How Levande Built Pricing Power Through Strategic Brand Positioning
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
When Nik Scotcher joined Levande as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, he faced a significant challenge: a brand that existed in name but lacked a strategic foundation. Owned by private equity firm EQT, the business required a clear, actionable positioning to unlock value in a competitive retirement living market. Together, Wingmaven and Levande delivered a comprehensive brand strategy and Customer Value Proposition (CVP) in just 14 weeks, leading to a dramatic increase in brand awareness and significant profit growth.
The Challenge: Bridging the Perception Gap
Levande needed to differentiate itself in an industry often plagued by negative cliches and a lack of consumer trust. Internally, the Marketing team was in a state of transition, leaving Nik without the immediate resources required to stand up a strategy at the pace required.
The primary obstacles included:
Lack of Strategic Foundation: The brand had been launched quickly but lacked the galvanising thought needed to drive culture and customer promise.
Stakeholder Alignment: The strategy needed to resonate with a diverse group of stakeholders, from private equity board members and development teams to village managers on the frontline.
Market Perception: Addressing the "gaping gap" between the negative perception of retirement living and the positive reality of the resident experience.
The Solution: A Partnership Built on Experience
Wingmaven was selected for their unique positioning between traditional strategic and creative agencies. Their background as former client side operators allowed them to step in as "wingmen" for Nik, providing the technical expertise and emotional intelligence (EQ) needed to navigate a complex corporate environment.
The 14 week program involved:
Consumer Led Insights: Using existing data and targeted qualitative and quantitative research to identify the real issues and barriers from a consumer perspective.
Journey Mapping: Defining the Levande Customer Journey from initial intent to 12 months post reservation to drive conversion, retention and experience.
Disciplined Process: A multi stage project plan with clear deliverables that provided the board with confidence in both the direction and the speed of delivery.
"It was refreshing to have an external partner that truly worked with us to develop a brand strategy that best serves the future of our business, rather than just disappearing with the brief and then resurfacing with an answer. It meant we were able to develop and receive board endorsement in just 14 weeks, which is lightning speed for work of this calibre."
Nik Scotcher, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Levande
The Impact: Tangible Value Creation
The partnership delivered immediate and measurable results, transforming the brand from an "ostensible" label into a core business asset.
Market Performance
Brand Awareness: Awareness grew from 4% at the start of the project to the mid 30s within two years. One advertising campaign driven by this strategy saw awareness jump from 12% to 37% in just four weeks.
Lead Generation: Lead volumes increased by 15% almost instantly following the execution of the new strategy.
Commercial Results
Pricing Power: The strategy allowed Levande to achieve an 8.5% price realisation in a market growing at approximately 5.5% to 6%.
Profit Growth: This pricing power translated directly into accelerated profit growth for the organisation.
Internal Culture
Employee Value Proposition (EVP): The brand strategy was so foundational that it directly informed the development of a new EVP, ensuring the brand promise is kept at every level of the business.
“We knew the brand had really started to gain traction when people began recognising and understanding Levande on sight, not because we’d explained it to them. That was a direct result of the strategic foundation we built with Wingmaven, which was grounded in real customer insight and applied with discipline across the business. It’s been important for us. It’s helped drive demand, improve our pricing outcomes, and given our people more clarity and confidence in how we present ourselves, both internally and externally.”
Kevin McCoy, Chief Executive Officer, Levande