Media trio merge to form multi-discipline marketing agency
THREE Yorkshire-based media companies have merged to form one of the region’s leading marketing agencies outside of London.
Kohd (pronounced code) is the merger of Skipton-based website business Thorpe Enterprises, software firm Idealogic and Leeds-based design company Mediant.
The newly formed enterprise, which boasts an annual turnover of more than £2m and in excess of 20 staff, will be located in a 7,00sq ft office and studio base in Embsay near Skipton.
According to Chris Dutton, group managing director, the merger makes Kohd a far more versatile media business and allows it to create and deliver broad projects incorporating branding, graphic design, website, publishing and web-based software.
“”This is a tough climate for many businesses, but our approach to delivering efficiencies and using innovative technologies to increase the impact of campaigns and reduce costs makes us more capable of growth in current market conditions,” he added.
“Kohd is all about the delivery of information, whether verbal, visual or written. We have pulled together three groups of experts to deliver complete projects that would otherwise have to be split between specialists.”
Mr Dutton is joined by group chairman Terry Thorpe – the founder of Thorpe Enterprises and Ideologic founder Len Buck who take the role of business development director.
Design house Mediant has a seven year history and boasts clients as diverse as the Women’s Royal Volutary Service and Davidoff.
Recent acquisitions for the group include Harrogate-based web desgn firm Stray Beyond. It also has a major shareholding in Beyond Media Group – the publisher behind Beyond Leeds and Beyond York.
Kohd’s management plan to organically grow the new merged company in the first two quarters of 2009 before embarking on further acquisitions of complementary media businesses in the second half of the year.
