The situation
Viridor, a FTSE 250 waste management company with a 20-year heritage in landfill, needed to transition. They were pioneering recycling and energy-from-waste processes, but audiences and customers still saw them as just ‘waste management.’ They were stuck in the past when their future was so much richer.
They were struggling to articulate what the business stood for in-house. They had sophisticated systems, innovative processes, and genuine sustainability credentials—but couldn’t connect it all into messaging that resonated. They needed outside support, but they also needed to act quickly and test in the market before committing to a full rebrand. Most agencies would have proposed an intensive, expensive project upfront.
The Superhelpful moment
We didn’t oversell. We proposed a lean, fast approach: discovery workshops across multiple divisions, focused brand positioning work, and a ‘connecting statement’ – a framework that would instantly link their brand to actionable marketing.
£15k. One month.
We held workshops with staff from different areas of the business to discover what they believed was the overarching purpose of the company. A consistent theme emerged: pride in playing their part in recycling and recovering materials. From these conversations, we created a five-word connecting statement that captured everything: ‘Out of Sight Into Action’.
Out of sight: the customer simplicity – waste disappears
seamlessly.
Into action: Viridor’s sophisticated recycling and energy-from-waste
processes that give value to waste.
It summarised what clients wanted in the simplest terms and showcased Viridor’s sophisticated value proposition – the quality of their systems, processes, and beliefs that made clients choose them. Fast. Actionable. Powerful.
They could test it immediately. And it worked
The work and evolution
The messaging resonated so strongly that Viridor handed over the entire account—all external marketing, all internal communications, all corporate and City communications online and across every department.
What started as a £15k project became over £500k in the first year. Over four years, we worked with them to refine and position Viridor as one of the UK’s most innovative and passionate waste management companies.
We later developed ‘Transforming Waste’ as the spearhead of their rebranding and communications platform, redefining their position in the industry as one of the UK’s largest recyclers. We unified employees under an overarching brand purpose and created external campaigns that demonstrated Viridor’s commitment to making a difference. We developed partnership opportunities with local authorities and professional sports clubs –half-time crowd challenges at Sheffield Wednesday FC, the ‘Respect the Kicker’ animation at all Exeter Chiefs RUFC home games.
The clear alignment of goals and purpose was so powerful that Viridor won the Manchester United contract—they credited the messaging with making the difference.
The impact
£15k initial project delivered in one months
£500k+ in year one after handing over full account
£1.35m total relationship over four years
Complete account ownership: external marketing, internal comms, corporate/City communications across all departments
‘Out of Sight Into Action’ connecting statement unlocked immediate market testing
Manchester United contract won using the brand alignment and messaging
‘Transforming Waste’ brand platform repositioned company from landfill heritage to recycling pioneer
FTSE 250 perception shift: from waste management to sustainability innovation leader
What this reveals about how we work
They needed something they could act on quickly. Most agencies would have oversold a massive project. We delivered lean and fast — a five-word framework that worked immediately. That restraint built trust. The quick win proved our thinking. And trust led to everything: four years, every department, complete transformation.
Architects of transition: we helped Viridor evolve from being defined by their past (landfill) to owning their future (recycling and sustainability pioneers) – by delivering speed over scale first, then earning the scale through results.
That’s what superhelpful looks like to us.
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