The Insight

Huddersfield Choral Society was founded in 1836 and has an international reputation for classical music. They’ve been featured by well-known media outlets such as Classic FM, Songs of Praise and the BBC.

We were asked to help them refresh their website. Their previous website was outdated, they couldn’t edit content easily, and they wanted to be able to be more agile in using it as a communications tool.

At Smith, we take a strategy before tactics approach and quickly diagnosed that it wasn’t a new website that they needed. They needed a complete rethink of how they marketed themselves.

The Challenge

Huddersfield Choral Society needed a partner who would help them position them for the future, rather than a new website.

We challenged the society on their name. They were much bigger than Huddersfield, and Choral Society made them sound old and exclusive.

Several names were presented, including Choral of the North – which we felt captured their ambition. HCS was chosen as their new name, which retains their heritage whilst also helping feeling approachable to new audiences.

We’ve created a new brand identity, website and various advertising assets for the HCS team to reach new audiences.