SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

THG Studios has partnered with Cowshed on a new brand campaign, Gloriously Untamed, supporting the British wellness brand’s relaunch and image reset.

Centred on Cowshed’s Somerset origins, the campaign presents the brand as less polished and more rooted in everyday indulgence. It marks a fresh push for the business, founded at Babington House in 1998, with the message that wellness should feel pleasurable rather than tightly managed.

Shot in the English countryside, the campaign draws on Cowshed’s long-running “champagne flutes and muddy boots” idea to frame a mix of calm and disorder. Styling features products and clothing from British names including Damson Madder, Oliver Bonas and Marks & Spencer, while the visual direction leans on countryside imagery and domestic rituals.

The work combined a physical shoot with limited use of artificial intelligence in post-production and content creation. Alongside the campaign imagery and film, THG Studios also produced eCommerce photography for Cowshed’s updated product range.

The relaunch comes as beauty and wellness brands face growing pressure to stand out in a crowded market, where many have adopted clinical design cues and language around optimisation. Cowshed is seeking to differentiate itself by emphasising scent, British provenance and a more relaxed tone.

That positioning sits at the heart of the campaign. The brand describes its refresh as “fragrance-first” and “design-led”, with revised formulas, stronger scent profiles and new botanical packaging intended to support the wider repositioning.

Creative direction

Rob Sanderson, group creative director at THG Studios, said the brief called for a tone that reflected the brand’s origins and personality rather than the conventions of the wider category.

“Cowshed is a brand with real soul, and that required an approach that matched its honesty. In a world of wellness brands increasingly governed by rigid rules and an overly clinical pressure to be perfect, we aimed to re-energise Cowshed with some of the creative, offbeat energy that made the original Soho House parent brand so disruptive in the 90s.”

“‘Gloriously Untamed’ became our mantra, expressing a sense of luxury without reverence and indulgence without apology. Drink champagne in the bath if you want to, get your boots muddy and jump in a river if you feel like it. If it feels good, do it. In Cowshed’s world, we embrace the Great British weather, we break the rules with style, and we live life on our own terms. Above all, we do it with a grounded sense of fun and freedom, because pleasure shouldn’t need permission.”

The campaign also reflects a broader effort by THG Studios to show how its in-house creative, strategy and production teams can work together on brand repositioning projects. The studio is part of THG’s wider commerce services business and has been expanding work across advertising, content production and online retail assets.

For Cowshed, the relaunch is as much about restoring brand identity as it is about changing packaging or campaign imagery. The business was established within the Soho House orbit and built a following around bath, body and home fragrance products shaped by a recognisably British mix of rural references and urban lifestyle cues.

Its latest reset aims to bring those references back to the foreground. The updated brand expression is intended to feel human, sensory and irreverent, with one foot in the city and the other in the countryside.

Brand reset

Kat Kerrigan, Senior Brand Manager at Cowshed, said the relaunch was designed to reintroduce the brand with more confidence while preserving its original character.

“With Gloriously Untamed, we wanted to reintroduce Cowshed with the character it was born with: British, sensory, irreverent and deeply pleasurable. Cowshed has always stood for wellness that feels human rather than prescriptive – fragrance-led, beautifully made and grounded, with one foot in the city and the other in the countryside. This relaunch brings that spirit back with more confidence and more design, from elevated formulas and bolder visual codes to a campaign that lets the brand be a little wild again. THG Studios understood that immediately. Their world-class studio team, strong production craft and thoughtful use of AI helped us create something unmistakably Cowshed: premium, playful, modern and proudly British.”

THG Studios said the work was produced across its UK creative spaces as well as on location. It has positioned its production infrastructure as a differentiator for consumer brands looking to combine campaign work with online retail imagery and film.

Cowshed’s relaunch reflects a wider pattern in beauty and personal care, with established labels revisiting heritage and tone as they compete with digitally native brands and changing consumer tastes. Rather than chase a clinical or highly perfected aesthetic, this campaign leans on British humour, countryside references and a less regimented view of wellness.

Cowshed also used THG Studios for eCommerce photography to create what it described as a more cohesive expression for the refreshed range.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Apollo3D has urged UK pubs and bars to adopt virtual mapping tools ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup, as uptake of virtual tours among hospitality venues rises. The Leeds company said demand is up 50 per cent on a year earlier.

It has been working with operators including Greene King pubs in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as Ossett Brewery in Wakefield, as venues prepare for higher demand during the tournament. Apollo3D has also produced tours for several pubs on the Otley Run in Headingley and wants to create a video tour covering all 18 stops on the Leeds pub crawl.

The push comes as hospitality operators look for ways to attract match-day bookings in a difficult trading environment. Rising energy bills, higher business rates and broader economic pressure continue to squeeze margins across the sector, while closures remain a concern for businesses operating on thin profit lines.

Around half of Apollo3D’s current work now comes from venues seeking to increase visitor numbers. Its recently launched Infinity Virtual Tours platform is also attracting interest from theatres, stadiums and cinemas in overseas markets.

The tours let customers view a venue online before visiting, highlighting features such as large screens, private hire areas, outdoor spaces and premium seating. The platform can also link multiple locations and give operators data on which parts of a space attract the most viewer attention.

For pubs screening major football matches, the sales opportunity can be significant. Apollo3D cited figures showing that England games can lift pub sales by between 30 per cent and 147 per cent, with a successful tournament potentially adding more than £150 million to the wider hospitality economy.

That is sharpening the focus on how venues present themselves online as fans decide where to watch matches. Operators are trying to turn digital browsing into confirmed bookings, particularly for high-demand fixtures where groups may choose venues well in advance.

Rob Wilyman outlined the company’s view of the opportunity for the trade.

“The World Cup always brings a huge opportunity for pubs and hospitality venues, but competition is fierce. Customers want to know exactly what they are getting before they commit to a venue, especially for major fixtures. Virtual mapping gives venues a powerful way to present their space and secure bookings early,” said Rob Wilyman, Director of Apollo3D.

Its virtual walkthroughs can be embedded on venue websites, shared on social media and linked to booking systems, giving potential customers a clearer view of layout, atmosphere and facilities before they make a reservation.

Sector pressure

The hospitality sector has faced a series of cost increases in recent years, leaving many pub and bar operators searching for practical ways to drive footfall and increase spend per visit. Big sporting events can provide a short-term trading boost, but competition for those customers is intense, especially in towns and cities with dense pub markets.

This has helped drive interest in tools that let venues differentiate themselves online. Apollo3D argues that a clearer digital presentation can help venues win group bookings, private events and repeat visits over the course of a tournament.

Mark Shepherd said pressure on operators has made major sporting events more important.

“Pubs have had a challenging few years, so making every major event count is crucial. We have seen firsthand how virtual tours can increase enquiries and event bookings. For a key sporting occasion like the World Cup, where demand peaks quickly, being visible and engaging online can make a real difference,” said Mark Shepherd, Director of Apollo3D.

Wilyman said venues that move early may have an advantage as supporters make plans.

“Venues that invest now in showcasing their offer are more likely to capture group bookings, corporate events and repeat visits throughout the competition. This is all about getting ahead of the curve. The pubs that present themselves best online will be the ones fans choose when it matters most,” he said.

BT has signed a five-year contract with BAE Systems to provide secure connectivity services across the defence group’s global network in 40 countries.

The deal includes an option to extend for up to three years. BT will support BAE Systems’ UK and international operations through its wider network infrastructure.

BAE Systems’ network spans multiple markets and supports staff working in specialist environments. The agreement focuses on secure connectivity for a business operating in defence and related industrial activities.

BT said the work will support access to digital tools and more flexible working across BAE Systems teams. It also linked the contract to demand from organisations in sectors including defence, manufacturing and critical national infrastructure for dependable communications and security services.

The contract follows BT’s launch of a sovereign platform for organisations working in sensitive national roles or facing changing regulatory requirements. That wider push has focused on services for customers that need communications systems built around tighter security and operational controls.

Contract scope

For BAE Systems, the agreement is part of a broader effort to reshape its digital environment. The work is tied to its digital transformation programme and to improving operational efficiency across the business.

Large industrial and defence groups have been reviewing network resilience, security and access to digital systems as more operations rely on connected tools across different sites and countries. In that context, communications contracts are increasingly being tied to broader technology change programmes rather than treated as stand-alone telecoms arrangements.

BT presented the contract as part of its long-running work with organisations that run complex, security-sensitive operations. It said its experience in managing large networks and secure services helped underpin the arrangement with BAE Systems.

Chris Sims set out BT’s view of the network’s role in the partnership.

“Networks are mission-critical to BAE Systems. This partnership is about getting those foundations exactly right, and we have decades of experience delivering secure, complex connectivity for critical organisations that need absolute reliability. By combining our resilient networks with advanced security services, we’re giving BAE Systems a platform they can depend on to support the UK’s security, now and into the future,” said Chris Sims, chief commercial officer, BT Business.

Digital shift

BAE Systems described the contract as part of a wider change to its internal digital estate. Partners will play a central role in helping reshape how staff access systems and work across the organisation.

That reflects a broader trend among large defence and manufacturing businesses, where network design is increasingly tied to productivity, security oversight and the rollout of digital tools across dispersed operations. Companies in those sectors often need to balance tighter controls with demands for easier access to systems in varied working environments.

Dr Mary Haigh outlined BAE Systems’ position on that transition.

“We’re taking a significant step in our transformation of the Digital ecosystem to deliver a secure, insight-led digitally enabled working environment to power operational excellence across BAE Systems. Our partners will play a critical role by unlocking greater agility, pace and innovation across our business,” said Dr Mary Haigh, director digital delivery, BAE Systems.