Here's a selection of creative and strategic writing.
I've created brand books, brand manifestos and tone of voice documents which have helped steer creative work into a better place. Solid brand positioning and a good brand book gives every brand strong foundations to help them to move forwards with confidence.
A big re-brand for Vitus bikes. Vitus are the UK's biggest bike retailer's In-House bike brand.
Because they were sold cheaply and were only available from one website, they didn't have any kind of meaningful positioning in the market- so we made the brand stand for real people and real riders.
Vitus believe in what’s real.
Our bikes aren’t meant to be hung on walls, they’re meant to be ridden.
And we don’t believe anyone needs to dress in co-ordinated kit to ride them.
Because we’re not here to judge.
It’s okay by us if your chain isn’t always shiny and you sometimes put
your bike away dirty.
It’s the pleasure of riding that’s important. Not silly rules about how you
should ride. Or who you should ride with.
Life is complicated enough without adding extra stuff to worry about.
It’s why you’ll find us out in the fresh air, not in front of a mirror perfecting
our look for Instagram.
We’re too busy having a laugh with our friends to be judging someone
for riding last year’s bike.
But don’t get us wrong. We’re not here just to make up the numbers.
Far from it.
We can get serious if we feel like it. Real riders know how to
push themselves.
If you’re the sort who pins on a number in a wet car park on a Sunday
morning, we believe you deserve the best equipment without needing
a Pro Tour budget.
But we are sensible enough to know winning isn’t everything. Coming
first, last or somewhere in the middle isn’t going to change anything.
That’s not why we do it. We do it because of how alive it makes us feel.
We ride for ourselves. We ride Vitus.
A manifesto turned into a simple film for CADEX.
CADEX manufacture really expensive and beautifully engineered components. But they didn't have any internal strategy, positioning or planning. So we looked at what they made- and how they made it- and put together an idea and a film which gave them clear direction, a new endline and an overall strategic thought to help them express their brand more clearly.
With new branding and positioning comes a raft of specific bits of guidance; like how to use the right tone of voice. I've written a few of these documents over the past few years- adding examples to help users get to grips with them.
I helped rebrand and reposition Campagnolo- an amazing Italian component manufacturer with a long history in bike racing. We created a new campaign thought for them and wrote a brand book and manifesto to help drag them into the 21st century.
I wrote this speculatively for David Millar- an ex Tour Rider and now owner of CHPT3 clothing. They came to us unsure how describe themselves. It helped them discover what they actually stood for- so they could move forwards with their marketing and brand positioning.
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We are all many people.
At work we’re someone.
At home we’re someone else.
We're always trying to balance the two halves of our lives.
Work and home,
Money and time,
Wants and needs.
These two forces pull us in different directions. Forces so strong, they can make us forget there’s anything else.
But there is.
And it’s just as important.
Our third place. A third chapter to our story where we can feel completely free.
Where we can reset and stop thinking for a moment.
Become stronger, happier and lose ourselves in the moment.
And we can all find this place.
But It does not exist in the pages of a book or a website. It’s out there, in the wind and the sun. Where the rhythmic turn of the pedals and the sound of our breath are our only companions. Where we can ride away from the forces that pull us and the pressures of life.
CHPT3 was born out of the search for space and freedom. For time to think as we ride, for the solace of gravel, trail and road. For the possibility of adventure.
Come with us to CHPT3; A place to feel free.