Agency roundup: Aberfield Communications; connective3; Northern Artillery; and more

Aberfield Communications has been appointed by BHP, the largest independent accountancy firm in Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, as its PR and communications consultancy.

The Leeds-based PR, social media and brand communications agency will support the delivery of the firm’s marketing strategy to key audiences across the North of England through a proactive press office and strategic support.

This will include thought leadership focused on the firm’s key sector expertise, events, people profiling across its office network and employer branding.

Operating out of offices in Chesterfield, Cleckheaton, Leeds, Sheffield and York, BHP has more than 450 staff, including 35 partners.

Jamie Williams, head of markets at BHP, said: “Our ambition is to be the firm of choice for owner managed businesses across the North.

“We have ambitious growth targets and were looking for a partner to work with us who could really add value and expertise.

“Aberfield has a market-leading track record in the professional services arena and its audience-first approach and senior strategic consultancy, backed by strong market knowledge and connections, set it apart from the field.”

Ben Ormsby, senior consultancy at Aberfield Communications, added: “BHP is a hugely admired and respected brand, and we are excited about working as an extension of its marketing team and providing guidance to experts across the business as it embarks on its next phase of growth.

“With our extensive experience in the business advisory space including with Deloitte, Fortus and Grant Thornton, we are looking forward to adding real value to BHP at an important time for businesses and the economy and as new and disruptive industries and technologies emerge from the North’s towns and cities.”

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Leeds-headquartered digital performance marketing agency, connective3, says it plans to reach a 200 headcount as it enters its fifth year of trading.

The agency, launched in 2019, has a headcount of 100, with offices in Leeds, London, and Manchester. It delivers work for leading brands globally. Current clients include Ocado, Wren Kitchens, Avon, and Tapi Carpets.

connective3 has seen further growth in recent years, fuelled by the launch of its international offering, which now accounts for 30% of the agency’s revenue.

The agency has further strengthened its specialisms and headcount with two acquisitions to date including PR consultancy Silverthorn in 2019 and paid performance agency Made Greater in 2023.

Tim Grice, CEO, said: “It’s been another fantastic year for the business despite a challenging economic climate, which has seen us grow fee income by 50% and expand to over 100 people.

“This has been driven by nearly 90% client retention and a paid media offering that has nearly doubled during the 2022/23 period.

“We’re excited to continue our growth organically in the coming year with new products being launched across our strategic and creative teams, as well as adding key hires into the business at all levels.

“We know the coming year is likely to be even more challenging but are confident we are positioned correctly to help our clients explore new channels and drive growth.”

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Creative production company Northern Artillery has won a new contract with GPE, formerly Great Portland Estates.

The partnership, which has already seen the successful delivery of several significant projects, represents a major milestone for the two-year-old Leeds-based agency.

It represents an expansion of Northern Artillery’s expertise in real-estate into the commercial sector, having partnered for the last two years with build-to-rent developer Moda Living.

It also marks the company’s first retained contract with a FTSE 250 business, which will see it support GPE with comprehensive materials for its fully managed office spaces, across its £2.4bn portfolio of London real estate. 

Stuart Baker, founder and director of Northern Artillery, said: “Securing GPE as a retained client is a major milestone for us.

“As a relatively young agency, it demonstrates the calibre of our work and the dedication of our exceptional team.

“We established Northern Artillery with the goal of supplying market leading creative production you would expect from a global agency, with process, value, and relationships at the heart of our core values.

“The fact GPE has given us this opportunity speaks volumes for our capabilities and I could not be prouder of the team.”  

Rebecca Walton, commercial marketing, GPE, added: “To attract customers to our London workspaces, we want to ensure we are providing best-in-class marketing materials to take them on that journey with us.

“Our partnership with Northern Artillery brings new expertise and skills to the table, which is already helping us create engaging content that considers our customer first approach. 

“We are thrilled with the delivery we have seen so far and look forward to continuing our work together.”

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Leeds-headquartered creative communications agency, Hatch, is supporting Nationwide Building Society as it unveils a new, modernised rebrand which is set to be rolled out across its entire network of 605 branches.

The rebrand is Nationwide’s most significant brand refresh since 1987 and is part of a drive to demonstrate the value of mutuality – being member-owned, as opposed to being owned by shareholders.

Hatch is working as an extension of Nationwide’s internal PR and social media teams as they communicate this new phase to members, and bring the advertising campaign to life across owned channels.

The new logo modernises and simplifies the Nationwide icon, while the custom typography draws on the heritage of the building society, recalling a typeface used in Nationwide’s advertising during the 1980s (Editorial New).

The new phase for Nationwide includes an integrated advertising campaign, featuring British actor Dominic West.

Catherine Kehoe, chief customer, brand and engagement officer at Nationwide, said:  “This is an incredibly exciting time for Nationwide, as we update our brand to reflect our position as a modern mutual.

“Our members have made it clear that while the world evolves to become increasingly digital-first, the importance of having a physical branch to engage with is as important as ever.

“And with our Branch Promise committing our place on high streets until at least 2026, it was never in question that our rebrand would be rolled out across our full network of 605 branches.”

Victoria Tidmarsh, operations director at Hatch, added: “Having worked with the Nationwide team to deliver partnership activations over recent years, we’re pleased to now be supporting the brand’s evolution as it moves into this exciting new era.

“Nationwide is a household name brand, and one that we are incredibly proud to work alongside.”