background

HOST’s journey began with Anita Roddick for the development of strategy and creative to integrate product and values for Body Shop International; challenging media stereotypes to engage customers and end the reign of the fashion-waif with a positively inspiring selfesteem LOVE YOUR BODY campaign.

Robin went on to develop ground breaking experiential brand work for Cafédirect, activating a national network of talent and storytellers that helped it to out perform every other Hot Drinks business and transform mainstream perceptions of Fair Trade to become ‘the UK's favourite brand’. Millward Brown.

HOST grew with Cafédirect, developing a premium positioning and communications platform to make the shift from poverty to premium. 5065, an altitude where an Arabica bean meets a robusta bean in this smooth, uplifiting coffee was brought to life by HOST’s winding road icon. The 5065 brand generated 30% year on year sales uplift ad led sales and marketing activity for 5 years. Robin took Cafédirect to new heights from the 5065 coffee brand to a transformation of the London Eye: 96 performances dedicated to Africa’s entrepreneurialism in an extraordinary festival of culture.

HOST went on to develop the identity for Ecotricity because the biggest single impact most us can make is switching to an authentic green energy provider and changing our transport habits. The Green Jack proved so powerful that EDF attempted to Hi-jack it for their Green Britain initiative (also borrowed from Robin) to promote their role in the London Olympics 2012 but actually promoting Greenwash. Robin’s social networking proved more powerful than EDF’s financial muscle and despite an £8.4m spend they were forced to withdraw.

HOST then worked in collaboration with Heinz Werner Engel to develop the World Fair Trade Organization in parallel with the SFTMS (Sustainable Fair Trade Management System). The WFTO (World fair Trade Organization) is a democratic, producer-focused and membership-driven network of entrepreneurial energy; a huge resource of talent and production. Robin created the philosophy, identity and communications for the WFTO and rolled it out through the world’s biggest ever drum circle –inviting participants across cultures and communities to beat the drum for World fair Trade day. The event, named ‘Big Bang!!’ was supported by Desmond Tutu and Paul McCartney and 110 million others worldwide.

HOST is also a founding partner, along with Deloitte and the University of Leeds, of the United Bank of Carbon; a ‘not business as usual’ global rainforest brokerage that brings together unfunded NGO projects with businesses that want to address climate change but don’t know how. HOST has developed the Rainforest protection brand UBoC which values the Rainforest on its carbon value and raises investment to develop sustainable businesses for indigenous businesses and, in the longer run, realize the value of its ecosystem services.

Along the way Robin has run his network as both the hub of a community of shared values and has helped develop some of the UK’s leading ethical brands and charities; Triodos Bank, Ecover, Rethink Mental Illness, the Alliance for Jobs and Climate, AussieMite, Dr Foster, Breakthrough Media and MW Solicitors among others.

Contact