Until last October on the board of Jacksons Fencing as its first marketing director (and a key driver in the company’s move towards tested and approved high security fencing and barrier systems), Ken Buckfield has now established his own consultancy business.
Loud Whisper opened its doors for the first time this morning, and is focussed on delivering integrated digital and traditional marketing strategies and communications for companies operating in the premium sector of markets (including those in perimeter security who are looking to move from commoditised products into value solutions).
Commenting on the launch of his new venture, Buckfield told SMT Online: “The market for physical perimeter protection is served by many players with little real differentiation in their propositions. Having a product tested and approved by the CPNI, the HOSDB, LPCB or Secured by Design simply levels the playing field, but it’s no guarantee of commercial success.”
Working with the key stakeholders
Buckfield continued: “The key in monetising R&D is to work closely with stakeholders such as CTSA’s, crime reduction officers, architectural liaison officers and, of course, architects and other specifiers to help them better understand how the solutions fit against defined threat assessments, their appropriateness, performance and how they will deliver against cost, integration, aesthetic and other considerations.”
He added: “All-too-often, an ‘approved’ status and a page on a website or brochure is the extent of the marketing effort deployed. Clearly, there’s much more that needs to be done to leverage a prominent position as a credible specialist supplier, and to capitalise on the R&D costs in the products.”
Prior to joining Jacksons Fencing, Buckfield ran a successful advertising agency whose clients included Mercedes-Benz, Bentley Motors, Tefal, BiC, Ercol and Ducati. He sold his agency in 2000 to an American group, then co-founded a strategic marketing consultancy which (among other notable achievements) developed and implemented a two-year global brand engineering programme that helped the multi-national Panalpina (a transport and logistics concern) towards an oversubscribed placement on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SWX).
Potential clients in security
Initially, the new Loud Whisper company will operate from offices in East Sussex, and is already in early discussions with potential clients in the security space.
In addition, Buckfield will also be appointed to a non-executive director’s role with a specialist digital and experiential agency. This is to be confirmed in the next two weeks.
To contact Loud Whisper, write to: The Office, Greenways, Five Chimneys Lane, Hadlow Down, East Sussex TN22 4DX (tel: 01825 830038, mobile: 07836 555500, e-mail: [email protected]
