Beth and Ian have been selected to judge the National Startup Awards and the British Business Awards 2022 respectively.
The National Startup Awards have received over 2,500 applications in response to the first-ever call for entries and over 800 startups from the nine nations and regions of the UK have been shortlisted. Beth has been asked to be part of the team reviewing, deliberating and awarding the finest entries from the South West. This not only taps into her knowledge of this sector and the challenges and opportunities that come with it but also our desire to champion everything that’s great about the region we’ve made our home.
Ian will be part of a British Business Awards panel judging SMEs across 10 categories. Now in their fifth year, these prestigious awards recognise and celebrate the innovative and outstanding achievements of small and medium-size British businesses across all industries. This lifeblood of our economy is also a hotbed of real innovation as previous winners have demonstrated. Our work in helping to ignite brands at this stage of growth puts us in good shape to be part of this event.
Winners from both events will be announced a little later in the year.
We’re delighted to announce that we’re wrapping up the first quarter of 2022 with a duo of new business wins. We’ll be working with Vivo Life on brand positioning and will aid the University of Bristol in the development of their commercial Quantum offering.
Vivo Life makes 100% plant-based health and fitness supplements. They have an enviable range of top-quality products which are not only great for people using them, but for the environment and world around them. Its growth has been fuelled by growing awareness and desire for plant-based, cruelty-free nutrition, and is underpinned by a strong sense of purpose as a business-for-good.
With a loyal following in the UK, US and Germany in particular, the business is looking to remain top-of-mind in an increasingly competitive environment, expand awareness to wider audiences within those core markets, as well as access new international markets.
Based in Somerset, Vivo Life is the latest purpose-driven organisation based in the region to work with us as they scale for growth.
We’ve been appointed to take the Vivo Life team through its Brand Ignition framework, beginning with defining a new Brand Position. We’ll also use our proprietary Spark survey with employees to understand how the brand currently shapes their internal purpose, culture and environment to set the business up for growth.
Salvatore Notaro, co-founder and Managing Director at Vivo Life comments, “With big change in the competitor landscape since our launch seven years ago along with rising marketing costs, we recognised that we need a new approach to be able to achieve sustainable growth. So, I’m delighted to be working with Firehaus and their Brand Ignition framework to get us to that next stage.”
We’ll also be working with the University of Bristol to develop its commercial quantum offering and brand positioning. The focus will be on Bristol bringing quantum technology out of the lab and into the world to help tackle the challenges of the future.
Nick Barthram, Founder and Strategy Partner adds, “We’ve been working behind-the-scenes with the Bristol quantum community for a year now and it still remains exhilarating to be part of something which could so fundamentally change the world we live in.”
Wednesday 29 June saw us attend the UK Digital Growth Awards in Marble Arch, London and return to the South West triumphant, with three trophies in hand!
Launch was awarded Best Use of Data for ISO consultancy client IMSM and B2B PPC Campaign of the Year for office property client Argyll, before going on to scoop PPC Agency of the Year as the evening drew to a close.
Judges’ feedback noted how ‘everything Launch brought forward as an agency was interesting’ and recognised how ‘impactful’ and ‘well planned and executed’ the campaigns were. They also highlighted our people-centric focus and positive employee experience, where we’ve placed an increasing emphasis on our staff’s wellbeing and happiness, having tripled in team size since the beginning of 2021.
These awards follow a string of other wins this year at the UK Paid Media Awards, European Search Awards, and The Drum Search Awards.
Jaye Cowle, Managing Director at Launch, says: “It’s absolutely brilliant to be able to add these Growth awards to our awards shelf – particularly following such a tricky time in the industry. We’re delighted that the judges have recognised our dedication to our staff and their happiness. It’s an ongoing mission of ours and this just proves we’re on the right path.”
See the full list of other winners on the UK Digital Growth Awards website or read the award-winning Argyll and IMSM case studies.
Launched to mark the programme’s 10-year anniversary and reinforce the agency’s commitment to Bristol as its UK home, the Noble Deeds initiative will see one local charity secure £12,000 worth of digital performance marketing support.
Noble Performs is inviting Bristol-based charities to attend the launch event on the 6th July, when entries will open, with the winner announced in August and work beginning in September.
Started originally by Noble Performs Nevada Headquarters, the Noble Deeds programme has upskilled dozens of charities & not for profits during the past decade, and scaled as Noble’s US business has grown, now donating in excess of $200,000 a year of services to worthy causes.
Noble’s UK managing director, Kate Sikora, explains;
“Ever since we first established our Bristol base in 2018 we’ve wanted to bring our Noble Deeds programme to the city. With charities and not-for-profits struggling more than ever to secure vital donations due to the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis it felt like the right time to be trying to help charities look at how their digital marketing efforts can help crucial fundraising efforts
“One of the reasons we chose the city as our UK home is it really resonates with our ‘Be Better Every day’ philosophy. Bristol is such a melting pot of businesses and not-for-profits of all shapes and sizes but there’s a real sense of genuine community and shared responsibility around making the city a better place to live and work for everyone.”
Helping clients such as Adobe, Rolls Royce, Air Asia and Yosemite with their international digital presence, Noble’s ambition is to replicate the scale of its Nevada Noble Deeds programme in Bristol as its UK footprint grows.
To enter registered charities or not-for-profits must be Bristol-based and complete a simple application form, which will be available on the Noble Performs website on July 6th, 2022.
The Bristol-based charity that wins a place on the programme will secure a package of digital marketing support and skills training tailored to suit its specific needs, however this could include; SEO, PPC, Analytics and Paid Social.
Charities who wish to register their interest in the Noble Deeds Programme and attend the launch event at the Bristol Observatory on Wednesday 6th July (6-8 p.m.) should email [email protected] to receive an invitation and secure their place.
To find out more about Noble Performs go to https://nobleperforms.co.uk/
First up ADLIB. Our very own Steve Kay has been promoted to MD of ADLIB 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
12 months ago, we set out to achieve a lot in preparation for this move. The result of which has seen us deliver our best ever financial year, the development of the ADLIB x enable group proposition, organically growing a group headcount of 55 talented and lovely people, all which comes without any need to scale and sell and best of all we’ve built an infinite business model that opens career opportunities without ceilings and a stakeholder profit model for all to enjoy.
Steve’s been with ADLIB for 9 years and instrumental to our growth and success from the day he joined. Alongside Steve is an incredible management team that have stepped up to support him in realising our future ambitions.
Next up is enable. It’s taken time to pull together the perfect leadership team that balances energy, opportunity and structure, but we now have it, and it’s been well worth the wait.
Tim Macmillan, enable’s Founder, brings his unstoppable energy and the ability to create opportunity, Oliver Howson has been promoted to be our new MD. Ollie flips seamlessly between the vision and driving the team’s success, whilst Shannon Matthews rejoins the business to bring the structure that underpins everything. enable is bursting with energy and opportunity, the team is growing fast, B Corp is underway, we’re excited for how the next 12 months will unfold.
As for Nick, he’s here to help our new MDs and leaders, to be the best the business has ever had (his words).
Viva ADLIB & enable.
With a name like Koko you’d expect these guys to be a bit nuts about coconuts, but the love they have for this plant goes way beyond their name.
A family-owned company that takes great care of their coconuts, growing them the way nature intended and packing them within hours of being picked – always by human hands – to guarantee, freshness, ripeness, and the highest quality.
With a range of delicious milk alternatives already in the market, Koko wanted to offer something more to their growing audience… a vitamin enriched coconut milk which contains enhanced nutritional benefits for both physical and emotional well-being.
Having worked together on previous Koko products, Episode Two were asked to bring this exciting new product to life.
“We wanted the packaging design to really champion the unique ‘natural goodness’ proposition” says Creative Director Mark Stubbington “and help elevate the Koko brand credentials.”
“While it was also important to stay true to the core range look and feel” adds Creative Strategist Rikki Payne.
And the result? Bursting with 11 vitamins and minerals, Koko Life! helps support the immune system, brighten the mind and look after skin – don’t you feel happy just looking at it?
“This was a tricky brief. We needed our new product to fit with the existing Koko range, but demonstrate the additional nutritional benefits and energy delivered by a product fortified with vitamins. The outcome speaks for itself, with a striking visual identity that perfectly balances the Koko brand with an elevated lifestyle proposition.” Heather Lewis. Senior Marketing Manager
To support the expansion of our Bristol team and better serve our growing list of clients, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve opened an office right by Bristol Temple Meads station.
Eight of the 21-strong team will now be based in the new office, with Operations Director Mike Sharp heading up the Bristol space.
He says of the opening: “Our mission is to be the happiest paid media agency in the UK. We believe that happy people do great work. It’s brilliant to open the Bristol office because we know that our people want to be back in a shared environment, both for their own mental health, and their ability to work closer as a team to deliver for our increasing client-base in the Bristol area.”
We are actively recruiting to fill roles across the business as we respond to increased demand. Having recently been recognised as the Best Small PPC Agency in Europe and praised for our ‘team-centric’ approach, if you’re passionate about paid media, we’d love to hear from you.
For more information on the roles available – based in Bristol, Exeter, or remotely – visit www.launchonline.co.uk/careers/
Bristol production agency Skylark Media has scooped three awards at this year’s The Drum Roses Awards. The agency is among three Bristol-based businesses that won GOLD. Aardman Animations and The Collaborators for Butternut of London (Bristol), also received top honours.
The Drum Roses, which celebrates the UK’s most talented creatives outside of London, has been running for over 35 years. Skylark won GOLD in the Animation/Illustration category for its work with Viva!’s This Is Fine animation. The animation also picked up BRONZE in the Viral Video category. Viva!’s TV ad, ‘Takeaway The Meat’, placed SILVER in the esteemed TV/Cinema Campaign category.
MD Jo Haywood says, ‘We’re absolutely ecstatic to win at this year’s The Drum Roses Awards. To be recognised by industry peers for our creativity is a real stamp of approval. We were up against some big brands and excellent campaigns including our friends at Aardman Animations. We are proud of our team’s creative work in building some successful campaigns for our client, Viva!’.
Launch has been named the best small digital advertising agency in Europe at an award ceremony in Barcelona last night, May 26.
The paid media agency was recognised as the Best Small PPC Agency (under 25 employees) in Europe, and also won Best Use of Search in the B2B category for its work to drive global revenue for an ISO provider based in the UK.
The announcement was made at the European Search Awards, an annual event which rewards and celebrates the very best companies and people working in digital marketing across the continent.
The judges praised Launch for its ‘team-centric’ approach to its work, ensuring that the workload of their employees was carefully managed while also guaranteeing that their ambitious objectives were delivered for its clients.
Jaye Cowle, Founder of Launch was delighted with the awards; “Our mission is to be the happiest agency in the UK. I believe that happy people do great work, regardless of where you work or what you do. So, I am absolutely thrilled that the judges recognised this and saw how it is possible to deliver on challenging goals and have a happy work-life balance.”
Launch has offices in Bristol and Exeter and is currently recruiting.
Rita will talk about how she has found brand thinking not just fundamental to successful businesses of all shapes, sizes and stages, but also how you can apply it to yourself to ensure that you are as valued and influential as you can be. She will:
Tickets are priced at £50+VAT for BCI members and £75+VAT for non-members which includes a buffet lunch so there’ll be plenty of opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new connections too.
If you’d like to join the BCI network, read all about becoming a BCI member here.
As a high-profile business leader, acclaimed brand guru and sustainability champion, Rita is able to inspire organisations of all kinds to find new ways to succeed in an uncertain world.
She has been called ‘Brand guru’ by the Financial Times and ‘The doyenne of branding’ by Campaign magazine. Retail Week commented that she is ‘A fabulous ambassador for business’. Alongside her board chairing and non-executive roles, Rita is a writer, keynote speaker, conference chair & practitioner on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership.
Her career has included being a Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, as London CEO and Chair at the global brand consultancy Interbrand and as co-founder of BrandCap. She is now a portfolio chair and non-executive director on the board of businesses including John Lewis Partnership, Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc. Previous boards have included ASOS, Dixons Retail plc, Emap, Bupa and Populus Group. Her non-profit boards have included WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature), the UK Sustainable Development Commission and Green Alliance. She was recently appointed Chair at Forum for the Future, the leading international sustainability organisation. In the 2014 New Year’s Honours List, Rita was awarded a CBE for services to the creative industries.
Rita is a regular columnist and media commentator, as well as author of ‘The Future of Brands’ and two editions of The Economist book ‘Brands and Branding’. Her new book on leadership ‘Love your imposter’ was launched by Kogan Page in September 2020.
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