--- title: "Plateforme de positionnement Cinderfell : stratégie pour Imogen Sallis" description: "Notre recommandation sur ce que Cinderfell doit incarner avant les ouvertures de Manchester et d'Édimbourg, avec les résultats de l'étude et trois positionnements, chacun chiffré." canonical: "https://pr-110.preview.formlio.com/fr/documents/york-strategie-de-positionnement-de-marque" locale: "fr" type: "document" lastModified: "2026-11-08" alternates: en: "https://pr-110.preview.formlio.com/documents/york-brand-positioning-strategy.md" --- # Plateforme de positionnement Cinderfell : stratégie pour Imogen Sallis ## Opening ### Cinderfell positioning platform *Empty cedar sauna with a dark stone heater* *Black steel cold plunge tub in a concrete room* *Steam across a long cedar bench in low amber light* *Charcoal towels on a concrete ledge at dusk* *Aldous Thwaite studio mark* ## The question ### What this stage had to settle *The brief, back in our words* You asked us what Cinderfell should stand for before Manchester and Edinburgh open in spring 2028. Your February raise of £4.2m makes that a question with a deadline. The three existing sites grew on word of mouth, and each one describes the club a little differently. Two funded operators have since arrived in Leeds, both selling recovery. This document answers one question: what should a new member in a city that has never heard of you understand in the first ten seconds? It sets out what we found, what we considered and what we recommend. If any of the facts are wrong, tell us before you read the rest. ## What we looked at ### Discover, in four numbers Six weeks of work since the kickoff on 1 March. Everything below rests on these sources, and the raw findings are in the shared folder. ### Member survey responses **1,286** ### Stakeholder interviews **14** ### Lapsed members interviewed **9** ### Operators audited **23** ## The position Cinderfell is a social club with no bar: the one place in the city where two hours with people leaves you feeling better. ## Three positions ### Three positions, each with a cost All three are honest descriptions of what you do. They differ in who they bring in and what they ask you to give up. We recommend the third. ### 1. Recovery Heat and cold as training. Easy to explain and easy to buy, but 12% of members name it first, and two funded operators got there before you. *Cold plunge tub in a bright concrete room* ### 2. Stillness A quiet room away from the city. It earns a premium, but group sessions drive 58% of your visits, and this position would ask you to cut them. *Dim relaxation room with one oak bench* ### 3. Social club, recommended What members already say. Harder to put in one ad, and it costs you the gift-voucher language behind 11% of first visits. It is the one nobody can copy. *Circular tiered sauna with benches facing each other* ## The platform ### The platform, part by part This is what identity, copy and site teams will work from. Read it as a set of instructions. Each part should be able to settle an argument. ### Who it is for *Cedar benches facing a dark stone heater* ### What we promise *Long concrete and cedar changing room* ### Why anyone should believe it *Charcoal robes on black steel hooks* ### How it sounds *Sauna ladle and steel bucket on a stone ledge* ### What it asks of each site *Bathhouse lobby with a dark oak counter* ## The evidence ### The numbers behind the recommendation Member survey, n=1,286, closed 19 March. Retention from your membership system, for members who joined in the twelve months to February 2027 and projected from month nine. ### Main reason members keep paying | Label | Value | | --- | --- | | Seeing people | 44 | | Mental reset | 27 | | Physical recovery | 12 | | Health advice | 9 | | Other | 8 | ### Twelve-month retention by first visit | Label | Value | | --- | --- | | With a friend | 71 | | Group session | 64 | | Solo intro offer | 38 | | Gift voucher | 22 | ## What this means ### What you would be agreeing to The parts that are easy to skip in the room. Please read these before you decide. ### What this position rules out Clinical or recovery claims in any brand copy. Spa-day gifting as a headline offer. Partnerships with gyms and performance brands at launch. Gift vouchers can stay on sale, but they stop being how Cinderfell introduces itself. That puts 11% of first visits at risk, and those members retain at 22%, so we think the trade is a good one. ### Where we are least sure Our sample is strongest in Leeds and Sheffield. Newcastle returned 171 responses, and Edinburgh is inference: nobody there has met you yet. We would test the line with 40 non-members in each new city in June. It is in the current fee and should not hold up identity work. ### What this does not decide The name stays, as agreed at kickoff. Pricing, session formats and site design are yours and your operators' to decide. The platform will make some of those choices easier, and we will flag where it does, but it does not change them. ### If you prefer another position Say so and tell us why. Choosing Recovery or Stillness needs a further week of platform work, inside the one round of amendments in our agreement, and moves the identity presentation by a week. We would advise against Recovery, because you would be arriving third with the smaller budget. ## After you approve Each working day after 23 April moves the dates below by one day. The Manchester fit-out contractor needs signage artwork by the last date, so that one has little room to move. ### 1. Platform locked, 23 April Your approval closes Define. We share the platform with your site managers on the following Monday and answer questions in one 45 minute call. ### 2. Verbal identity draft, 7 May Tone of voice, naming conventions for sessions and a first pass of site copy. One round of comments, consolidated by you, within three working days. ### 3. Three identity territories, 25 May Screen, signage and membership card shown for each, with motion tests. One goes forward, and you choose it in the room. ### 4. Refinement closes, 25 June Two rounds on the chosen territory, then type, colour and contrast testing. Font licensing is a client cost, and we will price it before you commit. ### 5. Rollout kit, 14 September Brand portal, Figma toolkit and fabricator-ready signage artwork for Manchester and Edinburgh. This date is fixed by the fit-out contractor. ## Approve the platform ### One decision, by Friday 23 April We recommend the third position. It is the one your members already describe, and the one a better-funded competitor can't buy. If you want to talk it through first, Ruth has held Monday 19 April. ### Prepared by **Ruth Aldous** Strategy Director, Aldous Thwaite 4 Hungate Yard York YO1 7PR ruth@aldousthwaite.co.uk ### For approval by **Imogen Sallis** Managing Director, Cinderfell Bathing Club Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle imogen@cinderfell.club ### Approve the positioning platform By confirming, you approve "a social club with no bar" as the platform for identity work. The agreed fee of £68,420 plus VAT does not change. We will issue the second stage invoice of £17,105 plus VAT and start verbal identity on 26 April.