Agency roundup: Bolser; Prohibition; Anita Morris Associates; and more

Leeds-based digital agency Bolser is celebrating its 20th anniversary and has committed to a five-year lease extension on its offices within the city’s South Bank area as part of its ongoing growth strategy.

The business was initially founded in 2001 as a direct response marketing agency by managing director, Ashley Bolser.

Since then, it has evolved into a digital agency providing a range of integrated services to major brands including Microsoft, Xbox, KFC, AIG, The Discovery Channel, Jet2 and EE.

Today, the company comprises a team of almost 30 people and has a turnover approaching £2m.

Ashley Bolser, said: “There has been incredible change in the digital marketing landscape over the past two decades.

“I am tremendously proud that Bolser has helped play a part in shaping and driving transformation in the sector with our distinct approach to innovation and technology.

“We’ve grown into a digital agency offering world-class services to global brands, and our successes have been down to the exceptionally talented people who have worked here over the past 20 years.”

Bolser’s offices are based in Holbeck within the South Bank area of the city which is currently undergoing a £350m transformation led by developer CEG to deliver a mixed-use scheme.

Once complete, it will provide office, retail, leisure and hotel accommodation along with community uses, public realm and up to 750 new homes.

Ashley Bolser continued: “Leeds is a thriving city and a growing part of the nation’s digital economy.

“When this is combined with the hugely impressive regeneration of the South Bank currently being delivered by CEG, it makes perfect sense for us to extend the lease on our offices by another five years.

“We work with clients nationally and internationally, but we’re passionate and committed to having our head office based in this fantastic city as we continue to implement our growth plans.”

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Leeds-based integrated PR agency, Prohibition, has been appointed by Yorkshire brewery, Black Sheep, as its sole retained consumer agency.

The Masham-based brewery has tasked Prohibition to deliver on a wide variety of integrated briefs that will see Black Sheep pushing its challenger position in the market, and capitalising on the nation’s post-lockdown return to the pub.

Central to the brief will be repositioning cask ale as a category, helping highlight its taste, relevance and authenticity to a younger, more diverse audience, many of whom are leaving the category for other drinks.

The agency will also work to amplify Black Sheep’s new sponsorship of EFL League Two football club, Harrogate Town AFC, through a series of match day activations and stunts. As of the 2021/22 season, Black Sheep is the official beer of the club.

While Black Sheep is well known for its core cask range, Prohibition will also focus on promoting its ‘new wave’ experimental craft beers, which, retailing through Black Sheep’s online shop via its 5 Barrel Project, surged in popularity during lockdown.

Jack Scott-Paul, brand and communications manager at Black Sheep Brewery, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Prohibition, whose company values match our own.

“Their passion for the brand, and bold, creative approach really helped set them apart.

“Following the closure of pubs in 2020, we’re ready to come back with a bang and we’re confident Prohibition will help us do that, and drive us forward.”

Will Ockenden, director and co-owner at the agency, said: “I must admit, for many of us, this really is a dream brief, combining a number of things myself and my team are passionate about; beer, football and an authentic and ambitious brand willing to be outspoken and take some risks.

“But more than that, the product is great, with an even better story to tell, all of which makes our job easier.”

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PR agency Anita Morris Associates (AMA) has landed a string of new clients.

After winning the PR contract this summer for LEEDS 2023, the city’s year-long celebration of culture, AMA has been awarded a communications contract by Muse Developments – a town and city-centre urban regeneration specialist – for its One City Park office scheme in Bradford.

AMA will deliver an 18-month PR and social media campaign for One City Park, a 56,403 sq ft office scheme in the city centre on the site of the former Bradford Police headquarters.

The scheme received planning consent on 21 October. Work will begin on site in spring 2022 and is due to complete in spring 2023.

AMA currently also leads on PR campaigns for cultural clients including Hull Truck Theatre and Northern Ballet, and many regeneration and sustainability projects in the North including leading sustainable developer Citu and heritage regeneration specialists Rushbond PLC.

And the Ilkley-based agency is the PR team behind Bradford 2025, the district’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2025. Bradford was recently announced as one of eight successful longlisted places for the much-coveted title.

Simon Dew, development director at Muse Developments, said: “AMA has a huge PR pedigree when it comes to leading on cultural and property projects across the region.

“Their knowledge of Bradford district, the media and key audiences is second to none. One City Park is a game changer for Bradford city centre and highlights our collective confidence and long-term vision for the district – AMA shares that vision.”

Agency managing director, Anita Morris, said: “We’ve worked with Muse Developments on a number of schemes over the years, but we’re especially excited to work on this regeneration project that is delivering Grade A office space for Bradford city centre and will act as a catalyst for growth and investment.

“It’s this kind of ambitious and forward-thinking scheme that inspires confidence in the city and complements the work of Bradford 2025 which has ambitious plans of its own to put Bradford in the spotlight on an international stage.

“We’ve seen first-hand the impact that culture can have on building communities, transforming cities and encouraging investment.

“Leeds and Bradford are both leading the way with their individual programmes. AMA is proud to be part of these plans that will bring social value and economic benefits to the region.”

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Leeds-based Halston Marketing has been hired by Every and Allied Glass to manage their strategies and execute their marketing campaigns.

Every, a specialist EdTech provider appointed the agency to generate and execute its annual and quarterly marketing strategies.

The agency will be managing research, social media, PR and content activities to deliver a fully-fledged marketing campaign to elevate Every’s brand further and promote its HR solution within the education sector.

Adam Watson, director of Every, said: “We chose to partner with Halston due to their deep technical knowledge and ability to grasp a strong understanding of our target audiences.

“They have already been able to develop a comprehensive strategy that aligns with our goals to promote both our compliance and HR solution.

“Aside from this, they are consistently working with our sales team to make activities as tactical as possible.”

The second client win is Allied Glass, a glass manufacturer servicing the global spirits market.

Halston Marketing will be tasked with managing its social media activity, PR and ongoing content generation to help develop its overall brand awareness in the market.

Alongside this, the agency has been appointed to manage its new website project, giving the brand a refresh and establish a stronger customer journey on-site, through more established persona targeting.

Alan Henderson, managing director of Allied Glass, said: “The past couple of years have been some of the busiest in our company’s history and we really needed to ramp up our marketing to reflect this.

“We wanted to create a way to specialise and better target our core markets. Halston has worked with us to properly segment our target audience and understand their pain points and now we are working on ways to reflect this in a holistic marketing strategy.”

Georgia Halston, director of Halston Marketing, added: “We are so happy to be working with such specialist companies, that individually are experiencing huge growth and ready to take the next step in their marketing activities.

“With such niche offerings and need for technical knowledge, these clients are a perfect match for our expertise, and we can’t wait to get to work.”