With a market value of half a billion pounds The Office Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of flexible working space (“serviced offices” in old money) was acutely aware of the need for a definitive articulation of what it stood for. Initially this was so that in a rapidly expanding organisation, recruiting at a giddy pace, every member of staff was on the same page championing the same messages about the brand.
Consequently we were asked to write the one page which today defines what the TOG brand is all about. This is a confidential document.
But having done this were then asked to use it as the brief for a three-minute film which could be shown to every member of staff, from the longest serving to the newest, To explain, motivate, inspire and in some cases rejuvenate them.
The film had such an impact that TOG Founders, Charile and Olly, decided to show it to lots of other stakeholders, present and future, suppliers they already worked with, landlords they wanted to work with. Trade bible, Estates Gazette, called it “the smash hit movie of the summer”.
And so the Brand Manifesto hasn’t been one of those intellectual brand exercises that gets forgotten about as quickly as it’s finished, it's been the springboard for messaging that continues to enhance and grow the business.
“Jon and David have this intuitive sense of people and businesses and they were able to distil down very quickly our voice and our messaging for the manifesto. They captured it brilliantly, working with us to make sure it really belongs to us, but it's also concise and accurate. It's genuinely a piece of work that will help to shape our business as we move forward.” (Charlie Green, co-CEO, The Office Group)