Leslie Butterfield

Leslie Butterfield CBE
Nationality	British
Occupation	Brand Consultant
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Leslie Butterfield CBE is a British brand and communications consultant. He has held senior roles in advertising and brand strategy, including serving as Global Chief Strategy Officer at Interbrand. He has also worked with the UK Labour Party on communications strategy and has been involved in a number of consultancy ventures. In 2007, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Career

Early career

Butterfield began his career in advertising at the agency Boase Massimi Pollitt in 1975. ^[1] In 1980, he joined Abbott Mead Vickers as Planning Director. ^[1]

In 1987, he co-founded the advertising agency Butterfield Day DeVito Hockney (BDDH), where he initially served as Planning Director and later as Chairman. By 2002, BDDH was among the top 20 advertising agencies in the United Kingdom. ^[2] The agency was acquired by Snyder Communications in 1998. ^[3]

Political involvement and work

Butterfield began working with the UK Labour Party in the mid-1980s. ^[4] He conducted qualitative research assessing public perceptions of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's policies and their impact on voting behaviour. This research was cited in Philip Gould’s book The Unfinished Revolution as being influential in shaping Labour’s communication strategy. ^{[5] [ page needed ] [6]} Following the 1992 general election, Butterfield produced additional research recommending strategic adjustments to the party’s messaging. He continued to advise Labour on communications during the general elections of 1997, 2001, and 2005. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Brand consultancy

In 2001, Butterfield left BDDH to focus on brand and communications consultancy. He founded Butterfield8, a firm comprising himself and seven partners. ^{[10] [11]} The consultancy was acquired by The Ingram Partnership in 2003, ^[12] where Butterfield became a partner. ^{[13] [14]} He later founded Butterfield Partners in 2007, operating the firm until 2008. ^[15]

In 2008, Butterfield joined Interbrand as Global Chief Strategy Officer ^{[16] [1]} and was later appointed to the company's executive leadership team. He was based in London until 2012 and subsequently relocated to Shanghai, where he worked from 2013 to 2015. ^[17] Upon returning to the UK in 2015, Butterfield co-founded a new brand consultancy, Butterfield Harris. ^[18]

Honours

• Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2007 Birthday Honours for services to the advertising industry. ^[19]

• Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2022-2025). ^[20]

Books

• Excellence in Advertising. The IPA Guide to Best Practice.; First edition 1997. Second Edition 1999; Butterworth Heinemann
• AdValue. Twenty ways Advertising works for Business.; 2003; Butterworth Heinemann ^{[21] [22]}
• Enduring Passion. The Story of the Mercedes-Benz Brand; 2005; Wiley' ^[23]

References

1. "Interbrand appoints Butterfield as group chief strategy officer". Campaign Magazine.
2. "Agency provocateurs?". Marketing Week. 7 February 2002.
3. "BDDH debates future after Havas deal". Campaign Magazine.
4. "Politics: The Labour revolution 10 years on". Campaign Magazine.
5. 'The Unfinished Revolution. How the Modernisers saved the Labour Party.'; 1998; Philip Gould; Little, Brown & Co.
6. "Can things only get better, again?". Huck Magazine. 19 June 2024.
7. "CLOSE-UP: NEWSMAKER/LESLIE BUTTERFIELD; Perfectionist planner keeps BT at Butterfield Day". Campaign Magazine.
8. Rentoul, John (20 June 2013). Tony Blair: Prime Minister. Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-29987-4.
9. "Mandelson's role in Labour's communications revealed". Campaignlive.co.uk.
10. "Butterfield fronts new consultancy". Campaign Magazine.
11. "Butterfield8 lifts wrappers off revamped youthful TUC". Marketing Week. 19 July 2001.
12. "Ingram Partnership buys Butterfield8 to boost strategy". Campaign Magazine.
13. "Ingram partnership recruits Innocence founder". Marketing Week. 3 June 2004.
14. "Tilley and Butterfield launch ventures as Ingram closes". Campaign Magazine.
15. "DoH establishes life stage model for social marketing". Campaign Magazine.
16. "Interbrand recruits Butterfield as strategy chief". Design Week. 7 October 2008.
17. "Interbrand's global chief strategy officer Leslie Butterfield relocates to China". The Drum.
18. "Join the Dots appoints branding expert as board chair". Prolific North. 27 June 2017.
19. "Birthday honours: London list". BBC. 16 June 2007.
20. "LESLIE BUTTERFIELD CBE". RSA. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023.
21. "Advalue : twenty ways advertising works for business, Leslie Butterfield (editor) : book review". MFSA Journal of Marketing. 10 (1): 60. 1 January 2004. hdl:10520/EJC75273.
22. "CLOSE-UP: ADVALUE - 20 WAYS ADVERTISING WORKS FOR BUSINESS. A new way of looking at the concept of the brand". Campaign Magazine.
23. "Mercedes must be magic, not just another car". the Guardian. 15 October 2005.