Company News | Brand Ambition

Sophie Wright Wins Apprentice of the Year at The Coders Guild Awards

by Lex | Oct 11, 2024 | Company News

We are thrilled to announce that Sophie Wright, Web Design & Development Apprentice at Brand Ambition, has been awarded Apprentice of the Year at the Coders Guild Awards! This recognition shines a spotlight on Sophie’s dedication, hard work, and the exceptional contributions she has made to both our team and our clients.

From the moment Sophie joined Brand Ambition, her passion for web development and design was evident. As an apprentice, Sophie has consistently gone above and beyond what is expected, demonstrating an impressive ability to solve complex problems, think creatively, and deliver high-quality work under pressure. Her enthusiasm for learning, coupled with her technical skills, has brought fresh, innovative ideas to every project she touches.

Whether it’s working on intricate website builds, improving user experiences, or developing sleek designs for our clients, Sophie’s work has been nothing short of extraordinary. Her commitment to improving her craft has seen her take on challenges with enthusiasm and exceed the expectations typically placed on an apprentice.

Sophie’s contribution to Brand Ambition’s growth has been significant, making her an invaluable member of our team. She continuously seeks ways to add value, always ready to lend a hand and collaborate with others to bring creative visions to life. Her drive and determination have set her apart, proving that she is more than deserving of this award.

Her well-earned recognition at the Coders Guild Awards not only celebrates her individual achievements but also reflects the collaborative spirit and support within Brand Ambition. We couldn’t be prouder of Sophie and are excited to see where her journey takes her next!

Congratulations, Sophie!

Brand Ambition Announces Pedl Digitl as Our Strategic Web Delivery Partner

by Sam | Jul 4, 2024 | Company News

At Brand Ambition, we are always striving to enhance our capabilities and deliver the highest quality services to our clients.

We are thrilled to announce our official partnership with Pedl Digitl as our strategic web delivery partner. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our journey to provide comprehensive and innovative digital marketing solutions.

Enhancing Our Web Development Capabilities

The decision to partner with Pedl Digitl comes as part of our ongoing commitment to excellence and growth. Pedl Digitl brings a wealth of expertise in web development, helping us to create robust, functional, and beautifully designed websites that drive results.

This partnership enables us to expand our service offerings and deliver even more value to our clients.

SEO First™ Web Development

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A Perfect Match for Our Values

At Brand Ambition, we prioritise innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction. Pedl Digitl shares these values, making them an ideal partner. Their dedication to pushing the boundaries of web development aligns perfectly with our mission to stay at the forefront of the digital marketing industry.

Success Stories and Shared Achievements

One of the standout success stories from our partnership is Sophie Wright, a talented web development apprentice who has been instrumental in our recent projects. Supported by The Coders Guild and funded through the Apprenticeship Levy by ASDA, Sophie has transitioned from a designer to a key player in our web development team. Her work, alongside Pedl Digitl, has contributed significantly to our 20% revenue growth this year.

Quotes from Our Leaders

As a growing SME, diversifying our skills and team has been crucial to our success. The team at Pedl Digitl are the best development team I’ve worked with, offering a fantastic set of standard deliverables.

Our clients have frequently commented on the efficiency of their customer service and the positive experience they’ve had with the Pedl team. This partnership has pushed the boundaries of what we thought possible, enabling us to create a new department while maintaining our core focus on SEO and customer service. I couldn’t be prouder of our achievements, and I’m excited to expand the department to include more apprentices in the coming months as a result of our growth.

Sam Raife

Managing Director, Brand Ambition

Working with Brand Ambition has been a highly rewarding experience. Their commitment to innovation and excellence aligns perfectly with our goals at Pedl Digitl. Collaborating on projects with Sophie and the rest of the team has allowed us to push the boundaries of web development and deliver exceptional results. It’s inspiring to see how our combined efforts have contributed to their significant revenue growth.

Additionally, our partnership with Brand Ambition, a leading SEO company, has allowed us to effectively synchronise our technical workflows and project management systems. This integration has enabled us to handle complex web architectures and high-load environments while ensuring optimal performance and search engine visibility.

By merging Brand Ambition’s SEO expertise with our advanced web development capabilities, we deliver robust, scalable solutions that meet stringent deadlines and exceed client expectations, setting new benchmarks in the industry.

Alen Mehic

Chief Technical Officer, Pedl Digitl

Looking Ahead

Our partnership with Pedl Digitl is set to bring numerous benefits to our clients, including enhanced website functionality, improved SEO performance, and innovative web solutions tailored to each client’s needs. We are excited to continue this journey, exploring new opportunities and achieving greater heights together.

We look forward to sharing more updates and success stories as our partnership with Pedl Digitl grows. Stay tuned for more exciting developments!

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Embracing Change: My Career Journey

by Lex | Mar 11, 2024 | Company News, Strategy

Embracing Change

Transitioning to a new career can be a scary and complex process, especially for the average person. Financial obligations and having a specific set of current skills can deter some people from making the move. I’m sure we’ve all thought at some point “I don’t enjoy my job”, “I’ve progressed as much as I can” or “I’m bored and need a new challenge”.

I am now on my 3rd significant career. So I thought I’d write about my own journey, what prompted my career changes and how I managed to navigate the waters.

From Call Centers to Digital Marketing

To start a bit of background is needed. As a young working professional, I bounced around a few different roles trying to find something that I was good at and two, something I’d enjoy. I started at the modern-day factory work, and call centres. And no it wasn’t me calling you up asking you about your gas & electric or conducting a survey. I started in an alarm monitoring centre, your alarm or CCTV activates and we call you/police/fire essentially.

I then moved on to Experian as a credit report advisor. However, it would be in my first few weeks of joining Experian that I realised what I wanted to do. To be an advisor there you first had to go through 6 weeks of training, which is what I decided would be the career for me, Training.

Unfortunately, the training roles at Experian were few and far between. Probably because the training team was fantastic and very few left. But I did manage to bag myself a secondment to the team for 6 months. Passed my AET qualifications and set to work.

Towards the end of my secondment, my mental health took a downturn as I was dreading going back as an advisor. My eldest brother once said to me “When we worry or fear something, our brain kicks into instinct mode. Flight or Fight”. I however flew. I flew all the way to Australia for a year

When I realised it was time to come back to the real world, I had to think of what I could do for work. I wanted to be a trainer but had little experience. I decided to go to a different alarm monitoring centre, where I had experience. But how was I going to get into training?

Well to be able to monitor CCTV, you need to have an SIA licence. I could combine my knowledge, experience and qualifications. I took a basic operator role and when I started, the training they had was appalling. Luckily I knew the rules and regulations. But for someone who is a brand new starter, it could spell mistakes all over. I became friendly with the operations manager and helped out with overtime where I could. Once I cemented myself within the company, I mentioned my qualifications and previous experience, I could design a proper training program for new starters.

I was given my chance and was made the company trainer, this was a newly created role for me. I designed a new starter program, cross-trained all current staff and did the SIA licence training. It was a success. However, down the line, I was bored. Fewer new staff was needed, less people left/were fired. All current staff were fully cross-trained in all aspects and everyone had SIA licences. I suppose this is where my first significant career change comes in.

Finding My Place in Recruitment

I was having a drink one night with an old schoolmate and mentioned my current situation. He suggested I come work at the same company as him in temporary recruitment for HGV drivers. The soft skills that I acquired through my training career would be transferable, but I would have to take a pay decrease to start with. I could manage the decrease in salary, so I took the role of an entry-level recruiter.

I built myself back up again earning promotions, salary increases and more responsibility. I hated the job. I could start work at 4 am and not finish until 10 pm at night. The anxiety of relying on everyone going to work every day, and if they didn’t try to find a replacement last minute, lying to people just so you had a backup in case someone let you down. Targets increase when you’ve not hit previous ones, which affects your commission each month. After 2 years I was done, I had to change, there was no question or I think I could have had a breakdown.

The Leap into Digital Marketing

And here we are now digital marketing. Starting at the bottom again, but I couldn’t be happier right now. Over the last few weeks, it’s made me realise how much a support system I have. Yes, the purse strings are going to have to be adjusted, but money isn’t everything. I’m sure my friends and family can buy me a drink or two.

Now there are a few key points I want to expand upon within my journey, for you to consider if and when you decide to change careers.

Key Takeaways from My Career Transitions

Firstly identify your skills and experiences in the current role you have, and Assess Your Professional Background. Once you’ve done that you can see which ones would be useful in a different career, this includes hard and soft skills, Leveraging Your Current Skill Set. Which you can see I did when I combined my training qualification and my alarm monitoring experience

Critical Thinking and Soft Skills are valuable in every career. Working on developing skills like problem-solving, communication, and adaptability could improve your chances over the next person. Research the job market as well, do you need further education? Does your current skill set align with your desired career? How many jobs are there in that field?

Practical Steps for Career Transition

Depending on your desired career you might need to acquire new skills or enhance your existing ones. Develop Relevant Skills and Knowledge, this could involve further education, an online course or self-guided learning. Helping you to bridge any skill gap or gain industry-specific knowledge. Websites like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning offer a wide range of courses that can help you acquire the necessary skills for your new career. Before I could start training I had to be qualified

Connect with people in your desired field. Networking is a great way to gain advice if you are unsure what qualifications you need or what your next step might be. It could also lead to possible job opportunities. You could speak to your friends and family like I did and see if they know or have anything. Your connections may be able to offer part-time work or internships, Gaining Relevant Experience could be critical in a successful transition. In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence can be a significant asset. Update your LinkedIn profile and consider creating content relevant to your new career path.

Financial Obligations always play a major part in anything you do in life. Whether that’s professional or personal. Calculate all your living bills per month, rent/mortgage, water, gas & electric, council tax & food. Add a little extra on top for social & personal use (can’t be all work and no play). This will show you the minimum you can live on each month.

Can you afford to take an Entry-Level Job? You will likely have to start from the bottom which may mean taking a decrease in salary. While it might be a step back, gaining that industry experience will be vital to help you elevate further down the line. I was lucky in the fact that I have been able to take entry-level roles and still be able to live.

Set Achievable Goals define clear, realistic, and achievable goals for your career transition. This helps in maintaining focus and may prevent you from getting disheartened. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends, family or professionals. A good Support System could be crucial in success. Whether it’s just to vent or for advice, maintaining your mental health is key. Especially if you’re juggling your current role with either internship or further education. A healthy Work-Life Balance and Support System I don’t think has ever been more important than the world we live in now. If it wasn’t for the people that encouraged me to change from my previous role I don’t know where I would be

What are your interview skills like? Be ready to discuss your career change and how your existing skills and experiences make you a suitable candidate for the new role. Emphasise your eagerness to learn and grow in the new field

Above all else Be Patient and Persistent understand that achieving career success in a new field might take time. Stay committed to your goals and adapt as necessary.

Brand Ambition & Keighley Labs Donate to POPI Baby Bank

by Lex | Dec 13, 2021 | Company News

In 2020, the UK spent £3.3bn on around 330 million toys for our children. It’s a booming industry that has a profound impact on the social skills and development of all of us. So understandably, when we learnt of the one in five children that go without Christmas presents every year, and the huge numbers of parents that struggle for basic necessities we wanted to see if we could help.

Keighley Laboratories have been a fantastic client of ours since we started out. The team there are open to pretty much anything, so when we suggested crushing toys to get the message across they didn’t doubt the vision. Well…maybe they did for a second. We created the campaign: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Donate. to raise awareness, around a key time of the year, what parents (like ourselves) should look to do as we make space for additional toys around Christmas time.

In our MD, Sam Raife’s household, he recounts his own Christmas experience.

“Our son is four-year-old this year at Christmas time, the excitement around December is reaching an unbelievable crescendo. Coupled with the guilt of grandparents not being able to attend last year, due to covid, we already have a mountain of overcompensated presents ready for Christmas day. Judging by the figures from the campaign this seems pretty normal. We know that as a family, we’ve always been the benefit of privilege, and very fortunate to be in this position, so this year, we wanted to do something different. It didn’t feel right simply recycling or selling on old toys, so we decided to look into our options.”

The research from the campaign showed the team at Brand Ambition an estimated 8.5 million brand new and 13 million perfectly good, preloved toys are sent to landfills every year and so the solution appears pretty simple. If those toys were donated to local charities that needed them, then no children would go without this year. Reaching out to their client Keighley Laboratories, a metallurgy testing and heat treatment facility in the town of Keighley probably wasn’t the obvious choice.

Sam Raife, went on to say;

“We have a fantastic working relationship with Debbie and the team at Keighley Laboratories. We also know that, like us, they are a family business at heart. So when we proposed the idea of utilising their machinery to overemphasise the statistics around waste, by crushing perfectly good pre-loved and new toys, they were happy to oblige. When Debbie and I started looking for a local charity to work with, we were overjoyed that the local baby bank in Keighley was open to donations and that it looked like our donations would actually have a fantastic impact on a number of local families.”

Local Keighley baby bank and registered charity Popi.org.uk has been running for over four years providing much-needed items for babies and children up to 5. Referrals to their service come from social workers, health visitors or family key workers supporting and working with families to understand closely what they need. Their work and the generosity of supporters means they’ve so far been able to keep up with demand, but this is growing as the charity becomes bigger.

Samantha Craven, Founder and General Manager of Popi in Keighley had this to say;

‘We are extremely grateful to Brand Ambition and Keighley Laboratories for their generous donations and the opportunity to put POPI at the forefront of their campaign. As a baby bank it’s essential we provide items such as brand new mattresses with each cot we give to families. New toys will also mean local children have a wonderful Christmas who otherwise would have gone without. Supporting a local charity means so much to us, as we see, every day, the difference even small donations can have on the development and growth of the 1,573 families we’ve supported in the last four years.This money will enable us to buy approximately 10 new mattresses keeping many more babies and young children safe. Having the support of these two businesses means the world to us.’”

A selection of the new toys and sleep suits that went to POPI

Debbie Mellor, Managing Director of Keighley Laboratries said of the campaign;

“If this joint campaign encourages just one person to donate to their local baby bank instead of throwing the toys away then it was worth it. We know how important our local community of Keighley is to us as a family, but also for the business that has been established for over 100 years. We hope to work closer with our local charities and we’re proud to donate too the team at Popi who have been doing such a great job in the Keighley and Bradford area to support families that need it.”

As part of the campaign Brand Ambition and Keighley Laboratories donated new toys, pre-loved items, new baby sleepsuits as well as £200 to be used against brand new mattresses or any other items the charity felt would benefit local families.

If you would like to contact POPI and provide a donation then please click here. To find your local baby bank, please contact your local authority or find details online.

A Very Happy BA Birthday No. 1!

by Sam | Sep 20, 2021 | Company News

Back to school, the football season really clicking into gear, the gradual cooling of the weather, shorter days and pumpkin spice back at Starbucks. September has some pretty major landmarks in it, but for us September takes on even more significance as it’s officially our birthday!

Robin and myself are both parents, and when a child turns one, you look back and reflect on the landmarks of the first year – the first trip home, first night sleeping through the night, first time they crawled, maybe the first time they walked or first words.

So like the true proud parents we are, we’re reflecting on our first year in business and some of the major landmarks we’ve enjoyed along the way.

September 1st - our first day:

SR – The first day felt like any other work day. We’d spent the last six months working from home as a result of the pandemic, so there was actually a huge anti-climax on the first day of the company starting. Robin and I spoke over zoom and I probably changed my Linkedin status, but the focus for the day quickly became about creating a sales template and following up a few prospective clients I’d arranged in the build up to working full time on Brand Ambition.

September - our first invoice day as Brand Ambition:

SR – We knew we were on the right track when it came to sending out our first three invoices. 15 days after starting the business, it felt like a big occasion.

It meant that all of the hard work that Robin and I had put in the build-up to starting Brand Ambition felt worthwhile. We knew it would be a long road but this was a big step along the way.

I remember a text exchange with my Dad, who is our financial director and is an investor in the business and him saying that this would be the first of many. It was a moment that everything felt real

December - our first Christmas:

SR – By December, we were pretty much fully booked. Both Robin and I were working flat out and we knew we needed to make a change, especially with the holidays coming up. We couldn’t get together for a Christmas party or anything, but I was lucky enough to be invited to one at a clients office and was incredibly grateful to kick-off the holiday season with some festivities.

We spent our time off well, and developed a bit of a plan, which we put into action in January.

January - our first hire:

SR – As we entered a new year, we took a big step as a business as two of us became three. We’d had an uptick in business at the back end of the festive season and we needed someone that could come in and help us take the next step.

With so much content needed for websites and the need for us to get out there as a business, we made the decision to bring in a PR and Content Manager. I’ve known Pete for a while from a previous role so when I saw he was available, I got in touch.

After having a chat with him (Pete likes to talk so it was a long chat) I introduced him to Robin via a Zoom call. After seeing how the pair of them got on – neither would shut up – it felt like a great fit for everyone. On the 18th January we were officially a trio.

April - our first trip to the office (not just Sam):

SR – As lockdown restrictions eased, we were able to venture into the office as a pair for the first time, with our PR and Content Manager Pete joining me in the Fantastic Media offices for the first time. Although it sounds like a small achievement, it really felt like we’d taken another big step forward!

May - our second hire(s):

SR – After hiring our first full-time member of staff in January, we were joined by another two members of the team in May. We’d had a number of new business wins and additional projects from existing clients, so it was clear we needed a bit of help, particularly across SEO and design.

After going through the interview process fully remotely, it was great to finally meet Myles and Dylan face to face as we spent a few days in the office getting to know each other in person.

June - our first time together in Northern Ireland:

SR – As restrictions eased further, I took full advantage of the opportunity to hop across the Irish sea and have a couple of days in person with Robin in Belfast.

One of the many benefits of us being a family business, is that I was able to bring my son along and have him spend some quality time with my side of the family. It was something that we’d just not been able to do over the previous 16 months due to the pandemic. Robin and I had a very productive couple of days together and my son had a brilliant time with the family.

July - our first office day together as a full team:

RH – In July, I was able to take the reciprocal step across the Irish sea to have a full day with the team. It was the first time that I’d met Pete, Dylan and Myles in person and the first time I’d been to Leeds in a long, long time.

Remote working is great and we have it down to a fine art at Brand Ambition, but there is something about being together as a team, face to face that you just can’t beat. Along with a productive day talking about who we are as a business, spending time refining our proposition and just generally having a good laugh with each other, we were then able to blow off some steam and spend the evening in a social setting.

August - Sam’s first holiday abroad from the business:

RH – After plenty of nudging from my side, Sam finally took a well deserved break and headed off to sunny Spain to spend a week topping up his tan and enjoying plenty of time with family.

It felt like a pretty big step for us as a business as we wanted to make sure that Brand Ambition ran just as smoothly with Sam or myself taking a break.

September 2021 - Invoice number 100.

SR – September 3rd – almost a year to the day that we sent our first invoices, we sent invoice number 100. Talk about coming full circle.

September - we’ve officially turned one

SR – Robin came over for a strategy meeting. As we turned one, we realised that a lot of what we initially set out to do had come to fruition, but that certain elements were starting to change and shift the way we work.

The day brought the team together to get a clear company vision and a clear direction for the company over the next 12 to 24 months. We have some ambitious plans for our direction so keep following our journey to see where we go next.

This day concluded with the Inaugural Annual Brand Ambition Birthday Games (or the Gonk’Athon.) Where a series of Games are played to win the honour of taking our “Gonk” Trophy home for the year. Well…what’s the point of starting a company if you’re not going to start ridiculous traditions that with any luck will be played out for years to come.

How we use Flexible Working

by Lex | Jul 28, 2021 | Company News

Here at Brand Ambition we are very lucky to be able to employ a flexible working arrangement and we thought we’d tell you why we do it and how it benefits us both as a business and employees.

Now the exact arrangements of flexible working differ per business but, for us, we make it simple. We each work 37.5 hours per week, normally spread out between 5 days and we all work the core business hours of 10AM while 3PM. When we start and finish work each day is down to each team member and this allows us to take control and work when it best suits our lives and daily routines. Since we also work both from home and in the office, we can make use of this in both scenarios.

We also factor this in when planning internal meetings. Since we work on a sprint based system, we meet every morning to discuss what each of us are doing that day. This normally takes place at 9:30 but can always be pushed back if some members cannot attend. For example, the recent Euros had some team members tired the next day from all the ‘excitement’.

On the following days the sprint meetings were pushed back an hour to allow team members to recover and continue to work without the hindrance of ‘excitement’ hanging over them.

Employee Benefits

Our five team members have given a little insight of what flexibility means to them and how exactly they make use of it.

Myles

I’ve utilised the flexibility in the past to give lifts to family members for doctors appointments or to work when they are unable to walk or drive themselves. This has allowed me and my family to have a lot less worry and stress regarding how to get places if it is in the middle of a work day.

I also enjoy starting earlier in the day especially when in the office as it means I get more time after work to myself which is so important for avoiding burnout, but it also allows me to catch an earlier train and avoid the major rush hour and the crowds that come with it which is even more important to me in the current Covid world.

Sam

As a business owner, you naturally work weird hours. I’m always thinking about the business and sometimes that is followed by a burst of inspiration outside of normal operating hours. But it’s the not having to feel guilty when I exchange that time for a longer lunch one day that I love about it.

I find that I’m most productive early in the morning from around 8am and in the afternoon around 3pm onwards, so flexible working in my normal day, gives me the opportunity to do my best work at my peak times. Outside of that, I’m able to spend time with my family and not feel guilty about it.

It’s the little things, like not worrying about going to the dentist, or having the odd morning off to take my son for a haircut or even getting the time back that is worked over the weekend.

Robin

Some mornings I wake up and think that there’s really no point in carrying on. Flexible working means that I can postpone the soul crushing inevitability of another dark day for a couple of hours until the Prozac kicks in.

On a brighter note, I also like to get to the supermarket first thing, usually on a Monday or Tuesday, for the weekly shop. Getting in and out early means I can avoid the crowds and there are fewer of the “wear your mask over your mouth and not your nose” brigade.

It also means that I get first dibs on the yellow labels in the end of aisle reduced price items. Let’s face it who can say no to a Tesco prawn sandwich that’s just a day past its sell-by for only 89p? Or a big piece of Wensleydale with jalapeño peppers. It tastes like boke but for only 28p it’s worth forcing it down.

I usually get back to the grind about 10.30 well before lunch time so I can get a few productive hours in before enjoying my mouldy sandwich. It’s also good to know that I can stop an hour early and make it up the next day on the odd occasion that I come down with salmonella.

Pete

Before joining Brand Ambition, flexible working was something I’d only really seen others do in practice – mainly colleagues of mine that are parents having days working at home, finishing early or coming in late based around childcare.

It’s not something that I’d ever really considered, but it’s been so helpful. I try to get to the gym a few times a week after work so having that flexibility to start early and finish early to beat the post-work rush is great, it means I can work out in relative peace and quiet!

Away from exercise, the ability to work around a schedule, especially close to a weekend means a lot. Recently, I’d not seen my parents in a while and they came up to stay one weekend so finishing early and making the time up the next week meant I could get quality time in with them. It shows a real element of trust from the business that we’ll get on with the work and do what we need to do.

Dylan

Working with flexible hours is something that I am really grateful and appreciative of at Brand Ambition. I have made use of this a few times already!

Most weeks I play football, and in the summer I have cricket nets, so having the option to start a little bit earlier and shift the time I finish is really helpful when I have to travel somewhere. I was also able to give my friend a lift to pick up a new car last week from Bradford, which I wouldn’t have been able to do if there was a rigid day structure.

During the Euros, flexible working was extremely useful, especially after England had a late-night victory on a Wednesday night where I made use of an extra hour in the morning before getting to my desk!

Business Benefits

While the company is only receiving the same number of hours from employees using flexitime as it would using a more standard daily schedule, the quality of those working hours is much increased. Allowing employees to start when they like allows them to begin working when they are ready to work free from distraction or other responsibilities.

There are many times in life when something has to take priority over work and you have no choice but to take a morning or afternoon off to deal with it. This can be anything from taking children to school in the morning to leaving a little early in the afternoon to leave for a holiday. Flexitime allows us to complete these tasks and work when we are free from other responsibilities.

We believe that this creates a relationship between employees and the business where there is mutual respect. Each employee respects the business to put in at least the required hours, if not more and the business respects that employees have lives outside of work and that sometimes we can’t all adhere to a rigid schedule.

As well as this there are several studies that suggest flexitime increases employee retention, productivity and engagement. All of these things are surefire ways to save money and increase your income which is a win for everyone.

Starting a New Job Remotely

by Lex | May 21, 2021 | Company News

We recently welcomed two new additions to the Brand Ambition team – Myles Doncaster (left) and Dylan Comyn (right). Here we get to know the pair a bit better and find out about their first two weeks at Brand Ambition, highlights so far and what they’ve learned about starting a new role remotely, all during a global pandemic.

Hi Myles and Dylan! How have you found your first two weeks with Brand Ambition?

Myles Doncaster (MD): It’s been pretty great as far as first weeks as new jobs go. Meeting all the team on day one was good and everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. We’ve mostly been getting used to how Brand Ambition works and learning about the clients we’ll be working with.

I’ve also already learnt a lot that’s going to help me fulfil my role to a higher standard which is great for building my skill set.

Dylan Comyn (DC): The first two weeks have been really enjoyable for me so far. It was nice to be eased in gently with good training on the first couple of days.

It was also nice to start on the same day as Myles as he is in the same position as me getting used to how the company operates. What is good is that no two days have been the same so far, and I have been exposed to different aspects of the business.

What’s been a highlight of your time with us so far?

DC: I think the thing that has been really exciting for me is learning a little more about the company’s background and ambitions. Myles and I have started at the Brand Ambition at a really exciting time, and I am looking forward to helping the company to grow.

MD: I think how organised everything is. The first day was packed with mini-training sessions and meetings to get us settled in and there wasn’t really a moment to sit around. It really made the day fly by! This has continued into the day to day. There is rarely a moment where I am sat wondering what to do which makes for more efficient working and much more fulfilling days.

This isn’t the new Brand Ambition corporate uniform…honest.

How have you found being mostly remote?

MD: I’ve had some brief experience working from home but never this amount so it is something that takes some getting used to. I think that organisation I mentioned earlier does really help.

We use something called ClickUp that helps keep track of tasks so if I’m ever unsure what to do then I can check there and normally find plenty to be getting on with. I think overall I quite enjoy remote working since it does save me a lot of commuting time but I can see it being quite lonely so I appreciate our odd days in the office.

DC: For the most part, I have found working remotely has brought both pros and cons. It is great in terms of no commute or having to prepare lunches for the next day, which has made everything feel a lot more convenient. The team is also extremely helpful in terms of support. I know that if I have any questions or issues that I encounter I can quickly and easily contact them through instant messaging or video calling.

However, we did spend a few days in the office face to face, and it is a lot easier to quickly ask someone a question or to get feedback which is something that takes a bit longer when remote.

What is the main thing that you miss from being in an office?

MD: Just communication with other people. As much as I enjoy not speaking to anyone outside of my household it is nice to sometimes get out and see some other people

DC: The main thing that I miss from being in the office is just having any direct human contact at work. I am quite a social person and enjoy getting to know people, and although you can still reach out and speak to people on Zoom it just isn’t the same.

What’s a lesson you’ve learnt from starting a job remotely?

DC: Whilst it is nice to have someone talk you through every aspect of the business piece by piece, one thing that working remotely does give you is a bit more freedom to work things out for yourself in a way.

Using shared drives and other training documents, I have found that you can spend a little bit more time trying to understand the processes and the way the company operates, which I have found has given me extra confidence and reassurance.

MD: Motivation has to come from within even more when working remotely. When you’re in the office you’re automatically in work mode but at home you have to mentally train yourself to get in and out of work mode at the drop of a hat. It’s an adjustment but good organisation really does help.

Any advice for anyone starting a new role remotely?

MD: No question is too small for an email. I’ve sometimes felt like asking something in an email is a waste of time and makes coworkers feel like I’m pestering them. The truth is that everyone is more than happy to help so ask as many questions as you can that’ll help you get moving.

DC: The one piece of advice that I would probably give is to just fully invest in the role and try and learn as much as you can in the first few weeks. Working from home might make you feel a bit apprehensive and cautious, but you are not expected to get everything right straight away, and if you do make mistakes, or when you get any feedback you will instantly learn from them.

Any good work from home tips that you can share?

DC: One thing that I have tried to keep consistent when working from home in my last role and in this one is creating a workspace that removes all distractions from my eye line.

I have recently moved to a new flat, and one of the first things I decided when I moved in was where my desk would be. I have made sure that this area is spacious and comfortable, so it is somewhere where I feel relaxed and able to focus.

MD: Comfort is key. Make sure you have somewhere comfortable to sit and work. Your back will thank you later. The dining room chairs quickly start to show their flaws when you’re sat there for 8 hours a day.

Why Brand Ambition won’t rise at seven

by Sam | Nov 26, 2020 | Company News

Having just won a raft of awards, and achieving a £2.5 million turnover in 16 months, the winners of the large agency of the year award (UK Search Awards 2020) started by Stephen Kenwright and Carrie Rose is admirable, but if you are reading this able to afford to work with them, then Brand Ambition probably isn’t for you.

To say the meteoric rise of Sheffield based agency Rise at Seven is a success story would be an understatement. The path to success takes many forms and I wanted to take time to explain why we don’t, won’t and can’t “Rise at Seven”.

So why wouldn’t we want to repeat the success of one of the north’s biggest agencies?

Big agency results.

Freelance Prices

To provide reliable SME marketing services, which at its core help to deliver a growing return on investment, to assist clients to grow.

We are affordable. Not cheap.

But if you get in touch, we will always leave you with something. Even if it’s just a bit of advice.

– Brand Ambition, Core Objective 2020

We’re not in the same markets.

Replicating the same level of success of another agency would be unlikely, Rise were a disrupter in a market that is saturated with large agencies, focusing on obtaining business from medium to large companies. This was never the Brand Ambition path. It’s not something we set out to do, but more to the point, we couldn’t do it even if we tried, our experience is focused on working with smaller companies, achieve amazing things on lower budgets.

It means we exclude large companies, we’re not interested in working with large brands. We love challenger brands, SME’s and start-ups. Our offering is tailored specifically to get the most out of smaller budgets. Just have a look at our work and our results.

We disrupt. But are focused on supporting smaller businesses at a price point that doesn’t replace hiring an internal team or damage the business.

We trust in Organic Growth. We are founded in SEO. We are SEO First™

One of the benefits of working with two experienced business partners is the understanding of growing a business organically. This is compounded by the fact in SEO, we’ve spent years working and waiting for the impact of results through organic results. This isn’t about slowing the pace. It is about minimising the disruption, allowing mistakes to happen and learning from them. Creating loyalty and trust with like-minded business owners and growing together.

Excite. Ignite. Explode.

Brand Ambition wants to be part of the companies we work with. It’s in our process. Whether we are sitting in your office or on a zoom call, responding to an urgent pitch. Working with you on your business growth strategy, or simply providing design assets to improve professionalism. We are Marketing Managers first with a team ready to support and deliver for you, and your company.

As one of our clients has just written in a review:

“It’s always great to find a brand that is strong in identity and creates quality work but to find one that mirrors your own ambitions and ethics and puts the same work into your business is few and far between. The guys have been a real rock for us in what’s been an awful year. Thank you.” Paul Cowen – Rum Razor Barbershop

We don’t want to compete in a saturated market.

When we wanted to understand what sort of agency we wanted to be, we did what we do best. We looked at the data and defined our market.

0.01% of businesses in the UK have above 50 Employees and are not classed as an SME.
This makes 43,300 Medium and Large Businesses in 2020.
These Businesses spend between 1% and 10% of Turnover on Marketing.
They account for 48% of revenue generated in the country.

For us, fighting it out with other agencies, to work with one of those 43,000 companies wasn’t a viable option. Especially, not as a start-up during a pandemic.

So we honed our services around the market we wanted.

52% of the country’s revenue is generated by SMEs. This was £2.2 Trillion in 2019.
5.82 Million businesses are classed as small (0-49 employees) in 2019
1.4 million of those Small Businesses have employees.
They account for £1.2 Trillion in revenue.
The average marketing spend in a small business is 12-24%.
This is an average yearly spend of £31,200 to £64,400.
That’s between £2,600 and £5,366 a month. We proudly come in less than that on all our one-off services.

A flexible marketing solution, that offers suggestions based on experience and provides services that solve specific problems and specific objectives.

Clarity and support through detail & understanding.

We are Affordable

Affordable marketing services means two things.

1. We will either do double the amount of work as some agencies for the same budget.

2. We will be half the cost.

This is based on the Clutch SEO List, you can find it here. Verified agencies on this list fill in their own minimum contract value, with the minimum being set at $1,000 (£750).

SEO Agencies in Leeds

Here are some of the top SEO agencies in Leeds and what they’ve written for their services. Full disclosure, the list contained a lot of outdated information, so this might not be as reliable as contacting the agency directly, but we know the information was provided by them.

Agency	Minimum Contract Value	Per Hour Rate	Day Rate at 7.5 Hours	Max Hours in a £7,500 Contract
Wildfire Marketing	£3,700	£75 to £110	£562.50 to £825	49
Fractl	£7,500	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Modo25 Limited	£3,700	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Cefar	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Twentysix	Undisclosed	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
90 Digital	£750	£75 to £110	£562.50 to £825	100
Salt.Agency	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Jaywing	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Intermarketing	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Pixelbuilders	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Brass	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Parallax	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
ICS-Digital	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Brand Ambition	£750	£50 to £75	£375 to £526.50	150

SEO Belfast

Brand Ambition is a Belfast based agency as much as it is based in Leeds. As a service, SEO is very different in Northern Ireland, the impact of small businesses and building relationships has always been, and will always rely on local search to be at the forefront of N.I. websites. With the constant battle against “excluded from N.I.” at the frustrations of users in the country, we understand the value of strengthening local knowledge with Brand Digital Marketing. Again, data was obtained from Clutch.co and filled in by the agencies themselves

Agency	Minimum Contract Value	Per Hour Rate	Day Rate at 7.5 Hours	Max Hours in a £7,500 Contract
Web Bureau	£7,500	£40 to £75	£300 to £526.50	187.5
Search Scientist Ltd	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Smarts Communicate	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Digital Twenty Four	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
ProfileTree	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
RLA Group	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Element Seven	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Silverink Web Design	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Blue Monkee Digital	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Codefixer	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Made To Engage	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Thought Collective	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Bluegator Creative	£7,500	£110 to £150	£825 to £1,125	68
Brand Ambition	£750	£50 to £75	£300 to £526.50	150

We are business support, then marketing.

The last 2 years have had a profound impact on the demand for marketing services. Instead of the massive reduction on spend, recorded, and predicted by Marketing Week, The Drum, and a whole bunch of other reports, search trends report an entirely different story.

Instead of a decline, demand for SEO, Branding and Digital Marketing Agencies have seen increases that match or rise above the demand for traditional Creative services. This demand is driven by SME’s backing themselves, backing support from initiatives such as the LEP Network, FSB and the 23.5 million posts to #supportsmallbusiness on Instagram.

Mass unemployment has created a boom in new business registrations in 2020. In fact, according to the .gov stats, up to Q3 2020, there was an 8.5% increase in Business Registrations compared to the previous year, and 61% fewer companies dissolved (it is important to note that changes due to legislation during the pandemic have had an impact on the number of companies that would have normally dissolved.)

With this trend, Brand Ambition is backing innovation. We are backing the smaller businesses to thrive, disrupt and grow through adversity. Every business we speak to needs support, not just in marketing, but what they can do to disrupt their market and obtain valuable leads and turn them into customers.

This influence is driven into the products and services being used by these businesses and this is where our experience starts.

We built expertise in the software used by SMEs

The search trends for web platforms have changed alongside this evolution of small businesses, and more accessible building technologies create a new challenge for Search Engine Optimisers like Brand Ambition. Understanding the limitations of individual platforms and how to get the best out of them in a search engine is actually an increasingly valuable skill.

Most SEO companies are familiar with WordPress, but here is how WordPress has seen a decline in interest over the last five years, to be replaced by Shopify, Wix and other rivals.

For the first time in its history, Shopify interest outstripped WordPress this year. The platform is easy to use, easy to set-up and uses SEO at its core, but it needs setting up correctly and there is a piece of required knowledge on plugins that will ultimately improve your chances of ranking.

Wix is another company, that has been tarnished with the “Bad for SEO” brush. A quick Google search showcases the search volumes on this topic.

As a result of being burned by SEO companies not understanding the platform, they are paid to optimise or getting focused on areas they can’t actually fix, we’ve crafted strategies and experience to help us specialise in SEO for Small Business platforms.

Here are just a few of the platforms we have expertise in.

WordPress SEO
WooCommerce SEO
Shopify SEO
Magento SEO
Wix SEO
GoDaddy SEO
Square Space SEO

With this foundation of expertise, Brand Ambition ultimately prefers to work with platforms we are familiar with. Where we can source development resource to help make improvements and where we can confidently suggest improvements that will raise a business’s profile online.

We are Maven.

It isn’t just about campaign traffic, nor is it about the results of a single campaign (although we get those too), it’s about long-term relationships that show consistent quarter on quarter growth. This is something that we do share with the larger agencies in Yorkshire and Belfast. We believe in working delivering fantastic quality marketing services across a range of impactful and effective services.

We are not an Agency.
We are not Consultants.
We provide marketing manager services with outputs, at affordable prices.
We are Experts. We are Maven.

So how do we rise?

Brand Ambition is built on its name. We believe in Ambition. We trust in building Brands. The strength of thought. The power of recognition. The desire to drive something forward and the tenacity to see it through. We don’t measure our success alongside others (although it is very difficult not to at times). Our focus is working with companies to lift themselves, supporting businesses and driving revenue that allows them to grow.

As they grow, we will grow and that is the core of how we, at Brand Ambition will rise.

Find your Customers. Build your Brand. Increase Sales.

This article has been reproduced with respect to the agencies that employ tens of people in our cities and have seen significant growth. They all started on a similar journey to us and have achieved fantastic results with their clients. We mean no disrespect, but we want to instead highlight how we are differentiating ourselves away from this particular agency model.

I contacted Rise at Seven, directly prior to us posting this article and they weren’t bothered about us using them as a shining example of success in the industry.

They also confirmed they don’t work with small organisations.

Note: Credit to Tom Walsh, for telling me the tables were broken on Mobile. Cheers Mate.

The one that comes first

by Sam | Nov 5, 2020 | Company News

Where do you start a company blog?

An opening mission statement? A resolution for the future? A statement of all things that will come and an idea of mindset. Maybe even a bit of background on how we came to be?

Let’s start at the beginning.

The name wasn’t easy. Nothing in 2020 has been easy. The company name was important to us. We felt we needed something that reflected two sides of our marketing coin. I bring the Digital side, having worked for over 10 years in agencies, focusing and honing skills in a range of digital specialities, but always SEO First.

It isn’t mentioned. For marketing in the 2020’s, it is implicit.

Brand. That belongs to Robin. A creative genius, although he would hate the phrase or even the idea of being named as such. I’ve watched Robin create beautiful masterpieces at Christmas time on a blackboard. Intricate drawings of masterful Christmas scenes in a range of chalk colours that could have sat proudly on a shop shelf amongst the Christmas cards, only for him to scrub it out and start something fresh, just for the joy of it.

Brand matters. It is the foundation of professionalism. It is the requirement for recognition. It is the start of a journey and the support to see it through.

Ambition. Born out of a pandemic. Created as a reaction to circumstances, but forged into something everlasting. As a company, we knew we needed to be ambitious to grow quickly, during a recession and at as difficult a time as businesses have seen in recent years. But, inspiring ambition in our customers. That is why we chose the word.

Ambition is the drive. The will to make something happen. The creativity to think of solutions during adversity and the clarity to maximise an opportunity when it is finally going your way.

When we speak to you, one of the first things we will ask is What is your ambition?

Ours is simple. We want to help you reach your brand aspirations. We want your customers to recognise your logo before they even know your name. We want your digital presence to be seamless and customer journey to be flawless.

No jargon. No over promises. No tricks. Just good ol’fashioned brand marketing wrapped in a, mostly, digital delivery. But we do make fantastic brochures, magazines and print advertising too.