Agency roundup: Impression Studio/Next Chapter; Journey Further; Modo25; and more

Creative agency, Impression Studio, has ambitious plans for growth which aim to take the agency and its sister business, Next Chapter, to £1m turnover by the end of the financial year 2025. 

The business, established by CEO and founder Charlie Hartley in 2009, currently has 17 staff across two agency brands; Impression and sister agency, Next Chapter, which specialises in digital marketing. 

In line with this growth projection, the business will be looking to create five additional positions across the board.

Hartley, who started the Harrogate-headquartered agency at the age of 24, said: “We’ve experienced encouraging and sustainable growth within the last two years, expanding our international client base and spreading our wings further throughout the UK with the addition of FLOCC earlier this year, which has given us access to exciting businesses in East Anglia. 

“Of course, we’re Yorkshire born and bred and we’ve been thrilled to grow in our home county, with the addition of three new team members recently and exciting projects like Betty’s and Taylors Group, the company behind the iconic Yorkshire Tea brand.

“We have ambitious plans to ramp up our sales and marketing activity significantly and hope this will help us reach the £1m turnover mark within the next couple of years, as well as grow the team. It’s an exciting time and we have brilliant people on the journey.”

Dan Martin, technical director at Impression, added: “Our growth projections are influenced heavily by the evolving demands of our clients from a technical perspective, particularly with our clients in the Proptech and Biotech sectors. 

“As a specialist JamStack development agency, we are seeing an increase in enquiries from businesses with complex requirements for projects spanning immersive websites, web applications and other custom digital products, both here in the UK and with our clients in the US.

“It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to expanding our experience, knowledge and team as we progress.”

:::

Heritage and lifestyle brand, Barbour has appointed Leeds-based performance brand agency, Journey Further to bolster growth in the UK, US, and European markets.

The agency will deliver an integrated approach, encompassing creative strategy, media planning and performance marketing activity to help Barbour achieve its growth objectives over the next 12 months.

Journey Further’s strategic remit will focus on maximising Barbour’s digital footprint and increasing brand awareness globally by restructuring its content to articulate a distinct brand message and optimise performance through media channels.

Leanne Forster, head of brand and communications at Barbour, said: “Journey Further really stood out in the process with its joined up approach, from strategy to execution.

“Its paid and performance capabilities really shone through and we had great chemistry with the team, so we can’t wait to get started.”

Lydia Hinchliff, head of communications strategy at the agency, said: “By helping Barbour understand its customer more effectively, we’re perfectly placed to help define its communications strategy and align content across brand and performance marketing activity.

“We’re thrilled to be adding Barbour to our client roster and can’t wait to start implementing an integrated strategy across paid, organic and creative in order to help them achieve their marketing goals.”

:::

John Readman

Full-service digital marketing agency, Modo25, has added another six-figure client win to its roster.

The Leeds-based agency has been appointed by UK waste management group, Everything Managed, to provide multiple channels of digital marketing support, recruitment, and consultancy services.

Modo25 has partnered with Everything Managed to enable it to continue scaling its sales and return-on-investment from its investment in digital marketing.

The agency will be providing expert SEO, PPC, paid social, digital PR and recruitment services.

Founded in 2011, Everything Managed offers a range of waste management solutions for over 27,000 UK customers and businesses of all sizes.

Located in Newcastle, it now serves more than 27,000 customers across the UK.

In addition to the digital marketing support, Everything Managed has also signed up for several licenses from Modo25’s marketing AI platform – ASK BOSCO^®.

ASK BOSCO^® is an AI-powered marketing analytics platform that enables brands and agencies to reduce their online ad spend and increase sales.

Damon Smith, chief executive officer at Everything Managed, said: “Modo25’s proven track record in crafting tailored digital marketing strategies, coupled with their commitment to delivering exceptional results, made them the natural choice for us.”

The agency’s founder and chief executive officer, John Readman, added: “We are incredibly excited to be working with Everything Managed.

“The team are ready to roll up its sleeves and deliver impactful digital marketing solutions that will help Everything Managed to achieve its strategic objectives and solidify its position as an industry leader. 

“The collaboration between ourselves and Everything Managed comes at a pivotal time when businesses across all industries are recognising the importance of a robust digital presence in tough economic times.”

:::

Leeds PR agency, Aubergine, has been appointed on a retained basis to handle the PR for social enterprise Stay Nimble.

Stay Nimble helps organisations retain and develop great team members and supports thousands of people in their career.

Aubergine’s initial job is to promote the company’s new Elevate service – a personalised plugin for businesses who want to support their staff progression but don’t have the time or resources to do it themselves.

The team of former journalists, which has experience at broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4 News, is working on a series of sector pushes kicking off with hospitality – and they are about to launch a survey of hospitality workers to assess the barriers to career progression in the industry.

It is the third time Aubergine has worked with the CEO of Stay Nimble, Dominic Atkinson.

He said: “Aubergine is a dynamic and nimble team of former journalists and I’ve been so impressed with their attitude, attention to detail and results over the years.

“It’s testament to their passion and drive that this is the third time I’ve appointed Emma and Verity and I’m really excited to see how they help to grow Stay Nimble as a business through their editorial knowledge and unique behind-the-scenes journalistic know-how.”

Verity Clarke, co-founder and director of Aubergine, said: “Working with Dominic again is such a pleasure – for five years we’ve had a real synergy when it comes to PR and we’re so excited to have been appointed to take Stay Nimble to the next level.

“We’ve already achieved some outstanding coverage for the company, and we’re confident our hospitality survey will drive even further interest in what they have to offer.”