From vision to voice

Bringing People in Retail to life

Making It matter: A brand built from scratch for Retail’s unsung heroes

After the pandemic, it became clear that something was missing in retail: real recognition for the people who had kept the sector alive through crisis and change. Together with The Retail Bulletin, the idea for The People in Retail Awards was born; a bold new initiative to honour the humans behind retail.

Through her consultancy, Natalie stepped into the role of Chief Happiness Officer, leading the concept, design, strategy and rollout. She shaped everything from the award structure and judging panels to the tone of voice, content and long-term vision. What began as a conversation became an industry-shifting platform, with 400+ attendees, national press, and over 2.2 million digital impressions in year two.

Visibly Rocks brought a strategic and creative lens to launch a full-scale brand from scratch; merging purpose with performance, storytelling with structure, and values with commercial impact.

The Challenge

In a post-pandemic world, retail was facing an identity crisis. While frontline teams had kept the industry going through unprecedented times, their contributions often went unrecognised. The sector lacked a unifying, people-first platform that celebrated the individuals behind the scenes and on the shop floor. Traditional awards focused on products, profits and performance — not people.

Retail also struggled with perception. It was still widely seen as a stopgap or weekend job. Not a lifelong, rewarding career. There was a need to reposition retail as a dynamic sector full of opportunity, leadership, innovation and purpose.

Project role:

  • Defined naming, format, brand identity and core values
  • Built and managed the judging framework and participation
  • Led all content: award categories, messaging, tone of voice
  • Developed editorial strategy, ran interviews, authored features
  • Delivered the full event experience in partnership with LA Event Management
  • Drove award entry recruitment across the retail sector
  • Managed table sales through targeted outreach and partnerships
  • Set up and ran the charity raffle and silent auction
  • Led all pre- and post-event PR and media activity

 

The solution

Through the consultancy, Visibly Rocks, Natalie partnered with The Retail Bulletin to create The People in Retail Awards, a brand-new initiative built from scratch to honour the humans behind retail.

Acting as Chief Happiness Officer, she led the full end-to-end vision: defining the mission, designing the experience, shaping categories, building judging panels and setting the tone of voice.

To shift perceptions and elevate retail careers, the team also launched a "Day in the Life" editorial series profiling people across the industry — from apprentices to CEOs — showcasing the breadth, humanity and opportunity that retail offers. Every touchpoint was crafted to prioritise authenticity, inclusion and emotional resonance. 

Blank placeholder image

The results

The People in Retail Awards became a movement, not just a moment. In its second year, the platform delivered:

  • 400+ attendees (up 35% YoY)

  • 2.2M+ social impressions (169,000% growth)

  • 98% event satisfaction rating

  • Extensive media coverage

  • Widespread use of winner stories in recruitment, culture-building and internal comms

Retailers called it the highlight of their year. Judges called it career-defining. And the industry finally had a platform that put its people first.

Thank you

Special thanks to the partners who helped bring this vision to life:

See all Projects