The Marketeer Association
Despite the annual Christmas lull The Marketeer Association has continued to grow apace.
In January alone the Association boasted four new agency members, further increasing the critical mass and depth of market experience the organisation can draw from to address the issues at hand.
The new members include Manchester-based e-commerce consultancy Eye:dea, the Warrington-based creative communications agency Viv’id, Sheffield-based design consultancy The Source and Nexus xo, the Preston-based communications and marketing consultancy.
Speaking of the reasons behind joining forces with some of the North’s most prominent creative agencies Philip Dyer, managing director of Nexus xo, which handles clients such as Interbrew, ALSTOM Transport and the Small Business Service, said: “Access to industry leaders has always been important to me. Having met with the likes of Jonathan Sands (pre the MA), Nick Hoadley and Nigel Bogal, with the objective of benchmarking in an attempt to not re-invent the wheel, it is not too difficult to see the benefits of becoming involved with a group of people that are working for the common good of the region (I hope!). It sounds like an exciting prospect, if I am to believe what I hear and read.”
He adds: “The aims of The Marketeer Association seem sound enough, but are like the proverbial Elephant – too big to digest. Like most big problems, they need to be broken down into digestible chunks.”
Backing up these views is Kim Bleasdale, managing director of The Source, the Sheffield-based creative consultancy, which works for clients such as Sony, Motorola, Canon, Eidos Interactive and Bosch.
Bleasdale said: “We joined the Association to be part of an exciting, much needed forum for dealing with issues facing agencies up North.
“I believe The Source can offer valuable input to these discussions. There is no doubt that there is an exceptional amount of talent in the North and by raising awareness we can hopefully eliminate the North/South divide that still appears to be lingering.”
Bleasdale is also confident that all competitive rivalries can be put aside by agency members for the good of the community: “There will always be major competitiveness between agencies of different sizes, styles and so on, but by pulling together as a group I am sure we can make a difference. The Association has realistic aims, so if we all work together to reach the same goal, we cannot fail.”
Rachel Sykes of Viv’id says: “The aim of ensuring creative and strategic standards in the North is both necessary and absolutely appropriate to help the industry grow. It will be a challenge but then Marketeers in the North are made of strong stuff, if we all work together then the aims will be achieved.
“It will be a long and winding road and there will undoubtedly be many obstacles to overcome before realising the goals.”
While The Marketeer Association has been busy on the membership front it has also been active in pushing forward the initiatives that have been set in place.
A meeting held at The Chase’s offices in January saw plans for a forthcoming event in the North move forward significantly.
The plans have been put in place by the event’s steering committee, which includes Simon Farrell of The Chase, Karl Hopkins of JDA, John Ardern of The Really Useful Research Company, former Georgia Pacific marketing boss Steve Duncan along with Gordon Young and Richard Draycott of The Marketeer.
Further details on the event will be announced in due course.