· Testimonials ·

Gympie Muster Limited

I have been involved in a number of strategic planning days over the past few years and have experienced some excellent facilitators, but I must confess the planning day Bruce Uhlhorn facilitated for Gympie Muster Limited recently was brilliant!

The topics and agenda presented on the day, including the ingenious “Brand Wheel”, could only be generated by an expert. The day flowed exceptionally well with no subject left unidentified, in the case of strategic information, potential outcomes and development of KPI’s, all things were considered. The future of the Gympie Music Muster can be considered more than sustainable and prosperity assured with Bruce’s planning guidance, assistance and direction attained on the day.

I would not hesitate in recommending to any organisation the services of Bruce Uhlhorn and company. His methodology used has been mastered by his years of experience and understanding of Strategic Planning, and its importance to the success of any business. I am also very eager, along with the rest of the Board of GML, to the future programs planned with Bruce, and his exceptional ability as a facilitator.

Glenn Smith
Board Chairman
Gympie Muster Limited

Variety - the Children's Charity of Queensland
Great news that you are spending more time expanding your ‘Cultivator’ strategy consultancy.

This is an area where I believe many companies would benefit from your undoubted abilities to guide them through the maze of strategic planning for their future prosperity.

There is no doubt in my mind that the work you did during my time as Managing Director of Channel Seven in Brisbane assisted us greatly in our successful positioning of Seven News in the state. Strategic Planning is an essential ingredient in any successful organization and one of the key aspects is to have clarity in the process and a facilitation person who can cut through that haze to get to the important issues. I thank you for your guidance in this area.

Such was the impact that you had on the staff at Seven, I was very happy to engage your services at both Sunnybank Community and Sports Club (SCSC) and also at Variety – the Children’s Charity in my capacity of a Director with both entities.

Again, your contribution was outstanding as witnessed by your continuing work with SCSC over the past 7 years.

I wish you well in returning to this critical area and trust that you will have a positive impact on other organizations, similar to my experiences as outlined above.

Les Riley
Chief Executive Officer
Variety - the Children's Charity of Queensland

Ferguson Betts
Bruce Uhlhorn has assisted our practice greatly by using his considerable skills as a facilitator to mould a business model that is relevant, workable and above all, clear to all of us!

Tim Ferguson, Partner

Radio Lollipop International
What a great asset Bruce has been to our charity!
Since becoming involved many years ago, Bruce Uhlhorn has successfully, skilfully and rigorously, taken our volunteers and Board members through regular ‘core’ values and strategic overview training and delivery. Not only does he facilitate the thinking and planning, but he polices the delivery as well, ensuring that we live up to our commitments and vision.

Bruce’s people skills combined with his marketing knowledge and strategic capacity has allowed us to grow our organisation year on year. No mean feat considering we are spread across 30 locations in five countries across the world.

I have no doubt that we would not be doing as well as we are without the support, encouragement and understating of our key strategic and operational issues, from Bruce Uhlhorn .

Hedley Finn MBE
Founder, Radio Lollipop International.

Noosa Tourism/Noosa the Brand
I have no hesitation in recommending Bruce Uhlhorn and Cultivator to prospective clients.

I have absolute confidence in Bruce’s abilities as a virtual strategic asset to any organisation facing business challenges, which require a multi-disciplined approach to meet those challenges.

Bruce and I first met when he was managing the re-branding of Energex, in readiness for full retail contestability in electricity markets around 2001. Such was Bruce’s impact in that arena I felt extremely comfortable recommending him in 2002 to present to the Noosa Tourism Board, to which I had been appointed as a foundation member. Fellow Board members were similarly impressed and Bruce was retained to manage the Noosa rebranding and associated campaign activities, all of which were deemed an absolute success and met all performance metrics and targets.

A rare individual who combines domain expertise in branding, strategic planning, budgeting, marketing, communications, advertising and campaign management, Bruce complements this with strong facilitation techniques, excellent listening skills, intuition and hard-edged commercial experience.

In my observation, Bruce lives and breathes branding and fully understands the power of “Brand”. Should your organisation contain executives who may not necessarily be fully engaged in committing investment to brand creation, development, protection and ultimately brand extension, Bruce is the ideal consultant to inform, educate and take people on the journey of brand and its alignment to corporate strategy and the achievement of corporate objectives and shareholder returns.

David Mathers

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks
Bruce’s team at George Patterson Bates commenced a professional relationship with Bundaberg Brewed Drinks (Bundaberg Ginger Beer) that helped to grow their business, as acknowledged by them.

“...As Bundaberg Brewed Drinks national marketing and advertising spend of around only one million dollars needs to be directed thoughtfully and strategically, Bruce (Uhlhorn) and Chris (Luck), our primary contacts, provide attention and support, which surpasses any I have ever received from another supplier.
Strong planning, coupled with challenging ideas and backed by a superb creative team, has enabled BBD to embrace objectives otherwise thought unachievable.”

Clare Elliott, Marketing Manager, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks (Bundaberg Ginger Beer)

Queensland Electoral Commission
In 1999 the George Patterson’s team led by Bruce won the Queensland Electoral Commission account. The election took place in 2001 but the campaign had to be developed much earlier to meet the strict timelines and budgets. Bruce led the team throughout the campaign. A strong team ethic was developed over that time which culminated in a successful campaign that was an integrated mix of multi media and direct mail. The direct mail task was particularly daunting as over two million personally addressed mail pieces had to be delivered within a strict, mandated timeframe. This had never been attempted previously but it was achieved for this election. The agency was retained without review for the next round of electoral communication. Previously all agencies were reviewed following each electoral campaign.

“The results of both surveys are so good and so positive that we found it very hard to make recommendations suggesting improvements to the presentation or the content of the campaign. Consequently, there are no recommendations for further action in order to do a better job next time.”

Ian Maxwell, Market Facts (Qld) reporting on the Electoral Commission Campaign

Noosa Branding
In 2002 Bruce was approached to deliver a lecture on strategic planning and branding to the Noosa Council and their Community Tourism Board.  Following that presentation he was asked to tender for and won the “Noosa Branding Project”. This is a unique, groundbreaking attempt by the Noosa tourism and business community to recognise and protect their brand from potential devaluation through misuse and ignorance. Initially they were keen to create an exclusivity of use in a similar manner to that applied by the Champagne area of France and other appellation controlled areas. The project has been successful and mutually profitable. The following is their reply to Bruce’s “thank you” note for the farewell dinner they graciously hosted at the conclusion of his contract.

"Hi Bruce,
Thanks for your note. The other night was fun and important to recognise the contribution that you made to the journey that we are on. One of the key things we discussed in the formative stages of the then Collaborative Board was that, if we truly aimed for excellence then we needed to bring in people who are at the top of their respective trees, no matter where they came from. That change of attitude has helped us get through the cringe or limiting factor of using the same old same old local advisers. It was David Mathers who introduced you to the Board and we are all thankful that he did. I meant all that I said the other night. We will be keen to have your advice on other elements that present to the Board. Personally, I would be pleased to act as a referee for any future submissions you make. We cut through the many layers of crap that can affect relationships. You have made friends in Noosa - not just business contacts. Kindest regards…"

Bruce Hauley, Chairman, Noosa Community Tourism Board