Lew Bentley
CONSULTANT / CD . Strategist
Ever since my varsity days I have had a burning curiosity for how people relate to organisations and the products or services they have to offer. This is where human nature plays out against business ambitions: and where the people always have the last word. This is a space full of quirky stories, hearts tilting with heads and insights that explain the way we are.
Like how guys drink beer with their eyes
Or why people feel uncomfortable buying from a tyre store that is too clean
Or why energy companies are caught in a double-negative with value for money
Or why some parents don’t encourage their kids with school
Or how free car mats can sell cars
Or why women don’t want women’s bank accounts
And for my career, I have learned how to help clients understand, manage and profit from such insights into consumer behaviour.
I bring to The Pond over 20 years’ experience working as a Strategic Planner in advertising agencies (Clemenger BBDO, M&C Saatchi, The Campaign Palace), as a Business Development Consultant (Headlight, Mandala Creative Business), and as a marketing researcher (CM Research).
Over the years I have had the opportunity to help some truly great brands be better to buy for customers, or to be more satisfying to work for as employees or to be more mutually valuable as business partners. This experience includes financial services companies like the National Bank, tourism marketers like Positively Wellington Tourism and Tourism New Zealand and Land Rover in the auto market.
I have also been able to develop my skills with high profile public behaviour change campaigns such as road safety and alcohol moderation as well as cultural development programmes within organisations such as ANZ National Bank, Renaissance Corp and the Department of Conservation.
If I had to create a USP around ‘Brand Lew Bentley’ I’d say it is my blend of business and communicatons strategic skills.
Most of my work involves business problem solving.
How do we turn our sales disaster round? How can we get young guys to not drink and drive? How can we make our customers happier? Why are our competitors doing so well and how can we be more competitive? How can we successfully launch our new product? How can we make our brand more attractive? How can we go to the next level of performance? That sort of thing.
To do this work you need a good mix of analytical discipline, plenty of insight to see the wood for the trees and the creative thinking ability to imagine what a great answer looks like. Experience also helps a lot; not to have the answers already up your sleeve, but to know what traps to avoid and what you need to do to turn good ideas (the easy bit) into realised value (the hard bit).
My business consulting work with clients has helped them become more competitive in a variety of ways depending upon their needs: by better understanding the market they are targeting; or developing a more compelling product and brand offers; or practical ways to better service their clients; or by creating a clear strategic path forward when there is confusion or adverse market conditions; or by working with their teams to develop a stronger focus internally with how they work.
Five things I hope my colleagues and clients would say about me are:
1. Inspiring – ability to raise the bar
2. Incisive – a sharp mind that quickly gets to the heart of the matter
3. Big bandwidth – thinks things through thoroughly from the big picture down to the detail
4. Safe hands – even with the toughest of briefs
5. Team player – who helps bring the best out in others
If you would like to check for yourself then it is easy to put you in touch with others who know me and my work.
Central Region District Health Boards
Last year I worked on a really challenging workforce development project with the Central Region DHBs. The kaupapa was how to attract more Māori to work in the health sector. This involved extensive consultation across the region and from a wide range of different angles. The project integrated both a Māori world view and a mainstream view; and it included layers of employment, education, mainstream and Māori health concepts and community economic development within the analysis. The project output was a comprehensive workforce development strategy including around 30 new innovations for both internal and external initiatives for each of the DHBs to put into place.
The National Bank
Working with the senior management team at ANZ National, I carried out a brand equity analysis and created a decision-making framework for them to appraise The National Bank brand and how it can be evolved from a visual identity and communication perspective.
Positively Wellington Tourism
Positively Wellington Tourism is the most successful domestic tourism marketer in New Zealand. To help extend their business further I carried out an extensive research programme evaluating the Eastern Australian market. This included the blueprint for a marketing and communication campaign to put Wellington on Australian’s holiday radar.
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand needed to strengthen its brand reputation in order to bolster its case for continued funding. My work involved developing a solid brand strategy that redefined the organisation as an icon of New Zealand culture. This set a platform for the complete visual re-design of Radio New Zealand’s brand portfolio and a programme of both internal and external communication.