Epiphany co-founder starts new journey with Leeds agency launch

ROBIN SKIDMORE, the co-founder of Leeds search marketing firm Epiphany who grew the business from two to 160 staff before selling to Jaywing for £18m, has launched a new agency.

Mr Skidmore has set up Journey Further, offering PPC and programmatic display advertising to the UK’s leading brands.

Based in Leeds, the team’s search advertising experience spans 12 years, including campaigns for Virgin Holidays, J D Williams, Ann Summers, Ebuyer and AXA.

Mr Skidmore has invested an initial £500,000 in agency operations to recruit senior staff, secure city-centre office space and build a brand for the company, which aims to employ 30 staff within 12 months.

Matt Kwiecinski joins as managing director following 18 years at Omnicom Group, where in his capacity as managing director he delivered innovative campaigns and products for many of the UK’s largest brands.

Mr Skidmore said: “We went on an astounding journey with Epiphany, leading the way in our field, delivering incredible results and fostering hundreds of young people into prosperous careers.

“Journey Further is the next chapter in that story and the paid search and programmatic space is where we know we can make the biggest impact. For too long, brands have been kept in the dark when it comes to paid performance. We want to cut through the jargon and use the latest technology to help our clients hit targets that were previously unthinkable.

“We have established a structure whereby senior analysts work directly with our clients to deliver a more personal and trustworthy service, in contrast to the typical, big agency workflow.

“Naturally, our growth plans are ambitious and we are looking for the very best talent to join us in Leeds, where we will provide unrivalled training and development opportunities.”

Epiphany was bought by Jaywing in 2014.