Our Bluebabel Story

Bluebabel was originally founded in 2008 as GreenBabel, about translating sustainability into opportunity. This was based on Liz’s duality of sustainability and marketing skills, now with over 30 years of strategic marketing plus a Masters in Sustainability. While this still remains at our heart, 23 years of client work has taught us that what clients most value is the way in which that’s done – providing clarity from all the complexity of insights, issues, agendas, and challenges within modern business.

So we rebranded to Bluebabel in January 2017, to deliver a ‘feeling of blue’. We’re here to provide a moment of absolute clarity. To lift the weight from your shoulders, energise you with the way forward, and help you to soar as a bolder leader.

But under this, we still believe in the importance and opportunity for brands to address issues affecting people and the planet, from gender equality, to fair trade, to biodiversity and species protection.

And our positive impact is that bluebabel supports Liz’s volunteer work as a STEM Ambassador, inspiring the next generation to think critically and widely about science, Earth, and our place in the universe….

A word from Liz Tinlin, Founder and CEO

“After a career in clientside marketing at Diageo, SC Johnson and Colgate Palmolive, I went to Added Value and became a strategy Director, working with awesome and talented people solving clients’ marketing issues with cultural insight, segmentation, and strategy. But in 2002 I decided marketing skills weren’t enough, and went back to Uni part time alongside this work, to get a diploma in Earth Sciences (specialising in resource extraction, climate change, evolution – and planetary science just for fun). This inspired me to leave Added Value in 2007 to stew on how to unite brand marketing and sustainability in a way that was useful for businesses. As part of this I completed a Masters degree in Sustainability, specialising in impacts and opportunities for brands and businesses from environmental and social issues, particularly the transition to a low carbon economy. All the while practicising and learning with clients as to what makes the best solutions, the most cutting edge answers that can create the win-win-win for brands, consumers and society.

This has particurlarly taken me towards purpose, building on brand positioning skills to help businesses work out what they’re about, and rally the whole organisation around a common mission. There’s no greater joy in work than leaving people inspired, excited and (often) relieved!

And once they have a (good) purpose, and of course a strong positioning that can cut through in their market, they naturally turn not just to customer experience, but to positive action to walk the talk. So they can end up influencing the issues I care most about: A more positive future for the next generation. Where they still have energy sources. Where emotional and physical wellbeing are commonplace. Where the pace of technology change has helped increase fairness and opportunity for all. And where we still see wild animals and rich biodiversity when we can step away from our desks.

I’ve had board experience with two different charities, and now sit on an Advisory Group for gas networks, but for the last 6 years have found particular joy as a STEM Ambassador. I volunteer every Friday in primary schools talking to kids about space, particularly planetary geology, hopefully to inspire them to think scientifically about the world we live in.

We still have so much to learn from natural processes and behaviour, from evolution to ecology, to symbiosis and recycling. Amazing answers are possible, to make stronger better businesses with people who love their jobs as they are doing good not just making profit. So if all of this helps me add one drop of inspiration to the hard-working folks running brands and business, then it’s been a good day.”

The Bluebabel Team

We believe that clients shouldn’t have to pay for office space, overheads, and junior people learning the ropes. For strategic questions this hard, you just want talented and experienced directors, who work together exceptionally well, and are 100% focussed on helping you solve your challenge. Sometimes this just needs Liz, but more often it means putting together a crack team, in the ‘Hollywood’ model, a team of diverse specialists brought together to deliver on one project, one challenge.

Liz’s network of trusted talent includes qualitative researchers, senior ex-client marketers, sustainability experts, quantitative researchers, semioticians, event managers, and designers – whatever we need to put together the best team for each project, in the UK and selected locations internationally. We also work with your existing agencies whenever needed.