Agency roundup: Brand8 PR; Trio Media; Jaywing; and more

Doncaster-headquartered online bathroom retailer Victoria Plum has appointed Brand8 PR to support the continued implementation of its strategic growth plans.

The Leeds-based agency won a competitive pitch process to provide Victoria Plum with a range of corporate communications and consumer PR consultancy services.

Victoria Plum saw its turnover increase by a record 46% to £103m for the year ended 28 February 2021. During the same period, the company saw its EBITDA increase by 115% to £4.5m and its headcount grow from 349 to 398.

Founded 20 years ago, Victoria Plum was acquired in October 2019 by Leeds-based private equity fund Endless.

Since then, the company has continued its management-led turnaround and transformation strategy under the leadership of chief executive, Paul McClenaghan.

Victoria Plum’s marketing director, Nigel Hunter, said: “We decided to hire Brand8 PR due to the team’s clear experience in successfully advising fast growth, private equity-backed businesses from both a corporate and consumer perspective.

“We are continuing to grow Victoria Plum at pace because our market fundamentals remain strong, we have a differentiated offer and the required scaleable infrastructure in place.

“We understand that effective communications will play a distinct role in helping us achieve our growth plans, and Brand8 PR’s advice regarding this matter has already had a positive impact on the business.”

Established in 2010, Brand8 PR’s clients include housebuilder Avant Homes; industrial developer and asset manager Chancerygate; law firm Gordons; international pest control business Pelsis Group and Norway-headquartered global sustainable technology company TOMRA.

Brand8 PR managing director, Rob Smith, said: “Victoria Plum is an ambitious and innovative business with a clear growth strategy and a highly capable senior management team.

“All facets of the organisation are doing extraordinary things to deliver the collective commercial objectives of continued sales growth and building further equity in Victoria Plum and its brands.

“We have enjoyed supporting the company with our advice and tactical implementation and look forward to further developing our relationships with the senior management team.”

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Leeds-based Trio Media has launched a new website for print and display design solutions business, Leach.

Leach is a print house that counts All Saints, Marks & Spencer, and Peloton as its customers.

The Huddersfield-headquartered business develops large-format display products for global customers, including graphics, lightboxes, and acoustic solutions for multiple sectors – including retail and events.

Following on from a rebrand, Leach needed a website to champion its new brand design and drive customer enquiries and conversions.

Trio Media transformed the look and feel of the website, building in a new user journey with emphasis on calls to action to encourage customer enquiries.

Daniel Deakin, head of sales & marketing at Leach, said: “From the first meeting, the team at Trio Media understood our needs and consulted with us on how to get our website delivering a return for us.

“They were very supportive along the way even when we changed our minds, and we’re really happy with the result.

“We’ve had great feedback so far on the website, and we’re looking forward to continuing our great working relationship with the team at Trio.”

Claire Daniels, CEO of Trio Media, added: “Encouraging leads and conversions through the website was a really important factor for Leach, so we’ve worked hard to develop a website with this in mind.

“We’re pleased that this project has led to a longer-term relationship with Leach, as we’ve now started working with them on their email marketing, PPC and SEO.”

Trio Media is a fully integrated digital marketing agency based in Leeds and providing website design, SEO, PPC, social media, branding, and creative and lead generation services.

It works with clients across the UK to drive business growth through digital marketing and web design, with clients including Lily Comms, Omniya Clinic and eSales Hub.

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To capitalise on children’s excitement about learning ahead of a new school year, Sheffield and Leeds-based integrated agency Jaywing has developed the 2021 back-to-school campaign for arts and crafts brand, Crayola.

The campaign’s overall objective is to engage with parents who are preparing to send their children back to the classroom after the summer holiday, armed with everything they need to encourage creativity and imagination.

Jaywing approached Great Bedwyn CE primary school and its pupils in Wiltshire, to take part in the campaign.

Using videos and images showing children colouring in a series of letters to reveal the phrase “Back to School”, the school pupils play a huge role in the project.

Estimated to reach over 3.5 million parents, the campaign has launched across Facebook, YouTube and Instagram and will run until 6 September.

Over the course of their 12-month relationship, Jaywing has produced 36 craft idea videos with Crayola, with the intention of enhancing brand presence and product across social platforms. 

So far, the partnership has racked up over three million views in total.

Crayola’s brand manager, Jade Childs, said: “We worked with Jaywing to creatively execute our Back-to-School 2021 social campaign to celebrate the return of school.

“As children have not had a taste of normality for a long time, we wanted to help parents get back to school ready with our comprehensive range of Crayola stationery.  

“Jaywing was our go to agency, having successfully created content for social media during lockdown, providing parents and kids with creative ideas to get crafty at home using Crayola supplies.

“The team are a pleasure to work with and create top quality and thoroughly engaging content on relatively tight budgets and timescales.”  

Brian Taylor, managing director at Jaywing, said: “We are incredibly lucky to work with Crayola, being one of the leading brands in arts and crafts, and a global household name.  

“This campaign is particularly rewarding for us as it highlights the importance of sustaining a child’s creativity and imagination when returning to the classroom. 

“After a year of uncertainty and instability for many children, it’s heartening to be able to help encourage children to be children again, and to explore their creative curiosity.”

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Student Beans, a discount app for students has retained Sheffield-based Rise at Seven to handle digital consumer PR activity.

In the past year alone, Student Beans has helped UK students save over £100m by offering exclusive discounts from the world’s biggest brand.

As a result of accelerated growth, the company will now increase its digital presence with digital PR and search engine optimisation activity.

With Rise at Seven, the brand will further drive its PR and off-page optimisation strategy, by executing creative and reactive campaigns to support its customer acquisition strategy to continue growing its user base.

Will Weeks, head of brand and communication at Student Beans, said: “We are looking forward to working with Rise at Seven as we continue to grow our share of voice within the UK student space, showcasing our innovative brand offering.

“The latest appointment will ensure we continue to deliver our message of helping to make student lives a little sweeter, and a lot cheaper.”

Student Beans founder, Mike Eder, said: “The announcement of our latest hires demonstrates the incredible growth we’ve seen across the business.

“Last year we grew our headcount by 50%, and we expect to double our team this year to 350 people.

“We also look forward to working with Rise at Seven and our new team members at Student Beans, as we look to continue dominating the online community with our innovative brand offering.”

Carrie Rose, founder and CEO at Rise at Seven, added: “We are super excited to be working with Student Beans to help grow their online presence and brand awareness in the student community through digital PR.

“A lot of clients we work with have affiliations with Student Beans, bringing the best deals and discounts for industry-leading brands.

“We are passionate about supporting the brand as it disrupts its space, through innovative and creative campaigns.”