It would be hard to name a more successful smoothie brand in the UK than innocent. Launched back in 1999 as a homespun enterprise, the business now operates across 14 countries with over 250 employees and turnover of more than £200 million.
So it was with great interest that I went along to the Vision conference in Bristol to hear Dan Germain, Innocent's head of creative, speak about 'building brands with words'. Telling stories is obviously something Dan feels very strongly about and he entertained the audience with a very humorous and self- effacing take on the way to really build a brand and face for a company in today's multi-media landscape.
After a quick check of who in the audience had ever tried an innocent smoothie (everyone) he proceeded to show us how the brand had evolved. "The best brands are the ones which tell the best stories," he explained. "Confidence is key: at innocent we are natural enthusiasts and we are always trying things, without really knowing whether they will work or not." Such things as putting little woolly bobble hats on winter smoothie bottles, holding the free fruit stock festival which ended up attracting a crowd of 160,000 in its heyday, printing jokes on the bottom of bottles, and so on.
"It's these little things which make people feel some loyalty and want to see what you will do next," Dan added. "I don't like businesses which build an image of a certain lifestyle, which customers are expected to buy into. Consumers are smart enough to know that image is artifice."
It certainly seems to have worked. Innocent was named 'Best social media company' in the UK in 2012, and aims to entertain and amuse its followers on Twitter and Facebook, rather than preach about the loveliness of the product itself. In return fans send in a variety of 'gifts' to their London headquarters, Fruit Towers, including home-made tapestries, hot water bottle covers and even photos of their pets living in recycled innocent packaging.
Dan's talk went down a storm with the large audience, mainly creatives and marketeers from across the UK. The Vision conference, which runs until 15 November, also includes talks from Huffington Post UK editor in chief Carla Buzasi and Debbie Eddy, head of marketing at Britvic.
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