Brooks saddles - keep springing up as firm favourites

Brooks England Saddles - hand finished in leather

"All our leather bicycle saddles are hand-finished. They're being made today as they have been for the best part of 150 years," says Steve Green, Office Manager, Brooks Saddles.

I'm being shown around the Brooks Saddles' factory in Smethwick as the machines, many of which are antiques in their own right, strain, crash and crunch steelwire and rolls to form up to 20 parts for saddle bases.

It's not always appreciated that until the 1950s Brooks was the largest manufacturer of saddles in the world. Around this time the West Midlands was producing at least 50% of UK bicycles through two leading businesses, Phillips Bicycles and Tube Investments.

"The company was founded by John Boultbee Brooks in 1866 after he left his home in Hinckley at the age of 16 to make his fortune in Birmingham by making leather saddles for the horse trade.

"It was only in 1878 after the horse he was using to get to and from home died and he wasn't able to afford a new one that a friend lent him a bike. The bicycle saddles at the time were made of carved wood and horribly uncomfortable, so he decided to try making them in leather. It was all about finding more comfortable alternatives for the rider and this is still very much at heart our ethos."

The leather saddle is a fusion of crafted metal bases with leather tops culminating in a final process known as 'springing up' to form the finished product, immortalised through the words of the company's founder JB Brooks, when he wrote with some foresight in his early brochures, "It is not the name of Brooks which makes the Saddles good but the Saddle and its excellence which makes the name."

Brooks famous B17 - narrow saddle

JB Brooks also had the foresight to patent his designs, with the first one being patented in 1882,a process he pursued with vigour, registering many subsequent designs. A good number of todays designs are rooted in this early period with the B17 being the oldest model in the current range, having been featured in the 1890's catalogue.

The main reason it's never gone out of production is simple: it's all about comfort. A total of 20 models have survived over the decades and some products are even being revived, such as the 'Challenge Toolbag', first patented in 1876.

The machines in the Brooks factory are almost sculptural in appearance. And, despite their age they're agile enough, with the operators speaking fondly of each one for its personality and temperament. There's an oily down-to-earth rawness, the strong odour of leather and metal and a friendly camaraderie as the craftsmen and women ply their skills and the machines cut, stamp, bend and shape the steel and leather.

Many of the staff have been with the business for twenty, thirty or more years. "We have a very loyal team here," says Steve. "We realise that our saddles depend on craftsmanship, attention to detail and an authenticity delivered by staff, who know our machines and processes but who also know each other.

"We choose to keep running with traditional machines - partly because this is our tradition - the heritage we've inherited and are proud of - and partly because if we used new machines it would change the quality and feel of the saddles we're producing.

Brooks England Islington Rucksack

"We re-started a range of bicycle bags and accessories around 5 years ago. Initially many of these were sourced from the Far East. Now we're trying to pull production back to the UK. But when we first started looking at UK sources they were very expensive, or not up to our exacting quality requirements.

"After sometime we found a sewing shop in Salford and now they're making all our leather bags. We'd like to move our canvas bags there over the coming months. We feel we have found people who want to grow with us.

"Two years ago we had 25 staff. Today we have 34 with a further 8 or 9 working on our accessories range in Salford.

"It takes about 3 days to produce a saddle. We're running at 700 saddles per day or around 3,500 per week. We're operating at pretty near to full capacity at present unless we invest in new machinery."

"Our promise to customers has always been about producing the best of everything - The best materials, the best designs and the best constructions that experience, skill and money can procure.

"Retro trends have certainly helped our business and recently we have produced options with pre-aged leather and have been producing saddle frames with ageing effects.

"Quality leather is very important as the saddle top provides a comfortable ride by moulding to the individual rider's shape, unlike modern saddles made from contemporary materials. It's very hard to get hold of quality hides and there are only two tanneries producing the finish we require.

"We use only British and Irish cattle which have tougher hides taking the rear back or butt of the cattle hides as they have to be at least 5ml thick. We've started looking at a Swedish tannery and Swedish cattle for a select range of organically reared leather. We are not dyeing this leather, but leaving it entirely natural.

"During the BSE crisis we had a problem because they started to slaughter animals younger and we prefer their hides when they are older and the hides are that bit harder.

"We were bought by Italians in 2002 and they have really focussed on telling our story. They have seen that value can be created through innovative approaches to marketing, promotion and re-inforcing our identity.

"They've drawn on our unique heritage, creating striking advertising campaigns and new point of sale materials emphasising our authenticity. It's been interesting to see how they have looked at the business, finding value in much that could have easily been taken for granted.

Brooks saddles, like other West Midlands businesses including - Pashley Cycles, AGA, Rangemaster and Rayburn cookers, Morgan, Jaguar and Land Rover cars, Brintons Carpets, Emma Bridgewater, Steelite and Dudson potteries to name a few - displays the qualities outlined by Professor Beverland at Bath University as essential to authentic brands - they have product quality built-in, a reputation based on heritage or a historical narrative and a sincerity based on a love of the product.

Why, when we have this rich brand heritage have we not celebrated our achievements in improving people's lifestyles as a means of distinguishing ourselves from our competition?

Irish Economist, David McWilliams has said, "Far from drowing that which makes you different in a sea of bland, fake and generic consumerist product, globalisation allows difference to thrive. The difference is key: this is where the real value is and it is what people are striving for. The reaction to rampant consumerism has been a 'keeping it real' backlash..."

With such a unique productive heritage why do we not celebrate our achievements to create a collective market authority for our businesses - both older and younger emerging businesses - as we seek to create new opportunities for our graduates as they leave university?

Ian Callum, Design Director Jaguar Cars, has called this a 'considered approach to design'. "People need time to consider and use something after they have bought it to be sure of its quality," he says. "The real test is whether people like something after consideration. Depth of design and engineering can pave the way for products making them more sustainable."



Brooks England Colt Saddle, Turquoise




Well, almost 150 years on the Brooks' customer has given their saddles a resounding thumbs up - or as they might put it - a resounding 'bums down'!






To see more of the Brooks Saddles production process visit:http://www.theoldbicycleshowroom.co.uk/brooks-saddles-factory-film-115-c.asp

Just the Ticket – Phil Mead, MD, NEC Arenas designs excellent customer service to drive sales



Phil Mead, MD, NEC Arenas



The NEC Group is a high visibility Birmingham–based business, but how many of us are familiar with much of the detail behind this well-known business? 

More especially, I wondered, as I went to meet Phil Mead, MD, NEC Arenas, are we aware of some of its recent success stories, demonstrating that a focus on strategic investment and the customer can pay off handsomely?

The NEC Group – Vital Stats

The NEC Group, wholly owned by Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, delivered annual revenues of £109.8m and an operating profit of £24.1m during 2009/10. 

It includes 4 business units – Exhibition (The NEC Birmingham), Convention (The ICC Birmingham and Dublin Convention Centre management contract), Arenas – including The LG Arena, The NIA and The Ticket Factory and, in addition, their Catering arm including NEC Catering and contract catering business Amadeus.

NEC Box Office to National Ticket Agency

“Three years ago, when I joined The NEC Group, our box office business was simply the box office for The Group,” says Phil Mead, MD, NEC Arenas on meeting him at The NIA Birmingham.

“It was clear to me that we had the resources to target a wider market. Big ticketing agents were seen as a ‘necessary evil’ with their inflated prices and poor service.” 

Having researched the market and their capabilities Phil could see that there was a market opening for them. By taking the service ethos from their venues business into ticketing they were able to launch their own business, ‘The Ticket Factory’.

“We launched in November 2007,” says Phil, “when we were doing around 1m tickets a year.  Now we’re selling upwards of 3m a year – a near trebling of ticket sales in as many years, all through good service.”

“Improving customer service was a key strand of our strategy for success.  Our call centre is now more accessible with 24 hour support and training support has been enhanced across the board for our staff.”

The Birmingham-based company has enjoyed robust growth  in three years, evolving from The NEC Group’s venue box office to acquiring major national ticketing contracts, including UK box office for Haymarket Exhibitions and the Chelsea Flower Show, selling two million tickets a year.

“Last year we acquired a specialist business, Bookings Direct, and now we’re the national ticketing agent for 3A Entertainment’s artists with current tours including Kylie, Eric Clapton, Boyzone, Van Morrison, Roger Waters – the Wall, Paul Weller, WWE and X Factor.

“As a result we are being recognised more and more as a national ticket agency – most recently with being one of only four national agents to have an allocation of standing and seated tickets for Take That’s Progress Live 2011 Tour.

“With over 10 million hits to The Ticket Factory’s website from 41 different countries, social media platforms including – You Tube, Facebook, Twitter and Posterous – were key in keeping our customers in touch.

“Through re-tweeting positive experiences from customers and posting ‘behind the scenes’ vodcasts of our contact centre, we were able to reassure other customers that it was worth continuing to try.

“We were able to offer a heightened level of customer service through these online channels by sending direct messages to customers who had queries about the orders they have placed, without them needing to go back on the phone to our contact centre.

“The success of our approach is clear through the 50% increase to both our Twitter and Facebook accounts from the tour announcement to the on sale day.”

Phil explains the advantages of cross selling, “with a database of around 1m registered users this gives us good marketing reach.  In general when world music sales are down we have more than doubled our sales in the past three years.”

Phil’s focus on improving customer service to drive growth of the Arenas business wasn’t restricted to their ticket sales.

Improving Customer Experience at The NEC Arenas



LG Arena Main Entrance

 “Our infrastructure in Birmingham was getting a bit tired and the customer experience was suffering as a result.  So we needed to re-invent The NEC Arena.  The O2 development in London helped as it raised the bar for the Arena experience in the UK. 

“It was clear we could not go to the City and get £20-30m so we commissioned a feasibility study, led by Masons, around improving the customer experience and went out to market our title rights – leading to the now well recognised LG Arena name. 

“We gained some gap funding from AWM, given NEC Group’s economic impact on the region, estimated by KPMG to be worth c£2bn a year. 

"The Group generates around 4.1m visitors through 900 events annually maintaining 29,000 people through our impact on indirect employment. We also arranged a loan through the City which we were able to repay because of the sale of the title rights and the uplift in sales which we experienced following the investment we made.

“We wanted the customer experience to match the act our customers were coming to enjoy. We have taken concert hospitality to a whole new level, with our three amplify packages, providing a great sense of arrival at LG Arena, with visitors initially seeing our Living Wall and passing 13,000 shrubs that form part of this wall.



Living Wall at LG Arena

“Amplify Air is the coolest area with limited capacity where guests dine over a four-course meal before enjoying the show from the spectacular show-deck overlooking the Arena bowl.”

Phil and his team worked with a team of professionals, including Yorkshire architects, DLA, structural engineers, cost consultants and utilities to remodel the LG Arena.  The entrance and its adjacent storage area were converted into the ‘ForumLIVE’, which can accommodate up to 6000 people as they’re moving into the arena, providing them with quality entertainment in line with the main act. “I don’t know any other arena in Europe where this interaction happens,” adds Phil.

“DLA Architects had a really good interior design arm that helped the customer experience.  The comfortably-padded, bigger seats are just part of a range of major improvements at the venue.  There is also no more hopping up and down in the queue as there are double the number of toilets, as well as improved sight lines and we created more of a horse shoe bowl in the arena itself.

“We designed a permanent seating structure which created more room under the seats so there’s been a whole change in the customer experience.  When the LG re-opened last October, 96% of our customers thought the re-development was either ‘good’ or ‘very good’.”

NEC Arenas was one of the first arenas in the UK.  Now there are 16 arenas across the country with over 5000 capacity and Phil Mead is Chairman of the Arenas Association. 

“We have 13% of the market share for arenas with more than 5k capacity in the UK,” says Phil. “We invested £29m to do all the work. The timescale was impressive – we had our last show in April with ACDC.  We re-opened for the Horse of the Year Show in October 2009.

“We upgraded ForumLIVE separately which speeded up the process and meant they were closed for a very brief three month period in what turned out to be a very well managed project.”

Now Phil has turned his attention to The NIA. “It’s effectively an ageing asset and so we’ve started down the same process – only this time we’ve taken on a new internal member of staff to conduct our feasibility study.  Our aim is to work up headline design and costings by end January.  We’re also going out to market for a naming rights partner again, together with other opportunities for additional income.”



NIA Birmingham

 “By improving the customer experience and quality of service people are prepared to arrive earlier, enjoy a meal and other entertainment and of course this in turn increases spend per head. 

"Whilst we’d originally been focussed on designing the visitor experience around sport – in line with our current offer which will remain important – now we’re looking at large theatre experiences including comedy, shows like Walking with Dinosaurs, as well as providing pre-show experience.

“We also became very conscious that our design at present is very inward facing.  So we see an opportunity to open out The NIA onto its location surrounded by Canals and just a few paces away from The ICC development, Brindleyplace and Broad Street.”

International Venue Management

Phil’s customer service ethic has not been confined to ticket agency sales and arenas management.  “We’re following a third business strand,” says Phil, “international partnerships.”

Convention Centre Dublin

“We’ve just formed a partnership with Global Spectrum in Philadelphia.  They have expanded from two venues to 81 across the USA, Canada and Asia (including Singapore). 

"They have formed a partnership with The NEC Group to benefit from our experience and resource in venue management in Europe.

“In Dublin we have signed a major 20 year contract, a Public-Private partnership venture with Treasury Holdings to manage the inspirational new Euros 380m Dublin Convention Centre, designed by architect Kevin Roche.  The largest lift takes an articulated lorry up to the auditorium and the second lift takes a transit van.

“Sales have gone well there - it has been brought in on budget – a huge budget.  I believe this is one of the best of its kind, a state of the art venue for Europe which is selling Dublin as a leading destination for business and leisure hospitality.... this together with the City’s new amazing Grand Canal Square Theatre, designed by internationally celebrated architect, Daniel Libeskind.

“In spite of the economic challenges we’re optimistic that by building our strategy to focus on customer experience and excellent service we can continue to develop more opportunities like these.”

Emma Bridgewater - Making It Here!




Emma Bridgewater

Midlands Productive Heritage and Future


"So many exciting things can be made here in the Midlands and Stoke is the place to make quality, but there's been a mass blindness about making things in England," says Emma Bridgewater speaking in the hospitable surroundings of her Factory Shop in Hanley, Stoke on Trent. We're mulling over the demise of so many of our great brands born out of the West Midlands productive design heritage.


"It's not necessary, we can do it. It's sad to see so much of our manufacturing skills and heritage being lost. I like to work within a recognisable tradition. We have so much infrastructure - museums, art schools, all with the intention of making things, but somehow it doesn't seem to happen.

"What I've always found is when everyone's turning to the right, have a look to the left.


"Everyone told me you shouldn't go into manufacturing, so I thought, why not? I think I will.


"And you don't want to stay making in Stoke, everyone's going abroad. Why? I think I'll stay here. I don't think we should automatically do the obvious.


"I don't understand why there aren't more Emma Bridgewaters. We employ 180 people and we're recruiting at the moment. We've had two years of flabbergasting growth; in the year that just finished we grew in excess of 30% and that's on top of 30% the previous year. In 1985 we had a turnover of £30,000; by 2010 it was £11m.


"I think it's incredible that the Stoke on Trent pottery industry is rising again and I very much plan to be part of the future. I don't think we need to make everything abroad.


"I don't think our industrial base was anything like as sick as it was thought at time of last recession in the early '90s. There was a collective hysteria about making things cheaper. Make well and make them at the right price - this is what's really needed.





Emma Bridgewater in her Eastwood Pottery

 "There hasn't been enough independent thinking in management.


"Why is it that the ceramic firms in Stoke which have survived have been making for the catering or commodity markets and yet in spite of that have managed to succeed?Because they've been consistently well managed. Their strategies have focussed on producing distinctive designs to drive niche market positions. Most importantly they have been privately owned.


"CEOs of publicly owned businesses have been given impossible tasks to reach targets within the short time frames expected by the City. To achieve their bonuses they have had to do dreadful things.


"Bad habits have led to the closedown of many businesses that otherwise might have survived. Why, for example, did Wedgwood and Royal Doulton destroy each other with chronic indigestion? They both gobbled up all the competition, as was the fashion at the time. They lost focus on their customers and what they were really looking for.


"We're located here in the Eastwood Pottery which used to be the home of J&G Meakin, taken over by Wedgwood in 1970 and I very much regret the demise of other renowned potteries such as Masons.


"There is a way in which groups of people infect each other and the landscape here in Stoke was flawed by the 'buy and swallow' mania of the period.


"You're not just buying turnover when you buy a load of brands. How do you run 2 brands or companies effectively? It certainly doesn't interest me. I need to grow my own business - I might look to further diversify through licensed goods, but I have to keep in touch with my market, my customers and what they really want.


"Manufacturing is conservative by nature. There is no natural deviation from what has been produced in the past. But you have got to face the customers and be absolutely clear about what they want and how they want to live.


"All too often manufacturing is the tail that wags the dog. If you're not careful, and especially if you don't love the product you're making and are simply focussing on the numbers, you'll begin to lose touch with what your customer really wants. It's not enough just to have some slick marketing - this alone won't work and customers will notice. You have to be welded to the product, the customers will get that.


"At the root of it was the breakdown between buyers and makers. The makers had lost touch with the buyers and the buyers could find lovely china in much nicer surroundings than Stoke!


"Too often the ideas that people have in business about building something to 'get a result', or sell it on for a profit, are very reductive. What the economy needs is longer term thinking. Germany floats on a raft of family businesses. I haven't heard anyone talking much recently about family businesses, we still seem to be cow-towing to the City.


Emma's Background


"I read English at London University and my dad was publisher who had been building his business and took it public whilst I was at college. If I hadn't done this I had thought I might go into publishing - I wanted to be a literary agent.


"After university I worked for two girls doing knitwear, who were having a blast, with little pain who had huge success. I was in New York in the early '80's selling into high end fashion retailers. One of their designs, a red jersey, was worn by Diana Spencer on the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles. Overnight we went from selling 40 to 100 pieces a week.


"In the summer of 1984 I came up to Stoke and set up in business a year later.


"I had the 'kerching moment' when I was looking for a present for my mum's very nice kitchen in Oxford. I stood in a china shop and there was nothing there that I wanted to buy her. The nearest was some Portmeirion, but that was more like the sort of thing my great aunt had on her mantelpiece and just a little dated! In my head I could see what I wanted but there was nothing like it for sale.


"So when I arrived up here I wanted to hook up with someone who could make my ideas a reality. I found a mentor who had a workshop and he let me experiment with 3 or 4 of my own shapes and gave me the chance to learn how things were made. Within a few years I had acquired manufacturing facilities and before long we had expanded into our current factory on the Caldon canal which I run with my husband Matt.


Opportunities for young people today


"I think it's easy to get cast down. Of course there's a huge pressure on jobs at the moment.


"When there is no work you may want to make things that people want, to create your own job.


"You don't have to do what everyone else is doing, just find out what people want. There is no point waiting for something to come along. If you go along to a supermarket or warehouse there are nothing but opportunities to do these things more dynamically and efficiently.


"For design students leaving university I think a register of students and producers would be a very good idea - because there are people out there prepared to make things if you have ideas about what you would like to have made coupled with an understanding of market opportunities.


"Too often young designers don't seem to know what to do with their portfolios, but they do need to get these in front of potential partners and employers. It would be tremendous to provide them with the opportunity to interact with our authentic and much cherished brands in an uninhibited way.


"If I'm a maker with capacity I could enter my details onto a website and these could be searched by anyone who might want to make something - perhaps to meet seasonal demand or for the longer term.


"Too often people have too little interest in starting their own businesses and making things. I went to Magdalen School recently to give a talk. When I asked the students there if they had ever visited a factory, not one of them put up their hand.


"Art School should give you a good network to get together with a full range of contacts that'll give you the best chance to get your business ideas moving and there should be much more networking to support new business creation and survival.


"We also need to be conscious of how we are creating the environments that encourage young people stay on in our region after their studies. This is very much about the quality of life on offer.


"Usually university quarters are good places to be with nice sporting and recreational facilities, bookshops, art galleries and libraries - all the key elements of cultural life. To keep and attract the best talent we need to focus on continuing to develop places where people want to live and work."

Authentic Brands - Quality, Heritage and Sincerity deliver higher margins



Professor Mike Beverland
School of Management
University of Bath

 "If an employee comes to you with an idea for a new product with no obvious market; it's new to the firm, new to the world and may not be even be possible to make, what would your reaction be?" asked Professor Mike Beverland at the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design at Birmingham City University recently, speaking at the first of the 2011 series of Design Built-In Visiting Lectures.

Many, if not most businesses wouldn't touch these ideas with a barge pole. For marketers, working to the credo, 'the customer is always right', innovations tend to become incremental; radical innovation is risky and rare.

Nonetheless, risky ideas can re-shape how we see and experience the world. As the author of "Building Brand Authenticity : 7 Habits of Iconic Brands" Prof Beverland, who has recently moved to Bath University from Australia, showed how his research indicated that successful brands are 'ignited' through innovation with brand authenticity derived from it.

Brands that continue to innovate become part of history with higher margins and are loved by users. But innovators need support by their very nature - for going against tradition and breaking the rules.
Authenticity, he argued, is central to modern marketing practice.

Brand authenticity leads to - increased consumer perceptions of uniqueness (critical differentiation); increased purchase intentions and word-of-mouth support; attraction and retention of a greater proportion of higher value customers with these brands becoming embedded in wider cultural environment.

This can happen to such a great extent that people's loyalty and identification with these brands becomes embedded into their lifestyles to form part of their identities as individuals.

Companies can build brand authenticity through three key steps - by building product quality, reputation based on heritage or a historical narrative and sincerity - or developing the brand as part of a moral crusade.
In terms of product quality key features of these businesses include a love of production; design-led Innovation and a focus on developing meaningful connections between their products and their customers.

Heritage as a feature had often been overlooked in recent years, but was about building a reputation for innovation and leadership, coupled with becoming part of an identified culture or historical narrative.

Research by Stephen Brown, University of Ulster, showed that brand revivals had become a feature within consumer markets in recent years. These demonstrated familiar themes including the ability to evoke vivid memories of a collective experience, be relevant and in particular capable of being updated and generate collective longing for 'better times'.

Sincerity tends to be linked to making innovation a moral crusade. If companies made a sincere claim and didn't back it up they would quickly become compromised.

Professor Beverland highlighted James Dyson's quest to re-invigorate Britain's industrial past by making innovation a personal moral crusade. New Zealand cleaning products business, BEE - Beauty Engineered for Ever - was making cleaning 'fun' by using natural products and by doing this had become one of fastest growing companies out of New Zealand in past 5 years.

Many of these businesses have a real passion for making their products combined with a genuine service orientation which can be summed up in the phrase, "Build it and they will come". When Australian naturalist, Steve Irwin built his Croc Park, or the Steve Irwin National Park - he felt that if Aussies came face to face with wildlife in their country they would love it.

These were leaders who got their hands dirty. "How many CEOs know the central functions of their businesses today?" asked Professor Beverland. Or as Vivienne Westwood put it, "I have to get to the bottom of things. I have to try to understand something...the world we live in suffers terribly from a sort of trademark-ism where everybody thinks they can find these simple keys to things and then fit everything in. The truth is in the detail."

By getting stuck into the detail and really understanding the business and their markets these businesses were able to leap ahead of customer demand, bypassing some of the short-comings of taking a marketer-led approach.

As Prof Beverland put it, quoting from Stephen Brown, "Most mainstream marketers, maintain that the customer is always right, that the sales figures speak for themselves, that the public gets what the public wants. This may be so, but it's also true to say that the customer is always right wing - conservative, reactionary, stuck-in-the-mud - that sales figures don't always speak the truth and that the public shouldn't always get what the public wants."

Or as James Dyson has put it, "Sure we do some market research, but we don't listen to it slavishly. There are times when you have to bravely step forward. A true innovator takes risks."

For Professor Beverland companies could learn from 'market immersion', as opposed to market research. This could be developed by adopting stances such as employing customers within your business; living with the market; trusting your gut instinct, allowing employees to dabble or take time out to innovate, experimenting with new products and seeding your fan base early to take your customers on a journey.

As Chief Executive of Click Clack, John Heng put it,"to design a product for the US you have to be part of the US which is why I'm out of the office seven months of the year. I'm a US resident. I'm into it every day, I watch CBS News, CNN, ABC, just to become part of what happens."

Closer to home in the Midlands, Morgan Motor Company employs sports car enthusiasts taking on board their views when developing new products such as the Morgan Aeromax, which has been followed by the Morgan Eva.

Playmobil's founder, Hans Beck, was credited with "inspired Instinct" in developing their range. Much of it was based on his observations of children and how they play. Beck spent over 3 years sitting and playing with children. He noticed that they drew people with exaggerated facial features and whilst they had many toys they did not have small models of people to use with their toys.

Companies that take the market immersion route can end up actually spending less of R&D than their peer competitors, for example, Apple spends 5.9% of turnover on R&D compared with a 7.6% spend for the industry average.

"Marketing is, when you think about it, all too often based on a form of 'Hearsay Evidence', which would not be admitted in a Court of law- for good reason," said Prof Beverland. "Too often marketing teams outsource market research and you get something back from people who are not passionate about it. Anthropologists have lived with people for years to understand them, for good reason."

Ultimately brand authenticity was built through careful selection of your teams and by taking care of them; telling their stories to affirm your brands values; encouraging creativity by supporting risk-taking ideas and leading by example, - getting involved in innovation.

Design Students on a Roll with Pashley Cycles



Pashley Guv'nor
Retro 1930's pathway racing cycle



Students on the MA Product Design course at the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, Birmingham City University, were asked by Adrian Williams, Managing Director, Pashley Cycles  to work on new accessories concepts for the Pashley Guv’nor. 


Pashley Cycles is England's longest established bicycle manufacturer, having been founded in 1926 in Stratford-upon-Avon.  Its dedicated team design and hand-build a unique range of specialist bicycles, tricycles and work bikes.





London's Annual 'Tweed Run'
a chance to indulge in cycling and style at the same time



One of Pashley's most notable design classics, the Guv'nor, a retro 1930's pathway racing cycle, is favoured by many as 'the bike of choice' for the classic Tweed Run - an annual cycle through London and a chance for the lovers of bicycles and style to indulge both their passions at once!




MA Product Design Course Director, Graham Powell
pictured with Nicolette Lowe, takes part in the London Tweed Run 2010


Course Director, Graham Powell, split the students into six groups with each asked to consider specific products – either a water bottle, reflector, repair kit, mudguard, bell or a pump.

To ensure that students fully understood their chosen category they were asked to research them from an historical perspective and analyse them through observational drawing. 

Concept Drawings for Pashley Guv'nor Thermos Flask Accessory by Alexia Delas

 

Pashley Guv'nor with Retro-styled Thermos Flask concept
designed by Alexia Delas

Observational Drawings for the Pashley Guv'nor Bicycle Bell Accessory

 

Each student proposed four simple and affordable adaptations of an existing product, based upon aesthetics, interactions, cost and an alternative or new technology – with the intention that the new pieces might suit the Guv’nor better.

Exhibition of Pashley Guv'nor retro-styled accessories at BIAD Winter 2009

All the concept designs were brought together into an Exhibition which took place in Winter 2009.

The project formed part of the Product Evolution module, looking at the rise of retro within product design. Adrian Williams, Managing Director, Pashley, said he was "blown away" by the quality of the 22 student concepts shown to him. 

Adrian Williams, Managing Director, Pashley Cycles (right front)
viewing MA Product Design Guv'nor Accessories concepts with colleagues

Having viewed all the entries, Adrian was so impressed by the calibre, brand authenticity and attention to detail demonstrated in the students' work, and was so keen to work with one of Graham’s students he offered Jon Cumberpatch, who had completed the MA Product Design the previous year, a design contract with Pashley Cycles.

For further information about the project and/or the MA Product Design course at BIAD contact graham.powell@bcu.ac.uk  and on twitter http://www.twitter.com/MAProductDesign

Retro-styled bicycle pump design
by MA Product Design Student, Thomas Slack

 


Pashley Guv'nor with retro-styled concept reflector designed by Peter Whitehouse



David Nicolle, MA Product Design Student with Pashley Guv'nor
and student designed Retro-styled Accessories



Pashley Guv'nor with retro-styled water bottle designed by Chien Chien Chu



Pashley Cycles Guv'nor
with Concept Mudguards in Brass, designed by David Nicolle
Retro-styled Thermos Flask designed by Alexia Delas
Retro-styled Bicycle Pump designed by Thomas Slack
Retro-Styled Reflector designed by Peter Whitehouse

Model David Nicolle

To view video of Adrian Williams and his colleagues at Pashley discussing the design and hand-build processes employed at Pashley Cycles visit http://vimeo.com/16852609

For further information about Pashley Cycles visit www.pashley.co.uk

Students Cook Up Design Treat for AGA



AGA cast iron cookers

 In summer 2009 AGA Rangemaster plc, parent to AGA, the cast iron cooker company, set MA Product Design students at the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD) a challenge  - to design a concept AGA cast iron night storage radiator in one week, fulfilling the following objectives –

  1.Presenting a fresh, new product message to the current target market

  2. Creating a new revenue through expansion into cast iron night storage radiators

  3.   Increasing interest with customers already aware of the brand

  4.   Increasing awareness of the brand, with a focus on stimulating interest from new customer segments.

The design specifically needed to utilise night storage electricity, have the same design aesthetic and principles as AGA cookers and be an efficient and effective source of heat.

The winning design student was promised a work placement at AGA.

For students involved in this one week design challenge a steep learning curve followed. 



2009 MA Product Design Students visit
 AGA factory in Ketley, Telford



After receipt of the design brief students visited a combination of AGA retail outlets and factories – the AGA foundry in Coalbrookdale and the factory in Ketley, Telford and received a lecture on ferrous metals.

MA Product Design Students working up
AGA Heat Storage radiators for competition

The students were responsible for the production of their concept designs which were made in the BIAD workshops. 

On completion AGA directors attended an Exhibition of the completed concepts – five days after presenting the MA Product Design students with the competition brief.




Yu-Chein, Lui, AGA Heat Storage Radiator, Winning Concept
Design focussed on flexible use of heat storage radiator in bathrooms and elsewhere

 



Tassilo Neumann, AGA Heat Storage Radiator, Winning Concept
Design providing seating and storage for shoes and other items



AGA Directors were so impressed by the quality of the designs they selected two winners to take up placements  - Tassilo Neumann and Yu-Chein, Lui – winning designs pictured above.

William McGrath
AGA Rangemaster plc
Group Chief Executive

On viewing the work Group Chief Executive, AGA Rangemaster plc, William McGrath said,  “Our AGA design and marketing team set the MA Product Design students at Birmingham City University a brief to come up with ten new product proposals for potential AGA night storage heaters.

“The results, amazingly produced in only 3 days, really impressed us and will no doubt stimulate further debate and development in the near future.

“We are delighted to be able to offer the two ‘best’ students work placements at our company too, although we would like to congratulate all the students on the quality of their designs.”

Both winners, Tassilo Neumann and Yu-Chein, Lui, were tasked during their week-long placement at AGA to working together to propose a new cooker concept that might be produced at the Rangemaster factory from steel, whilst still retaining the AGA cooker's (cast iron) aesthetic and values. The concept produced (below) greatly impressed the AGA team.



Tassilo Neumann Placement Project Concept AGA Cooker



MA Product Design Student submissions for the AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept Design Competition -



Judith Genster AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept
Design providing drying for herbs, spices, foods and accessories





Brian Peers AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept
heater with drying rail





Szu-Jung Yu AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept
Design providing convenient internal drying space





Jon Cumberpatch AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept
Providing heat storage 'drawers' which can be withdrawn and moved around the home





Amy Blackwell AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept
heat storage cavities together with heated trays





Fan Shoating AGA Heat Storage Radiator Concept
the 'AGA Pet' - ready to move with its owners from room to room





Chih-Kai Huang AGA Heat Storage Radiator concept
Heated seat with drying or heating space for shoes and other items





Chan Solanki, AGA Heat Storage Radiator concept



For further information about the project and/or the MA Product Design course at BIAD contact graham.powell@bcu.ac.uk  and on twitter http://www.twitter.com/MAProductDesign

For Further information about AGA Rangemaster plc visit http://www.agarangemaster.com/