Agency round-up: Punch Creative; Beattie; and more

Punch Creative, a fully integrated communications agency in Leeds, has introduced a four-day work week.

As with many other firms, the Coronavirus pandemic caused the business to adapt and become more agile.

Employees were set up to work from home and internal and client meetings were led via Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

Following a review of its working culture, Punch decided to take the plunge and move to a shorter work week to achieve the company’s aim of creating a more “socially conscious agency.”

Richard Lowes, creative director at Punch Creative, said: “Our agency runs on ideas, so it makes sense that our focus is to create an environment where everyone is in the best place possible to be creative for the ultimate benefit of our clients.

“From July we are joining a small but growing number of companies in the UK by moving to a four-day work week, Friday off, every week.

“Or as we see it; a shorter more focused working week with agile working, longer weekends with a happier, more creative and productive agency to benefit everyone.”

The agency joins a small number of UK businesses which have decided to introduce a three-day weekend to increase productivity and employee wellbeing.

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Integrated communications agency, Beattie, has launched a dedicated fashion and lifestyle division – Blue by Beattie.

It brings together a team of creative and commercial minds with a proven track record in devising agile, exciting campaigns for brands specifically across lifestyle, fashion, interiors and beauty.

Emma Lilley, account director at Beattie, spearheaded the launch.

She will head the new division from the agency’s Leeds office along with consultant Carol Richardson and a team of specialists, all driven to tell brand stories, excite the media, engage social content, and most importantly, drive sales.

Richardson has previously worked as head of PR at brands such as M&S, Jaeger and Jacques Vert in her 25-year career, as well as teaching at London College of Fashion. She brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts to Blue by Beattie.

Lilley said: “Now more than ever, we recognise that brands require individual solutions to achieve cut-through and get a share of the media landscape.

“The team has years of proven experience in this sector and has worked with some of the biggest retailers across fashion and lifestyle in the UK.

“We are a national network agency with a strong footprint, so it made sense to pool our knowledge and create a dedicated division, devoted to supporting this sector.”

The division will offer a portfolio of in-demand skills from fast-paced press office delivery, content creation, press events, social media and influencer programmes to digital marketing and creative design services.

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Leeds-based digital marketing agency Visibilis has welcomed six new clients during the lockdown period, growing monthly revenues by 45%.

The agency, which was founded in 2011 by Ben Wolfenden, predominantly offers search marketing and counts retailers Kiddies Kingdom and Terrys Fabrics amongst its client base.

Reporting a strong start to the financial year, Visibilis’ new clients include software companies Linaro and Kallidus.

Additionally, the agency’s headcount has grown, with seven new members coming on board since lockdown began.

Managing director, Daisy Wolfenden, said: “We’ve seen enquiries spike from businesses who pre-pandemic were more reliant on their physical presence and offline activity such as events to make sales.

“We’ve been able to help them quickly adapt and diversify their marketing strategies to focus on their digital channels and this is really where Visibilis excels.

“We’re an agile team meaning we can be responsive to changing business needs, and we really love working as though we’re a part of our client’s teams.

“We’re so pleased to have welcomed these clients in the past few months and we’ve no doubt we’ll enjoy strong partnerships with them.”

Commenting on future plans for the agency, founder Ben Wolfenden, said: “Obviously no business knew what the immediate future had in store for them when lockdown began and it was a really worrying time for everyone.

“But our virtual pitches have really hit the mark and we’re pleased that we’ve still been able to demonstrate how we work as one cohesive unit despite not being in one room.

“We absolutely put our success down to the unwavering determination and expertise of our team, who work in such a collaborative way with each other and our clients that we were able to adapt campaigns quickly, as well as capitalise on the existing solid strategies we already had in place for our clients.

“As a result, the planned growth of our team could go ahead and we’ve welcomed seven new staff members since April.”