and the innovation has changed consumer perceptions around the at-home experience. In just nine months, Net sales exceeded the Year-Five global target, and with a higher price point and lower production cost than the existing canned offering, Guinness NitroSurge has achieved an 8.5% uplift in beer sale profitability. Read more >
The variety and breadth of work the judges saw amongst the Gold award winners also played out across the Silver and Bronze winners too, with work spanning retail, not for profit, FMCG and charity sectors, amongst others.
Among them were Sigtún Thróunarfélag and M Worldwide’s placemaking design strategy for Icelandic town Selfoss, the most sustainable branch fit-out in Lloyds Banking Group’s history by SpaceInvader, Else’s elevation of key pages of Avast’s website, and the immersive design and visitor experience of the Hockney’s Eye exhibition for Fitzwilliam Museum by Holmes Studio, which increased donations from the public 373%.
“It’s been a huge pleasure to chair the discussions with experts across design and business to identify and celebrate such inspiring examples of the power of design,” says Chairman of the Judges, Clive Grinyer, “my congratulations to all the DBA Design Effectiveness Award winners.”
Browse all the Gold, Silver and Bronze Award winners and take a look at their case studies >
Award | Project | Agency | Client |
Grand Prix/ Gold | The High-Risk Pregnancy Referral Tool | Philips Experience Design | Philips Foundation |
Gold | Black Dog Scotch Whisky redesign | Butterfly Cannon | Diageo |
Gold | Gordon & MacPhail redesign | Contagious | Gordon & MacPhail |
Gold | Guinness NitroSurge | Dolmen Design & Innovation | Diageo |
Gold | Eichhof Beer redesign | Pearlfisher | Eichhof |
Silver | Peter’s Yard rebrand | B&B studio | Peter’s Yard |
Silver | Purdey’s brand redesign | BrandOpus | Purdey’s |
Silver | Smirnoff Raspberry Crush | Bulletproof | Diageo |
Silver | Cadbury 100 campaign | Bulletproof | Mondelēz International – Australia |
Silver | Poligrip redesign | Interbrand London | Haleon |
Silver | Husasmidjan retail store design | M Worldwide | Husasmidjan |
Silver | Nuud rebrand | Mother Design | Nuud |
Silver | LUSU naming and branding | The Engine Room | LUSU |
Bronze | Retail Trust purpose and brand identity | Baggi | Retail Trust |
Bronze | Solar Energy UK rebrand | Brand Ethos | Solar Energy UK |
Bronze | Avast digital experience redesign | Else | Avast |
Bronze | Pet Head brand revitalisation | Family (and friends) | Company of Animals |
Bronze | Hockney’s Eye | Holmes Studio | The Fitzwilliam Museum |
Bronze | Skin Sapiens brand and packaging | Lewis Moberly | Skin Sapiens |
Bronze | Metro convenience retail store design | M Worldwide | Metro |
Bronze | Selfoss Town Centre | M Worldwide | Sigtún Thróunarfélag |
Bronze | Takamaka Rum rebrand | Pearlfisher | Takamaka Rum |
Bronze | Lloyds Bank, 399 Oxford Street | SpaceInvader | Lloyds Banking Group |
More information on the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards and how to enter can be found here.
Jointly created by the Philips Foundation and Philips Experience Design with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Grand Prix and Gold award winner, The High-Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Referral Tool is fundamentally improving maternity care in low-resource settings in Africa by communicating technical medical knowledge as easy to digest information.
The clarity of its design has seen the HRP Referral Tool touch the lives of over 280,000 women and their families, and train more than 700 healthcare workers.
The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals are an urgent, global call for action to promote prosperity, while protecting the planet. They recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
Goal Three is focused on good health and well-being for all, of which maternity care is key, especially amongst socio-economically disadvantaged communities. In 2017, Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for roughly two-thirds (196,000) of all maternal deaths (WHO, 2019). Most of those deaths were associated with preventable causes and could have been avoided with simple antenatal care services. But in low-resource areas, or regions affected by war and natural disasters, identifying high-risk pregnancies in time to reduce maternal and infant mortality can be challenging.
To improve the situation, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Philips Foundation and Philips Experience Design joined forces to create the High-Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Referral Tool to raise awareness at community level on early signs of potential complications as well as healthy practices during pregnancies.
In remote settings, poor infrastructural conditions limit the delivery of healthcare services even if primary care facilities are in place. Facilities are often hampered by limited or no access to electricity and connectivity, and even when connectivity works, the costs of digital transfer is not affordable. The design, development and deployment of the HRP referral cards has provided a cost-effective analogue tool for communities in these challenging settings.
Specifically designed as a low-cost, portable set of tear-resistant cards which can be taken on household visits by healthcare workers, the HRP Referral Tool translates technical medical knowledge into illustrations and easy to digest information on pregnancy. The clarity of the design has ensured the cards are highly effective in equipping traditional birth attendants and community healthcare volunteers with reliable knowledge in:
“Earlier risk detection in pregnancy will lead to earlier referrals from the community to the first level of care, and from primary healthcare to hospitals,” says Sigrid Kopp, former Supra Regional Midwife for the International Committee of the Red Cross, adding that,“this time factor plays a crucial role when working on the high number of maternal morbidity and mortality in areas where the access to quality healthcare is hampered due to low coverage of healthcare services, harmful cultural practices, war, displacement, insecurity, lack of infrastructure, lack of skilled healthcare providers and lack of awareness and knowledge.”
In two Kenyan counties, a 15-month evidence-based study of the tool’s effectiveness was conducted with the Kenya Red Cross Society, and the many benefits generated included:
The HRP tool has had such an impact in Sub-Saharan Africa touching the lives of over 280,000 women and their families, there are now plans to adapt and scale the tool in China, to help provide better healthcare services to pregnant mothers in remote, rural communities there.
“In using design to respond to a key priority within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the DBA Design Effectiveness Grand Prix Award winning, High-Risk Pregnancy Referral Tool is having a profound impact on the lives of women and their families,” says DBA CEO, Deborah Dawton. “As the world increases its reliance on technology, there are many communities around the world which those advancements cannot reach. The design of the HRP referral tool is a fantastic example of how design can deliver powerful, appropriate solutions to reach communities across varying socio-demographics to create positive change for people and the planet.”
To read the Grand Prix and Gold award winning High-Risk Pregnancy Referral Tool case study in full, head here >
To find out more about all the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, head here >
For more information about how to enter the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards head here >
Our Members’ Forum takes place on the first Monday of each month, at 4 – 5pm. If you would like to attend, get in touch here.
Our next Members’ Forum will be taking place on Monday 3 July at 4pm BST.
Existing board directors, Andy Sexton, Partner and Executive Creative Director at 2LK and Stephanie Verschoor, Head of Design & New Digital Solutions at NatWest Group were also reappointed for a further term of three years. Three directors stepped down at the AGM after various terms of service, including Diageo’s Global Design Director, Jeremy Lindley who was first elected to the DBA’s board in 2015 and served as Chair of the DBA’s board for three years, between 2019 and 2022.
The DBA’s directors are either members of the association, or other design sector experts, and possess diverse experience of bringing design to the strategy-setting c-suite of business. They work closely with the DBA’s management team to develop the strategy by which the DBA supports the sector to drive design ever further up the agenda in business and government and to build universal confidence in design investment.
Jos Harrison has been building brands at Reckitt for nearly 15 years and is Global Head of Brand Experience and Design at the business.
Says Harrison of his appointment,“Radical transformation is needed to meet the needs of our changing planet and society, and designers will play a pivotal role in this change. In the last few years, I have become extremely passionate about sustainability, including obtaining a qualification in Carbon Net-Zero business leadership from Cambridge University, and I’m excited to join the DBA Board to help guide the DBA and by extension, designers everywhere – in preparing themselves to lead entire industries into a more sustainable future.”
“I’m delighted to welcome our new board director, Reckitt’s Jos Harrison whose experience will be invaluable to the DBA’s work in preparing the design sector for the future,” says DBA Chief Executive, Deborah Dawton.
“My thanks also to the three directors stepping down this year, Coley Porter Bell’s Vicky Bullen and Volvo Group’s Pernilla Johannson for the insight, commitment and enthusiasm they brought to their roles, and in particular to Diageo’s Jeremy Lindley, who also chaired the DBA overseeing a strategic review, and instigated the formation of our first council of members on the issue of DE&I in design. This work will see Jeremy continue as chair of the group, which later in 2023 aim to deliver tangible assets into members that will impact their approach to DE&I.”
“It has been a great privilege and learning journey to serve on the DBA Board since 2015 and to have been elected Chair by my fellow Directors for the three-year term 2019 – 2022,” says Lindley.
“I was delighted to hand over as Chair to the super talented Warren Hutchinson who is already leading the Board with vigour and strategic brilliance. While I was Chair, the Board and Executive Team of the DBA aligned to a bold new purpose, vision and mission and reaffirmed the values of the DBA in service of the design industry. I am deeply proud of how the DBA team led and supported the industry through Covid, the organisation emerged stronger and with exciting plans that will further strengthen our dynamic industry. I look forward to continuing to be an active member and advocate for Design Effectiveness.”
With thanks to Vicky Bullen of Coley Porter Bell, Pernilla Johannson of Volvo Group and Jeremy Lindley of Diageo for their time and invaluable insight, who stepped down from the Board at the 2023 AGM.
Our Members’ Forum takes place on the first Monday of each month, at 4 – 5pm. If you would like to attend, get in touch here.
Our next Members’ Forum will be taking place on Monday 5 June at 4pm BST.
The report is a valuable tool for agencies in planning new business approaches and assessing their client services and relationships. It enables an agency to put themselves in their clients’ shoes and predict reactions and objections before they are raised, and for clients it enables them to benchmark the issues they face, their approach to design and the relationship they have with their agencies.
The report is divided into three sections:
Here are my top 5 take-outs from the report and launch event:
43% of marketing directors believe that data and analytics is an area they need to improve on – while at the same time they say that the combination of creativity and technical skills is hard to find. How do agencies get to grips with integrating the use, management, and if necessary the display of data and analytics in their work, or with helping clients understand what information is useful while they are drowning in a sea of data?
The skills combination of creativity and commercial awareness is the most sought after and rarest agency combination. Agencies that understand the commercialises of the client business are able to justify creative concepts and smooth internal anxieties. At the same time 75% of clients admit to finding design effectiveness difficult to quantify. There is a huge opportunity for astute agencies to lead the conversation around effectiveness to prove their commercial acumen.
82% of clients describe themselves as risk averse. They understand the need for brand differentiation and innovation but there needs to be a strong business case. Agencies who call on clients to ‘be brave’ without addressing the elements of risk head-on will end up being ignored. Build the business case along side the creative case.
63% of clients prefer to be presented with just one creative route rather than the option of three. If the agency is to be seen as the expert then should they be advising on the single solution rather than pushing the decision onto the client? The caveat here comes in the fact that the remaining 37% strongly favour having a choice. Report author and DBA Expert, Jonathan Kirk shares a few thoughts on this in the video snippet below.
40% of clients are not fully aware of the full skill set of their incumbent agency. Perhaps because the average time that clients last saw a credentials presentation from their existing agency is 2.5 years. Concerns about skills gaps are an opportunity to talk to clients about their needs. Ask questions about projects that are going to other agencies – why were you not considered?
Download the Report – You can download your copy of Up to the Light’s What Client Think Report here.
The Report’s author Jonathan Kirk also joined us for our April Members’ Forum to discuss how agency/client relationships are evolving, delving further into these points. Here’s a summary of the conversation.
Watch a recording of the Report launch – DBA members have exclusive access to webinar recordings and can catch up on the What Clients Think Report Launch webinar here.
Gain further insights – Jonathan Kirk delivers training on this topic in a workshop called World Class Client Servicing. Find out more by emailing bookings@dba.org.uk
Get in touch – if you are a DBA member who would like to talk through issues you are facing, or if you are interested in becoming a member, you can schedule time in my diary here.
The ‘What Clients Think’ Report is published by Up to the Light in association with the DBA. You can find out more about Up to the Light’s founder and DBA Expert, Jonathan Kirk here.
Data and creativity
43% of marketing directors believe that data & analytics is an area that needs to be improved upon. A lot of clients now are much more taken up with the ‘how’ of marketing – how to connect messages across different channels and how to gain actionable insights from data that will drive customer experiences. The time spent on this shrinks the amount of time spent on the importance of the great creative idea. So how do we combat that and keep the importance of the great idea at the forefront when clients’ time is being squeezed.
Commercial awareness
The most sought after skill in agencies is creativity aligned with commercial awareness. If agencies asked for more data, focussed specifically around the business challenge you’re being asked to solve, it could help drive more effective design. Whilst at the same time making sure you continue to bring your unique perspective and creativity to the insights. Having enough commercial awareness to put together a strong business case for what you’re recommending, and giving clients enough so that they can argue what you’re recommending internally is key – more relevance, more credibility, and more chance of selling ideas to wider stakeholders.
Risk aversion
82% of clients describe themselves as risk averse. The creative presentation is a nervy thing for them – so how can we help them reduce down that subjectivity. Many agencies don’t do a creative brief to translate the client’s brief into something that can give them something tangible to rationalise the creative work, as well as inspire the creative team. But how do you manage this process, alongside the client, without killing the creative idea?
One direction
63% of clients prefer to be presented with just one creative route rather than the option of three. At the same time, a lot of agencies say they are collaborative, but many still rely on the big reveal of that one idea, which can exacerbate the nerviness explored earlier. So how can we work in a way where we get this balance right – particularly when the other 37% of clients strongly prefer to be presented with options rather than one big idea. It’s about knowing your client and understanding what works in their culture.
Our Members’ Forum takes place on the first Monday of each month, at 4 – 5pm or Tuesday if it is a bank holiday. If you would like to attend, get in touch here.
Our next Members’ Forum will be taking place on Tuesday 2 May at 4pm BST.