Agency roundup: Spark; Wild PR; HUB; and more

Spark, a market research and insights agency, is investing in Leeds and growing its workforce in the region.

The boutique agency, which was founded in 2007 in Dublin, now has over half of its workforce based in Leeds city centre.

The team delivers market and customer insights for high-street and local brands, including Pizza Express, No7, Nomad Foods, Hisense and the Real Yorkshire Pudding Company.

The agency, which is part of marketing group – Audience Collective, has ambitious growth plans to continue to strengthen and develop its UK presence, by being in close proximity to its growing portfolio of nationwide clients.

Bolstering its workforce, Spark has recently appointed an associate director to join the Leeds team and has plans to welcome a graduate from a local university in quarter three.

Lynsey Carolan, managing director, said: “Leeds is a thriving city and an emerging Northern hub for the market research industry, making it a hotbed for both talent and growth opportunities.

“With a growing UK client base, we want to invest in people here in Leeds and provide opportunities for them to get under the skin of some of the UK’s most inspiring and exciting brands that we’re proud to partner with.

“We’re looking forward to connecting with more regional and national brands and further growing our Leeds division.”

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Kayleigh Morgan

Unity Plus, a Yorkshire-based staffing solutions provider for health and social care service providers, has appointed Huddersfield-based Wild PR to support its growth plans.

By increasing the number of hours of care delivered across the region, Unity Plus aims to provide more people and care providers with the highest-quality support.

Established in 2019, Unity Plus places temporary and permanent healthcare assistants, senior care assistants, and nurses in a wide range of settings, including private homes, care homes, nursing homes, and hospitals across the UK.

The company also provides temporary cover for maternity leave or sickness absence.

To support the healthcare organisation in reaching its year-on-year growth target of increasing healthcare worker intake and delivering 10,000 hours of care per week, Wild PR will implement an integrated marketing and PR strategy.

It will aim to raise brand awareness, drive high-quality and relevant online visibility and traffic, and amplify the quality of the organisation’s employees and services, while keeping Unity’s strict adherence to industry regulations and standards in mind.

CEO at Unity Plus, Ross Hodgson, said: “As we strive towards our ambitious growth plans and look to refine how we communicate our quality service to healthcare providers across the UK, we recognised that strengthening our marketing and PR efforts is crucial to reaching these goals.

“After exploring various agencies, we felt Wild PR aligned best with our values.

“The team has already worked hard to deeply understand Unity Plus, including our service offering, team, and client base.

“In the healthcare industry, it’s crucial to partner with an organisation that comprehends the importance of our work and communicates it clearly and carefully across channels.”

Kayleigh Morgan, senior account manager at the agency, added: “We’re thrilled to have Unity Plus on board, and we look forward to helping them achieve their goals and supporting their mission within the health and social care industries.”

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Leeds-based integrated agency, HUB, has added a new client to its roster following the appointment of Malcolm Slade as performance director at the beginning of 2024.

Also based in Leeds, Good Move is a regulated property buying company operating across England and Wales.

It has appointed HUB to take charge of its technical search engine optimisation (SEO), content strategy and digital PR aiming to increase brand awareness and build trust. 

Good Move made the switch after an assessment of its ongoing SEO investment indicated the need to take a fresh approach.

Rob Shaw, CEO at HUB, said: “I am thrilled that Good Move has chosen us to deliver its SEO strategy.

“Winning their trust with such an integral element of their marketing strategy really is testament to the quality and expertise of our growing performance marketing team.

“We have had the privilege of offering a new perspective based on the wealth of experience Malcolm has brought to the agency, and we are eager to instil credibility and expertise within our client’s domain. 

“Our strategy will demonstrate the value Good Move can add to its customers’ property journeys through relevant and useful content, all while asserting their dominance in their market.”

Nima Gharsi, director at Good Move, said: “Finding an experienced agency that we could trust to refresh our SEO strategy has been a challenge.

“HUB’s brand-centric approach to SEO really resonates with us, and I am excited to see how this partnership will deliver growth for us and value for our customers.”

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Business experts at Leeds Beckett University have teamed up with marketing agency, GOLD79, in a partnership to boost the long-term growth and sustainability of start-up businesses across the UK.

A new programme, called GOLD79 MINE, has been launched as a collaboration between Leeds Business School at Leeds Beckett and GOLD79.

It will support talented and entrepreneurial individuals who want to start their own businesses through academic consultancy, expert business support services, mentoring, networking, business infrastructure and financial support.

GOLD79, which has offices in Leeds and London, will also invest a minimum of 10% of its profits into an investment fund for MINE members each year.

Professor Lebene Soga, academic director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange at Leeds Business School, said: “GOLD79’s collaboration with Leeds Beckett University in the launch of GOLD79 MINE is a testament to our shared commitment to fostering innovation in the vibrant Leeds City Region and beyond.

“Through GOLD79 MINE, we aim to provide a dynamic environment for students, graduates, academics and wider talent from the marketing industry to collaborate with entrepreneurial minds, echoing our dedication to driving growth and sustainability in the marketing agency scene.

“This partnership exemplifies our role as an anchor institution, proudly working alongside GOLD79 to offer a central hub in Leeds for engaging with entrepreneurial marketing people, supporting their resilience, and contributing to the overall success for our community.”

A key criterion for all businesses applying to the MINE programme is that they must operate within the guidelines and parameters of both B-Corp and Net Zero.

A series of 12 modules will be delivered over the course of the 12-month programme, with a selection of sessions delivered by Leeds Business School at The Knowledge Exchange business hub at the Rose Bowl in Leeds city centre.

Tamarind Wilson-Flint, co-founder of GOLD79, said: “We’ve always believed in the transformative power of entrepreneurship.

“From our beginnings 20 years ago with Jet2.com and Jet2holidays as our first and only client, to becoming industry leaders with a global presence through our L’Attitude network, our journey has been shaped by our ability to spot new opportunities and grow our business.

“Now, the launch of the MINE Programme represents a new chapter for GOLD79.

“We’re not just looking to the future; we’re actively shaping it. By fostering a community of entrepreneurs, we hope to create a ripple effect that extends far beyond our immediate reach.

“Our partnership with Leeds Beckett University underscores our commitment to education, innovation, and community engagement.”