Aricot Vert caters skills to Compass branding jobs

Aricot Vert has been appointed to review all of Compass Group UK’s leisure catering brands for a fee of over £100 000.

The consultancy will also create the brand strategy, name and identity for Compass Group UK’s existing hospitality division, which sells hospitality packages for major cultural and sporting events. Work will begin in the new year.

The consultancy will begin by rebranding Letheby & Christopher, the sports and stadia catering business, with work expected to be completed by January 2002. The project will include a new brand identity, which will be applied across all communications.

In the meantime, the consultancy will carry out a review of research into the Leith’s, Payne & Gunter and Circadia brands by Compass Group before deciding each division’s brand direction.

‘How far we will go with each brand we don’t know. We have to see whether it is a major rebrand or a tweak. We will define the position of each brand and take a stance on how to move each brand forward,’ says Aricot Vert head of client services Jan Oliver.

‘Looking at Letheby & Christopher is the main focus for the time being. Work will start imminently. We do know we need to look at the brand logo (pictured), but we don’t know yet whether there should be a culture change for the brand,’ she adds.

While the fee commanded by the consultancy is over £100 000, it is still too early to say what the work will eventually be worth, says Oliver. ‘We are not sure how far the work for Compass Group is going to extend. It could include refits in stadiums for example,’ she says.

It is unclear whether Aricot Vert will become brand guardian for the four brands. ‘Details need to be ironed out,’ says Oliver.

The consultancy initially presented written proposals, but won the work via a six-way unpaid creative pitch.