case study: emma lewisham from cult label to global luxury player
How the BCC studio embedded inside Emma Lewisham — a collective of specialists across brand, PR, digital, content and commercial strategy — working together to take a beloved New Zealand skincare label to the world.
client: emma lewisham category: luxury skincare engagement: embedded studio
THE STARTING POINT
A remarkable product.
A story still becoming itself.
Emma Lewisham had built something genuinely special — a skincare brand with exceptional scientific credentials, a loyal cult following in New Zealand, and a philosophy around circular beauty that was ahead of its time. But it was a brand on the edge of its next chapter, one that required a different kind of thinking to realise its full potential.
The challenge wasn't awareness in isolation. It was a more fundamental question: how does a beloved local brand make the leap to global luxury? That transition demands more than a bigger marketing budget. It demands a considered, consistent and differentiated brand narrative. This brand authorship needed a team of specialists who could work across every dimension of brand simultaneously — strategy and story, digital and distribution, PR and commercial planning — all in-sync and pulling in the same direction.
“What Emma Lewisham needed wasn’t another agency silo. They needed a studio of senior specialists who could embed inside the business, move as one team, and be accountable for the brand as a whole — not just their slice of it.”
THE MANDATE
One studio.
Every discipline.
BCC embedded a collective of specialists directly inside Emma Lewisham — working as an integrated studio across brand foundations, PR, partnerships, social and content strategy, digital operations and commercial planning. Not separate agencies in parallel. One team, with one shared goal.
The BCC model is built for exactly this: assembling the right mix of expertise around what a business needs at a particular moment in its growth, then dialling that up or back as the brand evolves. For Emma Lewisham, that meant deep, cross-functional involvement — with every discipline held together by a commercial lens and a unified brand vision.
This is the BCC difference. A studio of senior specialists who work inside your business, not around it — bringing the depth of an agency, the agility of a fractional team, and the accountability of a true partner.
THE WORK
Five specialisms.
One integrated team.
The BCC studio deployed specialists across five core disciplines — each working to their strength, all connected by a shared commercial vision for where Emma Lewisham needed to go.
Brand Foundations & Narrative
Developed new brand pillars, brand fundamentals and positioning framework
Transitioned brand identity from NZ cult label to credible global luxury positioning
Led brand strategy for Nobel Prize-winning chemist Peter Agre endorsement — establishing international scientific authority
Realigned creative direction to be commercially responsive without compromising brand integrity
Social Media & Content Strategy
Developed cross-functional content and social strategy aligned to brand repositioning
Built B Corp certification strategy as a brand-differentiating content asset
Created structured approach to UGC and community content to support global awareness
Ensured social presence reflected the new luxury positioning at every touchpoint
Digital Strategy & Operations
Conducted a full digital audit with strategic recommendations across all channels
Redirected digital spend from 100% performance marketing to brand awareness-led model
Optimised channel mix for sustainable long-term growth
Established structured marketing budget framework with line-by-line ROI tracking
PR & Communications
Built out the communications function from the ground up
Managed PR agencies across UK, Australia and New Zealand simultaneously
Secured major media partnerships including News Corp and Russh
Developed paid influencer strategy, UGC frameworks and content partnerships
Grew brand awareness significantly across priority markets
Commercial Strategy & Partnerships
Identified and recommended the UK as priority international expansion market — strategy now in execution (owners moving to the UK).
Developed scope of work for global partners; managed key trade partnerships including Mecca
Led reorganisation of marketing and brand departments to support scaling
Prepared investor-facing Information Memorandum to support future capital raises
Introduced founder to BCC’s financial advisor network to strengthen commercial governance
Positioned the business for future investment rounds through structured P&L accountability
WHAT IT DELIVERED
The brand that emerged
was built to last.
The Emma Lewisham engagement shows what becomes possible when a studio of specialists works together inside a business — not in silos, not at arm’s length. BCC didn’t manage a brand from the outside. We helped build the foundations, the team structures, and the market architecture to carry it through to the next phase.
THE BCC MODEL
A studio built around
where you are right now.
No two brands need the same thing. That’s why Brandcode Collective isn’t a fixed offering — it’s a flexible collective of senior specialists that assembles around your specific stage, focus and ambition.
Dial it up
Launching into a new market? Repositioning? Building from the ground up? Brandcode Collective can deploy a full cross-functional studio — brand, PR, digital, content and commercial — working inside your business with the intensity the moment demands.
Right-size the team
Already have some functions covered? We plug in the specialists you’re missing — a PR strategist here, a digital lead there — working seamlessly alongside your existing team without duplication or overhead.
Dial it back
Once foundations are in place, Brandcode Collective can transition to a lighter-touch strategic advisory role — staying close to the brand as a thinking partner, ready to scale back up when the next inflection point arrives.
“You get a team of experts who are invested in your brand — not a rotating cast of junior staff. Senior people, doing the work, with the commercial acuity to know what actually moves the needle.”
WORK WITH BCC
Is your brand ready for its next chapter?
Brandcode Collective works with emerging and scaling brands in luxury, wellness and beauty — assembling the right studio of specialists around your brand, at the stage where it matters most.