Agency roundup: Intermarketing; Present Works; The Bigger Boat; and more

Yorkshire integrated agency, Intermarketing (IMA), has appointed Jon Price as director of digital and added three more senior people to the team, as the agency continues to grow and evolve its digital offer.

Price joins from Jaywing where he worked as head of client development across a range of clients such as Hermes, Yorkshire Water and HSBC.

He brings a wealth of experience in digital marketing solutions, brand and campaign strategy, CRM integration, data science and cross-channel marketing.

His new role will see him working with the Channel, Comms, Strategy, Creative and Motion teams to develop IMA’s strategic digital capabilities and services.

IMA has made a number of other recent hires in digital including Ed Jones, who re-joins the team as a senior digital designer and Dean Smith who joins in the same role. Ady Matheson Bruce also joins as senior PPC manager.

Price said: “I’m thrilled to be a part of the IMA team. Since joining I have been met with nothing but enthusiasm and positivity.

“I’m looking forward to helping teams navigate the ever-changing nature of challenges in digital, specifically when it comes to bringing together strategy, creative, digital and performance. And we’ll hopefully gain some accolades on the way.”

Nickii Gray, chief executive partner at IMA, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Jon, Ed, Dean and Ady to IMA. It’s an exciting time for us, having recently secured some big client wins in the digital space.

“IMA’s digital offering has grown significantly over the past few years and our new recruits will help us join the dots between data, creativity, innovation, performance, and measurement.

“We’re looking forward to working with Jon and the team on some amazing projects in the months and years ahead.”

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Despite challenges brought by COVID-19, Present Works, a Leeds-based digital marketing business with a B2B focus, saw significant growth over the course of 2020.

It has recently announced a series of new client wins across a range of activities including branding, web development, animation, as well as a unique proposition for a sales portal.

It has added global headwear brand New Era Cap to its portfolio of strategic clients with the development of an innovative B2B sales portal.

In addition, the business has confirmed new wins with workspace specialists 2-Work for brand development and a
new website, Manchester-based legal SaaS business Quill for a new website, real estate consultants Situu and personalised clothing business Banana Moon for brand development and new website activity.

It continue to grows its activity with global app business Airnow, supporting the business across brand development,
communications and account based marketing activities.

Founded in September 2018, Present Works has achieved a 70% increase in revenue over 2020.

Its growing strategic client portfolio includes Airnow PLC, HSBC, Trinity McQueen, Quill, Banana Moon, Stadium FX, and MPS Care Home Group.

Brett Jacob, managing director, said: “We are delighted to announce a series of wins and look forward to fostering long term relationships with our new clients.

“We are confident of further growth in 2021 and the opportunities this is creating for our growing team.”

Philip Marcella, CEO at Airnow PLC, added: “Present Works is our chosen marketing partner as we build our global business.

“They have driven our rebrand, website and communications strategy, and this work has already reaped dividends in terms of sales growth across our business divisions.”

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Creative digital agency The Bigger Boat has strengthened its management team following the recruitment of SEO manager, Ewan Burkinshaw.

Responsible for improving the overall rankings and conversion rates for the agency’s B2B and B2C brands – including toy manufacturer Little Tikes and Zapf Creation UK – Burkinshaw will lead on technical audits, keyword research, and SEO strategy implementation.

Having recruited five top talents in November 2020, the 20-strong Yorkshire-headquartered team plans to consistently develop its in-house capabilities to further support UK and international growth – which has seen the business launch client websites in Poland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Germany.

Burkinshaw, a former SEO manager for Northern Media, said: “Three things stood out to me with this agency – its attitude, ethos, and the quality of work produced. I couldn’t wait to apply.

“I want to keep progressing my own knowledge and position the business as a leader in SEO.”

As a result of a 75% uplift in revenue growth, The Bigger Boat has exceeded its £1m turnover target. The agency continues to add to its service offering, with Burkinshaw becoming its first ever SEO manager.

Andy McCaul, managing director at The Bigger Boat, added: “It’ll be another huge year for brands and their marketing departments as they continue to deliver strategic comms that are able to cut through the vast amount of noise online.

“Having identified a need to bolster our service offering even further – and provide more critical support for clients when enhancing their digital presence – Ewan is the perfect candidate to help us drive forward these plans.

“He brings with him a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and expertise – and has already made his mark on a number of key client accounts.”

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Integrated agency, Jaywing, has added to its senior leadership team with the appointment of Adrian Langford as its director of strategy and planning for the agency’s retail offering. 

Formerly associate strategy director at McCann Central, where he successfully led pitches for HSBC Retail and Comic Relief, Langford comes to Jaywing with extensive expertise gained through a varied career.   

Alongside leading planning for clients such as SC Johnson at Ogilvy & Mather, he has also held director roles at Boase Massimi Pollitt and J. Walter Thompson – two agencies that effectively founded the discipline of account planning. 

At Jaywing, he will use his experience to head strategy and planning for the agency’s retail clients such as Asda, Castrol and Studio. 

Langford said: “I’m delighted to be joining such a well-established agency, especially at such an interesting time 

“What drew me to Jaywing was the palpable ambition and enthusiasm of everybody I’ve spoken to and I’m looking forward to be able to join the team and help make those ambitions a reality.” 

Andrew Fryatt, CEO at Sheffield-headquartered Jaywing, said: “We are so pleased to be welcoming someone with so much knowledge and experience to our leadership team.

“With so many years in the field, Adrian is one of the nation’s foremost specialists in strategic planning. We can’t wait to see what that expertise he will bring to our retail offering as he steps into his new role. 

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