Say Hello to Mr Clarke
A labour of love
Barker and Stonehouse is a much-loved longstanding client of Cool Blue. We have worked on every phase and element of the company’s brand development, taking it from being a regionally known retailer, to one that is nationally renowned in its sector.
Since working with Cool Blue, Barker and Stonehouse has been able to reach beyond its northern heartland, to become a national name with a distinctive product portfolio and brand personality.
As part of Cool Blue’s ongoing creative partnership, Barker and Stonehouse tasked us to launch its new Hove store, an area in which its brand was completely unknown.
Spreading the good news
We took an omnichannel approach that centred around well-known TV presenter and architect, George Clarke, to open the store. George is from Barker and Stonehouse’s north eastern HQ heartland, as well as being closely associated with stylish homes and interiors.
We developed and implemented a comprehensive three-month strategy, which included everything from social media influencers, influencing the media, on-street promo teams, radio coverage and even branded pop-up ice cream vans.
Designed to attract maximum footfall, the event was a smash with over 2,000 visitors to the store on the opening weekend.



Results
2,000+ visitors
during launch weekend
1,500
Facebook Live views with George Clarke
300,000
radio listeners reached
265,000
social media reach
"Cool Blue has elevated the perception of our brand amongst media and consumers. They’ve put a lot of effort into researching the media and carefully matching our messages and materials to specific journalists and titles. They’ve impressed us with the front-end thought they put in and then the hard graft to quickly get great results. We’re delighted with what they’ve achieved on our behalf.”