MARKETING  SOCIETY  AWARD  SUBMISSION  2014  –  MARKETING  LEADERSHIP    

BURTON’S  BISCUIT  COMPANY  &  TEXO  CONSULTING    

‘Helping  Marketing  to  Make  Everyday  More  of  a  Treat’        EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY      This  paper  tells  the  story  of  a  revolution  in  Marketing  at  Burton’s  Biscuit  Company.  Led  by  Chief  Marketing  Officer  Stuart  Wilson  and  his  Leadership  Team,  the  scale  of  the  task  was  enormous.  The  Marketing  Department  needed  to  shift  from  a  function  ‘supporting’  the  business    to  ‘leading’  the  business  growth  agenda  to  drive  sustainable  profit  growth  on  its  power  brands,  develop  a  healthy  pipeline  of  new  innovation  and  manage  a  significantly  up-­‐weighted  investment  in  brand  marketing.      A  new  Marketing  Manifesto  was  created  using  the  analogy  of  ‘lighting  beacons  to  show  the  way’  and  ‘setting  fires  to  drive  change’  to  achieve  the  company  purpose  of  ‘Making  Everyday  More  of  a  Treat’  for  consumers,  shoppers  and  employees.        The  Burton’s  Marketing  Academy  was  launched  in  2011  to  support  Marketers  in  developing  the  capabilities  needed  to  make  this  vision  a  success.  A  bespoke  Marketing  capability  framework  was  developed,  workshops  were  created,  best  practice  case  studies  from  within  and  outside  of  the  business  were  written  and  hothouse  coaching  was  embedded  to  ensure  all  new  tools,  processes  and  templates  were  applied  to  all  key  marketing  activities.  It  was  a  2  year  programme  of  change  for  Marketing  that  reached  all  parts  of  the  business  and  transformed  the  reputation  of  Marketing  team  and  the  business  as  a  whole.    The  results  speak  for  themselves.  Cadbury,  Maryland,  Jammie  Dodgers  and  Wagon  Wheels  have  all  grown  market  share,  adding  value  into  the  market  through  price  and  increasing  brand  consideration  scores.  Innovation  has  step  changed  in  the  business  and  the  Marketing  team  has  stamped  its  authority  and  its  brands  back  into  the  heart  of  the  company  and  consumers.  What’s  more  Burton’s  Biscuits  Co.  was  bought  in  November  2013  by  Ontario  Teachers’  Pension  Plan,  a  leading  investor  and  Canadian  pension  fund,  for  around  £350  million,  which  represents  an  increase  of  shareholder  value  of  around  £200  million  since  2009.                    

THE  LEADERSHIP  INGREDIENTS  CHALLENGE      Burton’s  Biscuit  Company  is  the  leading  premium  biscuit  manufacturer  in  the  UK  with  a  portfolio  of  brands,  much  loved  by  the  Great  British  Public,  including  Cadbury  Biscuits,  Maryland  Cookies,  Jammie  Dodgers  and  Wagon  Wheels  .      

       Burton’s  has  seen  many  different  corporate  and  financial  owners  over  the  past  79  years,  however,  it  was  a  change  of  ownership  in  2009  that  saw  a  significant  step  change  in  the  business.    The  ‘Old’  Burton’s’  (named  Burton’s  Foods)  delivered  little  innovation  with  inconsistent  and  low  levels  of  brand  spend  and  a  lack  of  investment  in  organisational  capabilities.    However,  with  a  new  owner  in  place,  a  largely  new  leadership  team  appointed  and  a  company  rebrand  to  Burton’s  Biscuit  Company,  a  turnaround  plan  was  identified  which  focused  on  power  brand  growth,  a  pipeline  of  new  innovation  and  a  significant  investment  in  brand  marketing.    To  deliver  this  would  require  the  marketing  function  to  re-­‐define  and  re-­‐establish  itself  within  the  business  coupled  with  a  programme  to  recruit,  retain  and  equip  its  employees  to  create  and  deliver  this  new  business  strategy.    In  2010  Stuart  Wilson  was  appointed  as  the  new  Chief  Marketing  Officer  and  he  quickly  established  a  ‘Marketing  Leadership  Team’  -­‐    a  team  of  individuals  who  had  built  their  marketing  careers  in  well  known  FMCG  businesses  (Mars,  Kraft,  Kelloggs,  Inbev,  Nestle,  Kerry  Foods)  but  were  all  looking  for  a  new  challenge.        The  first  objective  was  to  set  out  the  purpose  of  the  Marketing  department  in  this  ‘new’  business,  no  longer  was  this  a  Marketing  department  ‘supporting’  the  business  but  it  must  now  lead  the  business  growth  agenda  to  drive  sustainable  profit  growth  on  its  power  brands  and  the  analogy  of  ‘lighting  beacons  to  show  the  way’  and  ‘setting  fires  to  drive  change’  became  the  Marketing  Manifesto.    The  key  strategies  were  focused  on:-­‐      

Seeking  insights  that  deliver  outstanding  innovation  to  market      Exciting  consumers  and  shoppers  to  choose  our  brands  again  and  again  through  brilliant  innovation,  distinctive  communication,  superior  product  quality,  pitch  perfect  packaging,  smarter  promotions  and  revenue  management      Constantly  beating  the  competition  focusing  on  driving  value  market  share  growth,  ensuring  share  of  innovation  twice  our  market  share  and  securing  sources  of  sustainable  competitive  advantage      Executing  with  excellence  to  build  legacies  that  last  a  lifetime  

     

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But  to  deliver  all  of  the  above  the  Marketing  team  needed  to  deliver    

 Leadership  through  superior  collaborative  working  and  excellent  project  delivery      Superior  commercial  understanding  of  the  competitive  environment  and  business      Accountability  for  the  resources  they  manage  and  the  investments  they  make      Development  of  a  highly  motivated  team  of  talented  individuals        Enjoyment  and  pride  in  their  achievements,  learning  from  mistakes  and  celebrating  successes  

   MEASURING  OUT  THE  RIGHT  INGREDIENTS  FOR  THE  CAPABILLITY  PROGRAMME    They  knew  from  the  very  start  of  the  Marketing  Capability  programme  that  the  approach  taken  to  build  capability  at  Burton’s  had  to  mirror  the  culture  of  the  business  and  help  marketers  to  deliver  the  new  Marketing  Manifesto.  They  had  to  be  pragmatic  and  nimble,  and  tailor  everything  to  the  enormously  fast  paced  nature  of  the  work  that  Burton’s  marketers  do  everyday.    So  they  started  by  defining  a  capability  framework  for  Marketing  at  Burton’s  based  on  Stuart  and  the  Leadership  Team’s  Marketing  Manifesto.  It  was  practical,  easy  to  use  and  showed  the  entire  team  what  was  expected  of  them  across  all  key  competencies  in  order  for  them  to  deliver  in  their  role  and  progress  in  the  future.                                          

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Putting  Insights  at  the  heart  of  everything  we  do

Building  Brands  that  consumers  want

Creating  Killer  Communication  Plans

Delivering  Outstanding  Innovation

Bringing  Our  Brands  to  Life

Driving  the  right  Commercial  Decisions  for  your  brand

The  Marketing  Capability  Framework                                            The  Leadership  Team  then  rated  the  current  capabilities  of  the  Marketing  function  to  enable  focus  on  the  areas  of  development  where  they  could  create  the  biggest  impact  in  the  business,  as  quickly  as  possible.  The  capability  framework  also  set  out  very  clearly  the  key  content  areas  for  the  Burton’s  Marketing  Academy  workshops.  At  this  point  it  was  also  agreed  that  the  Marketing  Academy  would  consist  of  both  functional  and  leadership  capability  building  as  leading  the  business  in  Marketing  thinking  was  seen  as  such  a  critical  competency  to  delivering  the  new  Marketing  Manifesto.    Burton’s  Marketing  Academy  Workshop  Programme        

                                         

MIXING  UP  ALL  THE  RIGHT  INGREDIENTS  TOGETHER    The  team  continued  with  the  theme  of  pragmatism  into  the  development  of  the  Academy  workshops.  Each  workshop  was  owned  by  a  member  of  the  Leadership  team  and  they  constantly  built  on  the  content  of  the  previous  module  to  reinforce  the  key  Marketing  tools  and  processes  that  needed  to  be  embedded.  The  workshops  were  highly  interactive  2-­‐day  off  site  sessions  focusing  on  Big  Win  skillsets  to  support  marketers  in  their  development  in  line  with  the  marketing  capability  framework.    Where  templates,  tools  or  processes  needed  to  be  optimized  or  re-­‐invented  the  Burton’s  team  and  Texo  Consulting  made  it  happen  to  ensure  that  what  they  were  working  on  in  the  workshop  was  the  most  relevant,  up  to  date  and  most  importantly  bespoke  to  Burton’s.    All  exercises  that  delegates  undertook  in  the  workshops  were  developed  around  real  Burton’s  Marketing  issues.    The  mantra  was  simple  –  they  wanted  delegates  to  walk  out  of  the  workshops  having  developed  something  that  they  needed  to  do  anyway  but  having  learnt  something  on  the  way  and  done  it  better  than  they  could  have  done  back  in  the  office.  Whether  it  was  a  brand  plan,  a  killer  insight,  a  Brand  Positioning  or  an  innovation  idea.    “This  workshop  has  been  a  gift  –  I  could  never  have  got  to  this  Brand  Positioning  on  my  own  back  in  the  office”  

          Cadbury  Biscuits    Marketing  Manager    Consistent  feedback  like  this  summed  up  that  the  approach  was  working.      Workshops  were  scheduled  around  the  business  planning  cycle  to  ensure  timely  inputs  to  Marketing  thinking.  Where  relevant,  invites  were  extended  to  other  functions  to  ensure  joined  up  thinking  and  shared  visions.  Agency  partners  inputted  best  practice  and  case  studies  and  without  fail  each  member  of  the  Marketing  Leadership  Team  including  the  Chief  Marketing  Officer  attended  every  workshop  to  coach,  facilitate  and  inspire  the  very  best  learning  for  the  team.      Feedback  from  participants  was  excellent  and  workshops  were  consistently  scored  4.8  out  of  5,  with  particularly  high  scores  around  ‘I  am  able  to  immediately  apply  this  to  my  role'      EMBEDDING  THE  PROGRAMME  THROUGH  ‘HOTHOUSES’    In  addition  to  the  workshops  for  the  total  team  ‘Hothouses’  were  developed  to  provide  every  brand  team  with  a  bespoke  follow  up  half  day  facilitated  session  designed  to  embed  the  tools  and  processes  from  the  Academy  and  apply  them  to  a  current  brand  opportunity  or  issue.    Again,  Burton’s  constantly  strived  to  keep  the  programme  pragmatic  and  relevant,  Marketers  had  to  be  working  on  something  that  they  already  needed  to  deliver  to  the  business,  but  how  could  they  make  that  project  even  better  and  help  all  of  Marketing  to  approach  it  in  a  consistent  way.  Hothousing  specific  tools  in  groups  of  no  more  than  6  produced  excellent  results:    “Working  on  this  project  with  a  coach  alongside  me  to  help  me  apply  the  Tools  we  learnt  in  the  workshop  has  been  really  helpful”               Jammie  Dodgers  Brand  Manager  

 

WHAT  ARE  THE  RESULTS?    Burton’s  Biscuit  Company’s  greatest  asset  is  its  people  –  with  great  people  come  great  ideas  /  strategies  /  plans  and  ultimately  business  performance.    The  Marketing  team  at  Burton’s,  empowered  to  ‘set  fires  to  drive  change’  and  equipped  through  the  Marketing  Academy  have  done  precisely  that.        They  have  driven  to  seek  greater  insights,  to  unlock  outstanding  innovation  that  consumers  genuinely  want,  they  have  built  killer  communication  strategies  and  brought  brands  to  life  through  outstanding  project  delivery  and  all  of  this  is  reflected  in  the  Power  Brands  Performance:-­‐    Strong  ‘Power  Brand’  Growth  in  market  share  and  improved  brand  consideration    

     Step  Change  in  Innovations  since  2010          

Brand  consideration Market  share

Endorsed further by -  Grocer Gold NPD of the Year 2011; Tesco NPD of the Year 2011; Asian Trader NPD of the Year 2011; Marketing Society Awards for Excellence 2011; 2013 IGD Industry Award for Consumer and Shopper Excellence; 2013 Grocer award for ‘Top Launch of the Year’ in the biscuits category and the ‘Top Campaign’ for Maryland Gooeys TV campaign. From an advertising perspective:-              Further,  Burton’s  Biscuit  Company  completes  an  annual  engagement  survey  across  the  whole  business  encompassing  over  30  engagement  metrics.  Over  the  past  3  years  the  overall  marketing  engagement  score  has  grown,  however  it  is  the  metric  ‘I  feel  well  trained  to  do  my  job’  that  has  significantly  increased  and  is  clearly  being  driven  by  the  Marketing  Academy  programme.        

The  programme  has  further  enabled  a  number  of  marketers  to  earn  well  deserved  internal  promotions  over  the  past  3  years  including  3  Assistant  Brand  Managers  to  Brand  Managers;  2  Brand  Managers  to  Senior  Brand  Managers  and  1  Marketing  Manager  to  Senior  Marketing  Manager.      WHAT’S  STILL  TO  COME  FOR  PROGRAMME    The  nature  of  a  private  equity  business  is  that  it  is  constantly  evolving,  both  from  a  commercial  and  people  perspective.  The  Burton’s  Marketing  Academy  programme  will  always  adapt  to  reflect  this.  Marketing  Managers  are  being  empowered  to  own  elements  of  the  Marketing  Academy  modules  to,  ‘new  starters’  attend  concentrated  versions  of  Academy  sessions  as  soon  as  they  join  the  business  to  ensure  they  gain  the  most  from  the  Burton’s  Way  of  Marketing,  and  Hothouses  are  being  upweighted  to  ensure  continual  embedding  and  learning  for  everyone  in  the  team.    

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2011   2012   2013  

Total  Engagement  

Well  Trained  to  do  my  Job'  

KEY  ‘TREATS’  TO  LEARN  FROM    

 Think  hard  about  the  culture  of  the  business  you  are  in  and  match  the  capability  development  approach  to  your  culture  for  the  best  chance  of  success.    Pragmatic  and  Flexible  is  achievable  in  developing  capability  programmes  –  focus  on  the  Quick  Big  Wins  and  the  rest  will  follow    Marketing  Development  Programmes  don’t  have  to  be  just  for  global  business’  and  for  an  individual’s  long-­‐term  career  development    -­‐  they  can  be  focused  on  making  the  here  and  now  even  better    Always  be  working  on  something  relevant  in  the  workshops  to  enhance  the  delivery  of  existing  projects    

   Mix  all  this  together  and  it  Makes  Everyday  More  of  a  Treat  for  Burton’s  Biscuits.                                                                    Word  Count:    1942