Case study — Leading Globally
SGK / British American Tobacco
Building a new account into a £5.5m operation across more than 65 markets.
Growing a complex global relationship across packaging, marketing delivery, imagery, animation, e-commerce and digital content.
SGK / British American Tobacco — earlier commercial experience
The business
A newly won global SGK account for British American Tobacco, spanning packaging, marketing content and more than 65 markets.
What changed
The account was led and developed with the wider team as the operation expanded across account management, delivery, imagery, animation, e-commerce and digital content.
Outcome
An operation worth approximately £5.5m supporting 65+ end markets over roughly four and a half years.
About the business
Through SGK, work was delivered for British American Tobacco on a new global account that developed into a large multidisciplinary international operation.
The relationship began around packaging and artwork but expanded considerably over time, covering design, imagery, animation, e-commerce, campaign assets and wider digital content.
The work involved global, regional and local stakeholders alongside marketing, procurement, operational and specialist delivery teams.
The challenge was not simply producing more work. It was building an operation capable of supporting increasing complexity across more than 65 markets.
The situation
The account had been won, but there was no mature operation waiting behind it.
Responsibility for managing the account sat within the team from an early stage, while the processes, commercial model and stakeholder relationships were built alongside the work itself.
The challenge
Growth created complexity.
Different markets had different requirements. Marketing, procurement, operations and delivery teams all needed to work together, while specialist creative and production disciplines needed clear coordination.
The account needed to grow without losing control of quality, commercial performance or the client relationship.
The approach
The account was built and managed from its early stages, with the wider team supporting the relationship as it expanded.
Multidisciplinary capability was developed across account management, project management, artwork, quality assurance and specialist delivery.
The work extended beyond packaging into design, imagery, animation, e-commerce, CGI, campaigns and digital content for markets around the world.
As the account grew, the work increasingly involved senior client relationships, commercial planning, forecasting, scope and resource decisions, workshops, proposals and resolving complex delivery issues.
The objective was not simply to process more work.
It was to build an operation capable of supporting an increasingly complex global marketing relationship.
The results
The account developed from no active revenue into an operation worth approximately £5.5m.
It expanded to support more than 65 end markets over approximately four and a half years.
Why this matters to you
Growth creates complexity.
More markets, more channels, more suppliers and more specialists do not automatically create a stronger business.
Sometimes the next stage of growth depends on creating clearer structure, stronger relationships and a way for different disciplines to work together as one system.