Fresh growth prompts Advent expansion

COVENTRY-based PR company, Advent Communications, has strengthened its workforce with two new appointments.

The agency has appointed a new senior account and operations manager and an account manager as part of an expansion programme.

Jon Chinery has taken up the new role of senior account and operations manager, overseeing key client accounts but also working on the development and organisation of the Electric Wharf company.

The new role sees him return to the firm after seven years working in marketing roles for the NFU and the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Adam Manning also joined Advent as account manager after four years with the Home Retail Group – which owns Homebase and Argos.

Advent managing director Adam Dent said: “We recorded very encouraging growth across all areas of the business last year and want to continue to build that in 2016.

“Jon has valuable experience not only in public relations but also in marketing and digital media, which is a major and growing part of the business. He will play a key role not only in attracting new clients but also helping to develop the systems which will allow us to move the business to the next level.

“Likewise, Adam has worked in-house at a major corporation and that experience will prove very useful. He is a graduate of Coventry University so it is great to be helping home-grown talent develop.”

Connect looking healthy with new gym contract

WOLVERHAMPTON-based Connect has won the pitch to create an online platform for Xercise4Less (X4L) to engage with digital consumers.

The win will see Connect work on a brief to create a new website and drive digital growth.

A key driver of the brief is to match online to offline sales growth. Throughout 2015, the budget operator has not only attracted members who have never used gyms before, but it has also taken price sensitive customers from middle market gym operators.

Jon Nasta, Director of E-commerce and Marketing at X4L said: “The team at Connect has a great heritage in creating immersive digital experiences for brands that drive sales. They’ve worked with all types of brands, ranging from Jaguar to Birmingham International Airport, so I knew they had the right experience and skills to help us.”

Jose Espinosa, Client Partner at Connect said: “While the fitness sector has been a new challenge for our team, we are passionate about innovation and trying new things, making us the perfect partners for X4L.”

New content marketing service for Jask

MARKETING agency, Jask Creative, has launched a new content marketing service after seeing significant growth over recent years.

Formed in 2002 and originally focusing on print solutions, the business has diversified and now offers creative design, branding strategy, digital media and web development services for clients in industries such as retail, construction, not-for-profit, financial and professional services.

Managing Director, Stuart Jordan, said the business was now capable of competing with larger London-based agencies.

“Over recent years, we’ve seen significant growth, which is a testament to the flexibility and value we offer our clients.

“Many of the businesses we support have worked with agencies in the South East in the past, but often clients end-up paying a premium for having marketing support based in the capital.

“Being based in the Midlands, we have lower overheads, which means that we’re able to invest in the business and our people to ensure that our clients have someone at the end of the phone whenever they need us.”