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!

Food with a view

Bentalls Department StoreSome of the team are getting all ‘foody’ as we start to prepare for launch of the new branding and customer journey for the Centreview Restaurant on the third floor of Bentalls Department Store in Kingston-upon-Thames.

Part of the Fenwick group of stores, Bentalls is in the heart of The Bentall Centre. It’s a premium store and we have been working to bring the branding and positioning in line with the rest of the department store’s customer experience.

Phase one of the roll-out is underway – watch this space for photos of the complete install…!

Who says fire and water cant mix?

logo1We’re pleased to announce that Waterhouse Design has joined us at Bonfire! Waterhouse, a web and graphic design company from Toddington has become part of the team, combining over 35 years of trading history for the benefit of all of our clients.

Established in 1987 by Mark Burley and Norma Congreve, Waterhouse has boasted many blue chip and public sector clients, including Whitbread, InBev, Mölnlycke, Willmott Dixon Group, Raven Housing and Central Bedfordshire Council.  By bringing together the two companies, services will be bolstered in the key areas of brand evolution, research, campaign planning, digital marketing, copywriting and creative design.

Adding Waterhouse supports both of our growth strategies and adds to our already expanding team. Waterhouse brings a wealth of experience, especially in the public sector, and a long established reputation. We are committed to ensuring Waterhouse’s loyal customer base will continue to receive a high level of personalised service through our dedicated client services team.

Another bright spark joins Bonfire!

We’re pleased to announce the appointment of Julia Thomas as a senior account manager. Julia joins us following four years at Cygnus Associates in Northants and nine years at Bedfordshire agency, Church.

Julia brings with her a wealth of account management experience, especially in the FMCG space, working with leading brands including MöVENPICK ice cream and 15 years working with Cereal Partners UK.

A graphic design graduate from the University of Northumberland, Julia also brings an understanding of how the Bonfire studio works.

In her spare time, Julia can be found running the streets around her home in preparation for the Sandy 10 Mile Race. We’ll be supporting her!