HUMANISING BRANDS
Michelle Blake & Associates
Purpose | Strategy | Insight
We help brands do good, and do better.
We uncover the human truths — the heart-openers — and build from there to unlock purpose, sharpen strategy, drive meaningful change, and create innovation that matters. MB&a is a purpose-led consultancy of senior practitioners, working with ambitious, values-led organisations including Affinity Water, The Body Shop, the V&A and Yeo Valley Organic.
A beautifully-blended collective of senior practitioners.
Fusing consultancy, client-side and research expertise
Bespoke to your needs
Imaginative, thoughtful, pacey approach
Starting people first, with empathy & imagination
Passionately purpose-driven, values-led
We're joyful collaborators, always curious about the world
A PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
Like GOOD PEOPLE. One day we realised that the brands and organisations we engage with are those that, yes, do a job (and of course need to do it well!), but where we have a choice - and mostly we do - we actively choose brands and organisations whose values align with our own.
And we started to think about what this meant… especially as more and more of us seem to be thinking this way. And we realised that what it’s about is wanting organisations and brands to behave like the good people we know and value. We want them to have a point of view on the world, to be a net contributor, and we want to rely on the fact that they’re trying to do the right thing - even if they don’t always get it right. (Who among us does?)
MB&a is about helping make that human connection, leading from purpose, and deploying deep human understanding to make a genuine, meaningful difference to people, to the world.
INSPIRING PARTNERSHIPS
MB&a understood our brand immediately and excelled at stakeholder management throughout the project. They developed a fantastic long-term innovation strategy, driven on consumer, brand and commercial insight, going above and beyond the brief.
Rebecca Cottee, Yeo Valley Organic
A real joy working with MB&a. Loved our fantastic, perfectly-assembled team, who’ve helped us get to a ground-breaking behaviour change strategy that we’re confident will have a real impact on our water saving targets! Would hugely recommend!
Melissa Painter, Affinity Water
I’ve worked with Michelle over a number of projects now, and it’s always a pleasure. But it’s the real thought partnership she offers that I particularly value. Really good at listening and getting to grips with the issues, and flexible in her thinking, Michelle can see through the clutter to deliver that little bit of magic that’s needed to get to a really good outcome.
Michelle's also very skilled at managing multiple points of view sensitively, which is invaluable on challenging projects with lots of stakeholders!
Sarah McDonald, Unilever
Michelle co-led the team that supported our relaunch of the Murad brand post the Unilever acquisition, helping us knit together a brand story that encompassed the richness of our history and product truths, and got the buy in of the founder, Dr. Murad.
Have loved Michelle’s ongoing commitment - even post project delivery, Michelle’s continued to be a great support!
Charlotte Settle, Murad
Michelle provided strong thought leadership to our strategic brand development project, driving for results at high speed, but never neglecting precision, pushing her team to run the extra mile for Mars, which was valued internally and resulted in further engagements.
It's always a pleasure to work with Michelle as she partners up with you in real 24/7 team work and coaches the collective brains to spark to their very best!
Robert Haller, Mars Petcare Europe
Michelle led a team of consultants in scanning the market and developing a portfolio of new business venture and growth opportunities for us. She rapidly understood our specific business situation and focused on the right opportunities for us, bringing innovative fresh thinking and challenging our preconceptions.
Michelle worked very effectively with my team to ensure ownership and buy-in to the results.
Matt Friend, Carbon Trust
Michelle looked for us at how companies and charities around the world were using community based digital / financial inclusion schemes and innovations as a key component of their brands.
As well as being incredibly personable, Michelle produced a very thorough, well organised report, helping us explore opportunities we could progress, and evaluating ease of implementation. I really valued Michelle's contribution!
Richard Mason, Lloyds Banking Group
HOW WE CAN HELP
Experienced. Imaginative. Future-forward.
PURPOSE
Why do you exist, and who are you for. How are you meaningful in people's lives... especially when the world is this busy and fragmented. What's the story you're creating
STRATEGY
How will you deliver... Is your positioning right, your portfolio optimal. Is your innovation going to get you where you want to go, are there new opportunities you could jump on
CHANGE
How to open hearts and minds, and override constraints & limitations. What are the truths & values that can create real engagement, allow for transformation that sticks.
INNOVATION
What are the right innovation platforms, are the pipelines there. What are the propositions that truly deliver against your purpose and strategy, and which sing to your audience.
WHO'S BEHIND MB&a
My name is Michelle Blake
Previously Founding Partner at Core Purpose (now Purpose Done Right), Strategy Director at Big Green Door, and Planning Partner at Ogilvy & Mather London… I’ve uncovered purpose, developed strategic options, invented new brands and reimagined the future.
With more than 25+ years of management and brand consultancy plus industry experience, I founded MB&a to do more of the work I love doing with people I love doing it with!
With ‘Client-side’ and management consultancy experience, and with an MBA from London Business School, I have worked across industries, B2B/B2C, start-ups to blue-chips, and geographies, from London to continental Europe to the Nordics, from Shanghai to the USA. Bringing new and broad perspectives - and a cheerfully broad smattering of languages I've picked up along the way.
Today, I live between London, Malta and a small fishing village in southern Sweden with my husband, while my daughter is now off on her own adventures in sustainability with Pepper, the cat.
I'd love to chat and introduce my wonderful collaborators, so do...
