Bonfire celebrates a double at the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards

Last night we’re pleased to announce we scooped two awards at the DBA’s Design Effectiveness Awards ceremony in London! Over 450 industry leaders gathered to collect hard-earned trophies that celebrate exceptional examples of creativity and design. The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise the return on investment that a coherent, well-thought-out and professionally executed design strategy can achieve.

We understand that in a crowded marketplace there is no room for one-hit-wonders and that great design translates into great business results. That is why we have been recognised for our work with Argos with two bronze awards.

Our awards were for:

  • Brand Identity category for our brand development work on Bush for Argos. Sales of Bush products were level year on year and we were tasked with helping the revitalise and reassert the position of this middle market, and once great, British brand. By developing a new image and implementing it consistently across all channels, the brand became more contemporary and desirable. As a result of the investment the brand grew by a huge 50% in the first 6 months of launch.
  • Point of Sale category for our brand development work with Chad Valley for Argos. Research identified that Chad Valley needed more definition and clarity as a brand. The work is ongoing and part of a longer term plan and included brand guidelines, games packaging, catalogue design and webshop. As a result of this evolution the sales of Chad Valley toys increased by 36% over the 18 month period.

Both of these great historic brands are still growing and we are proud to be working on such fantastic British icons with such a great client team at Argos.

We will add these awards to our satisfyingly full mantle piece and look forward to next year’s awards, for more proof in the pudding!

Superhero Friday!

If you happen to be passing our office, or indeed Ampthill next Friday, don’t be surprised if you bump into Superman, Wonder Woman, or even Danger Mouse…!

As part of our commitment to support Keech Hospice Care, we are all dressing up as superheroes to raise money on Friday 25th May. Not only are the Bonfire team dressing up, we’ve also been busy inviting other businesses and shops to join in the fun, including Limelight, our local fancy dress shop, which is offering a discount for costume hire.

If you fancy being a superhero for the day to help us raise money, and you’d like a collection box, please get in touch on 01525 841079. We’re all meeting at Ampthill Market Square at 10 am on Friday for a big superhero photo!

Bonfire upgraded to Platinum for Payroll Giving

Payroll_Giving_Platinum_12_RGBBonfire is amongst the first 29 companies in the country to receive a new level of quality mark for our contribution to charity. Having held the Gold award for the last 4 years in a row it is a great acknowledgement of the team’s support to making a difference.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Payroll Giving in the UK and the Institute of Fundraising has celebrated the occasion by launching a new ‘Platinum’ level of Quality Mark to the existing Payroll Giving Quality Mark Awards.

The Platinum Quality Mark Award recognises employers that continually strive to increase donations to UK charities through Payroll Giving.  Employers that are recognised through the Platinum Award have committed themselves to promoting Payroll Giving in the workplace and increasing charitable donations.

The Payroll Giving Quality Mark is funded by HM Government, organised in conjunction with the Institute of Fundraising and administered by the Payroll Giving Centre.

Bonfire strikes gold twice in a week

DSC_5196Hot on the heels of the Oracle Retail Week Awards, we managed to pick up our second award in a week for our work with Bush and Argos!

We collected a Gold Award at Communicate Magazine’s Transform Awards, which took place in London on 21st March. This time it was for rebranding the Argos owned electronics brand BUSH, in the ‘Best Rebrand from the Retail Sector’ category.

Our client, Andrew Turner, Brand Manager at Argos said: “The brand marketing team at Argos are delighted to have collected two awards in a week for two different brands. It is so refreshing as a brand owner to be able to work collaboratively with an agency on a brand strategy and execution that always has the consumer at its heart. It just shows what can be achieved in the difficult economic climate. If you do the right things for the consumer, commercial success follows.”

The team enjoyed some winners’ champagne… and we couldn’t be happier!