Emerging 100
There is never an easy time to start a business, however, since the dawn of the new millennium the climate for cultivating a new start-up has been more than hostile. Those that have set out, seeding their businesses into the bare top-soil, have had it harder than most, yet many are still here to reap the fruits of their labour. Over the following 18 pages The Drum identifies those who might be growing for gold.
Over the past eighteen months, the Drum has been profiling areas throughout the country in our Emerging series, in an attempt to establish the next generation of agencies within Scotland. Now we have put together the definitive Emerging Top 100, a list that profiles a veritable mix of both start-ups and existing companies that have either relaunched through an MBO or rebrand or have simply grown dramatically since the start of the new millennium.
The results of this survey are now profiled over the next nine pages – with a variety of disciplines being covered within the creative industries, from PR and marketing to advertising and design, and media production thrown in for good measure too – no stone has been left uncovered as the Drum finds the top 100 media and marketing companies in Scotland.
The editorial department of the Drum selected the list earlier this year, with the country being scoured for bright young things within the industry to come forward and show us what they are made of. Even though times may seem tough – especially for more of the well established businesses – it has not stopped the vast onslaught of new businesses from setting up over the past couple of years, and making their company successful. The creative industry will undoubtedly keep growing even in times when the economic climate is rapidly fluctuating.
Forms were duly sent out to the companies that the Drum earmarked for success and, in time, answers began to flood back.
From companies that employ less than five people to agencies that have grown at an astounding rate, all featured will undoubtedly be ones to watch in the next few years, surpassing some of the more established firms that are currently on the scene.
All agencies were polled on a variety of categories that enabled us not only to glean an insight into their financial success but also to find out more about the personality of the founders and the way that they run their business.
Managing directors were asked for a number of details, which included the names of their clients, their expected turnover, proudest moments to date, business philosophy and, last but not least, their business role models, in order to find out more about the business and their thinking behind it.
Wide-reaching answers were given for the business role model – everyone from Montgomery Burns of The Simpsons to Michael “The Godfather” Corleone were name-checked – something that was slightly disconcerting – do clients who pass up on an offer too good to refuse wake up to find a horse’s head in their bed? But industry stalwarts were also name-checked – Tom Hunter, Sir Tom Farmer and Jim Faulds all popped up on more than one form – with companies all set to give credit where credit is due.
When it came to how they ran their business, and the philosophy behind it the answers were just as varied, with many wanting to be known as the best in their field and the most respected too. Above all, many simply wanted the business to not only be successful but also to make its mark within the industry.
And so, on to the final list. We have put the Top 100 into alphabetical order so that it is easier to read. The following list goes to show that, even in the barren times the creative industry is currently undergoing, companies are still managing to thrive and prosper.
The final countdown follows. In years to come, some of these companies will be play host to the elder statesmen/women of the industry, but until then, here is the definitive Top 100 Emerging Companies for 2003.
2Fluid creative
Name: Jacqueline Doherty
Position: Managing director
Founded: July 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £1m
Biggest achievement: Ongoing success with our agency 2Fluid.
Clients: Simple Minds, Russell Europe, Scottish Ballet, Sound Control, The Best of Health, HR&Europe.
Business Philosophy: 2Fluid has a long-term strategy, with all our clients investing in our energy and creative abilities, which enhances their turnover. We think commercially without compromising our creativity.
3x1
Name: Julie McGarvey/Cameron Grant
Position: Founding partners
Founded: 01.01.01 (3x1)
Projected turnover (12 months): £500,000
Biggest achievement: Quickly building a blue chip client list and sweeping the board at the Scottish PR Awards.
Clients: BAA Scottish Airports, Business Information Publications, Currie & Brown, Eaga Scotland, Highland Spring Group, Lees of Scotland, Scottish Courage, St Andrews Bay Golf Resort and Spa, Tourism People.
Business Philosophy: To run a professional, creative and profitable consultancy, delivering excellence and surpassing expectations. We want to be recognised for practising the best public relations skills in Scotland and recruiting the best talented people.
442 Design
Name: David Dunn
Position: Director
Founded: November 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £500,000
Biggest achievement: Our client list after eight months.
Clients: Intelligent Finance, Highland Spring, Chivas Brothers, Southampton FC, Baxter’s Foods, Scottish Rugby Union, Our Dynamic Earth, Klick Photopoint, Scottish Seabird Centre.
Business Philosophy: We will play with flair and distinction at home and abroad until everyone knows our name.
55 Degrees
Name: Sam Christopherson
Position: Director
Founded: March 2000
Projected turnover (12 months): £450,000
Biggest achievement: One of our educational interactive resources currently being considered for a national roll-out.
Clients: Red Bull, Strathclyde Police, Monsoon, the National Trust for Scotland, the Victoria and Albert Museum, IT Electronics, NEJA, the British Council, Douglas Gordon.
Business Philosophy: Enriching communication through design, video and interactive media.
60 Watt
Name: Peter Mill/Iain Hawk
Position: Directors
Founded: March 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £350,000
Biggest achievement: Turning our pension fund into a great place to work.
Clients: Black Circles, Capital Solutions, Edinburgh Science Festival, Graham Technology, Konika Film, Koika Medical, Lindsays WS, Waterston’s.
Business Philosophy: 60 Watt is not an advertising agency. It’s a communication consultancy. Unlike advertising agencies, which tend to have a one-dimensional view of how their clients talk to the outside world, 60 Watt advises on every aspect of a company’s communication, not just to its customers but also to its staff. Not just the advertising but also the corporate identity and the PR. Not just what the company says but how it says it.
Acumen
Name: Kevin Dorian, Grant White, Alistair McLean
Position: Partners
Founded: 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £550,000
Biggest achievement: Seeing Acumen’s
growth potential realised quicker than we had imagined.
Clients: Price Waterhouse Coopers, Invvast Ltd, Rocel, Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Absoft, Head Resourcing, University of Edinburgh, CDA, Adventi, Yours4Money, KCA Deutae, Operation Christmas Child 2003.
Business Philosophy: Ensuring our brand of PR and marketing drives our clients’ sales channels. We do not look to achieve press coverage just for the sake of it, Acumen’s philosophy is to grow our clients and significantly add to the bottom line.
Agripa
Name: Roseanne Grant
Position: Sales and marketing director
Founded: January 2003
Projected turnover (12 months): £12m
Biggest achievement: Developing a unique concept to solve a logistics issue, creating a whole new advertising sector called Fleet Media.
Clients: A few months after developing the product, we landed our first customer – Tesco plc – the largest retailer in the UK. Agripa didn’t just sell the patented Agripa system to Tesco, we also entered into a partnership with Tesco to market the Tesco truck fleet, allowing us to open up Fleet Media to all brands.
Business Philosophy: To establish the use of the Agripa system with fleet owners and so encourage the growth of the Fleet Media advertising sector, transforming it into a well-recognised, valued new media opportunity to all advertisers.
Alan O’Hagan
Name: Alan O’Hagan
Position: Managing director
Founded: July 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £100,000
Biggest achievement: Enjoying work again after a few years of being disillusioned.
Clients: Donaldson Property Management, Celtic FC, Petworth House Fitness and Leisure, Tony Walker Interiors, Wet Broadcast Media, Sco-Fro Foods.
Business Philosophy: Put the effort in and you can achieve anything.
Business role models: The guv’nor – Jim Faulds.
Alternative Design
Name: Brian More
Position: Senior partner
Founded: 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £150,000
Biggest achievement: Surviving our first year.
Clients: Age Concern, Advance Resources, Bumble Beez Nursery, Careshare Ltd, Edinburgh Nursery, Rainbow Nursery, Thomas Mitchell Homes, YMCA Scotland.
Business Philosophy: To provide strategically sound solutions tailored to meet our clients’ specific needs on brief, on budget, on time.
Business role models: Stewart Robertson
(ex-MD, Marketing Advantage).
Ambergreen
Name: Tino Nombro, Grant Whiteside, Richard O'Connor
Position: Founding directors
Founded: August 2001
Biggest achievement: Taking Ambergreen from start-up to become one of the leading search engine marketing companies in the UK, with an impressive blue chip client base.
Clients: AutoTrader, Swinton Insurance, Channel 4/GridClub, Hasbro, Boots Thrifty, Car Hire, English Heritage, Scottish Enterprise, First Direct, MP3.com, The White Company, UK online for Business all-hotels.com, Macdonald Hotels, Jurys Doyle, Hotelsworkthing.com, Scotland Online.
Business Philosophy: To be a world-class company whose name is synonymous with internet marketing and one who is renowned for delivering the best return on investment possible for its clients.
Angelone
Name: Craig Gillespie
Position: Art director
Founded: March 1999
Projected turnover (12 months): £400,000
Biggest achievement: Making it this far
Business Philosophy: We favour the unconventional, so do our clients.
Business role models: Dangermouse & Penfold.
Arc
Name: Joe McAspurn
Position: Managing director
Founded: July 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £3m+
Biggest achievement: Smooth transition from IMP to ARC when rebranding last year.
Clients: Abbey National, Scottish Motor Assurance, Kyndal, Jim Beam Brands, Maxxium UK, Maxxium Deutschland, Scottish Rugby Union, Belhaven Brewery, Barbados Tourism Authority.
Axis animation
Name: Richard Scott
Position: Creative director
Founded: 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £700,000
Biggest achievement: London Effects & Animation Festival Award 2002 up against Oscar Winners the Mill.
Clients: The Bridge, Disney Channel UK, BBC, Passion Pictures, Sony Computer Entertainment, SMG, Core Design, Rockstar Games, Empire Interactive, Vis Entertainment.
Business Philosophy: Axis encourages a creative personal and fun environment with a focus on collaboration between all our teams and clients. We build strong relationships, have a talented team and create high-quality animation.
Baseline Graphics
Name: Douglas Walker
Position: Director
Founded: March 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £200,000
Biggest achievement: Starting the company with no external funding and having to make Baseline visibly commercial from day one.
Clients: DF Concerts, Scottish Youth Association, Burt Greener, SRH Events and Scottish Woodlands.
Business role models: We’ve tried to take the best elements of all the various places we’ve worked, leaving out the bullshit, and combine them all together to create something that is client-focused, unpretentious and effective in the way it works.
Blackad copywriting
Name: Alan Black
Position: Ever so slightly askew
Founded: 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): More than a sweetshop but less than a media shop.
Biggest achievement: Launching full time and making Blackad work.
Clients: We work for pretty much all of Scotland’s creative folk, including Stand, BD-Tank, Graphic Partners, Pointsize, MMI, Curious Oranj and Revolver. Our direct clients include Scottish Widows and Matthew Algie.
Business Philosophy: To not have a business philosophy. Or, to put it another way, to write well rather than pontificate about strategically aligning our tactical thingummy-bobs.
Blackcase Multimedia
Name: Ian Johnstone
Position: Managing director
Founded: April 2000
Biggest achievement: Building a multiskilled team that I am more that happy to sit around a management table with.
Clients: Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust, Burns National Heritage Park, Scottish Maritime Museum, Crusade Laboratories, 10 BaseCom.
Business Philosophy: Delivering our version and living our mission statement. Ensuring we exceed clients’ expectations by operating a sustainable business with a clear, single focus, well defined performance milestones and corporate and personal objectives bought into by staff at all levels.
Blue Peach DigitAL Media
Name: Robin Hagman
Position: Account director
Founded: January 2003
Projected turnover (12 months): £350,000
Biggest achievement: Morrison Bowmore website win.
Clients: Morrison Bowmore, Eldon Street Studios, Goodead Property, Kynesis, Loxley Colour, Anderson Fyfe, Student Loans Company Ltd, Waterfront, Scottish Medicine Consortium, Lews Castle, Stornoway.
Business Philosophy: Communication, not decoration. Original and functional design, with ease of access on screen.
Bond Advertising Ltd
Name: Caroline Garrad
Position: Managing partner
Founded: September 2003
Biggest achievement: Setting up and running a thriving company with a diverse range of clients.
Clients: Bar Browser, Dundas & Wilson, Glasgow International Festival, Lauder College, Scottish Equitable, British Film Council.
Business Philosophy: Bond is a different kind of advertising agency. We offer an alternative to the traditional agency relationship, with more access to the people who create the work, dedicated ... and, of course, fresh and original thinking.
Bulletproof-id
Name: Ali Campbell
Position: Director
Founded: January 2002
Biggest achievement: T in the Park website.
Clients: DF Concerts, Beat 106, Chemical Underground, Scottish Opera, Mogwai/ROCK ACTION, Colours, Surface Interiors, The List, Orange, Scottish Executive, Queen Margaret Union, Cooking Vinyl Records.
Business Philosophy: To get a bigger boat, to avoid icebergs, to protect and serve, to survive as soldiers of fortune, to use the applied science of rock and roll.
Business role models: Beastie boys with a smattering of Branson – but we’ll never make no brides’ outfits, mind! Add a pinch of Boba Fett and season with Hannibal Smith.
C.S.K. INTEGRATED Solutions
Name: Charles Kelly
Position: Director and founder
Founded: April 2003
Projected turnover (12 months): £625,000
Biggest achievement: After February/March 2003, being in a position to write this.
Business Philosophy: Decide what you do then do it well. Be proactive, collaborate, commit, create. Deliver business results that lead to repeat business.
Business role models: Frank Sinatra – he did it his way.
Carnegie Worldwide
Name: Fife Hyland
Position: Managing director
Founded: 2001 – MBO July 2003
Projected turnover (12 months): £1m
Biggest achievement: Winning HBOS sponsorship account/MBO.
Clients: HBOS, HBOS Business Banking, Kyndal Spirits, Leeds United Football Club, Glenmorangie, Nordoff Robbins.
Business Philosophy: Eat or be eaten.
Business role models: Michael Corleone – single-minded, focused, understood all facets of his markets. Destroyed the competition through determination and creativity. Treated staff as family.
Chunk
Name: Brian Limmond, Donnie Kerrigan
Position: “Ideas Creativ (no E at the end)”/”Chief Morale Officer”
Founded: November 2001
Biggest achievement: Learning how to play the taxman at his own game, and win.
Clients: Beck’s, Foster’s, John Smith’s, Kronenbourg, BBC, Shell, Rolls Royce, BP, SECC and Business Objects.
Business Philosophy: To position our business model against your business model, and to take to market our proposition of leveraging our core competency in actioning cross-media deliverables.
Business role models: Donald Trump, JR Ewing and the rich American guy from Oor Wullie.
Clearfuse
Name: Marcus Cent
Position: Director
Projected turnover (12 months): £100,000
Biggest achievement: Building Clearfuse so quickly, despite bad market conditions, with a great team of people who have worked together for the last five years.
Clients: VisitScotland, thebootingroom.com, Edinburgh Festival Theatres, Langs Hotel, Royal Mile Whiskies, PYSOT, Scotland the Brand.
Business Philosophy: Don’t be too trusting. Believe in yourself and don’t give too much away too soon. I’ve been there.
Commercials @ SMG
Name: Alan Jenkins
Position: Commercial production manager
Projected turnover (12 months): £1.5m
Biggest achievement: Producing Scotland’s favourite TV commercials, as voted by the Scottish public and our peers in the advertising world.
Clients: The Sunday Herald, The Herald, The Evening Times, Rangers FC, Airtours, Arnold Clark, SRU, Vauxhall, The Bridge, Clayton Graham, The Union, S1.com.
Business Philosophy: Our aim is to provide a creative and cost effective “one–stop-shop” for commercial facilities in Scotland.
Concrete
Name: Bryan Campbell
Position: Creative director
Founded: 2000
Projected turnover (12 months): Healthy, more than last year.
Biggest achievement: Looking at the great work we have done over the past three years and realising that we are just getting warmed up.
Business Philosophy: As Mr Miyagi said – “Man who can catch fly with chopstick can accomplish anything.”
Business role models: Companies who share our passion for what we do, but have been around longer than we have. They give us something to work towards.
Connecti
Name: Danny O’Donnell
Position: Managing director
Projected turnover (12 months): £1.5m
Biggest achievement: Strategic alliance with Adobe to develop the world’s fastest automatic solution, FASTâ„¢, for the marketing services industry, using Adobe industry software.
Business Philosophy: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in small jumps” – David Lloyd George.
Business role models: James Dyson, the man who pioneered the bagless vacuum cleaner, for his sheer determination in the face of adversity.
Coolbillboards
Name: Lindsay Brown
Position: Managing director
Founded: November 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £5m
Biggest achievement: Opening our London office after one year in business.
Clients: BT Broadband, Bentley Cars, Scottish Conservative Party, Ford, Royal Bank of Scotland, Caledonian Brewery.
Business Philosophy: Always let the other person earn and they will be there next time.
Business role models: Montgomery Burns (from The Simpsons).
Crane Communication
Name: Keith Crane
Position: Proprietor
Founded: July 2001
Biggest achievement: Staying in profitable business and providing a good service to customers.
Clients: Ten Alps MTD, Daily Record and Sunday Mail, Scottish Radio, Levy McCallum, Beat 106, Score Outdoor, Capital Advertising, The Media Consultants Ltd, Scottish Waste Awareness Group, The Hub Agency, Fraser Green Advertising.
Business Philosophy: Offer a range of quality support services on a consultancy basis to the media and marketing industries.
Business role models: Sir Tom Farmer, Richard Branson.
Davidson Advertising
Name: Alan Speirs
Position: Managing director
Founded: 1986
Projected turnover (12 months): £1.5m
Biggest achievement: Retention of clients for
17 years.
Business Philosophy: Committed to developing our creative talents, continued investment in emerging technologies and providing our clients with innovative and cost effective solutions.
Darwin
Name: Gordon Black
Position: Managing director
Founded: June 2003
Biggest Achievement: I suppose the biggest achievement has been getting funding at a difficult time, getting backing for the business in a difficult market.
Business role models: Alan Webber and Bill Taylor of Fast Company Magazine.
Denholm
Name: Nicki Denholm
Position: Managing director
Founded: September 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £500,000+
Biggest achievement: Beating our first-year financial and client approval targets at the height of a marketing recession.
Clients: Scottish Widows, Standard Life Bank, Coca-Cola, Bank of Scotland, KPMG, Highland Spring, Ernst & Young, Scottish Power, Dunfermline Building Society, The Leith Agency, Faulds, Inverhouse Distillers, Maxxium, Dundas & Wilson, Aegon.
Business Philosophy: No bullshit. Having the courtesy to make sure that when we're dealing with clients and candidates we know what we’re talking about.
Business role models: People like Sir Ian Wood of the Wood Group, Stuart Ross of Belhaven and Ivor Tiefenbrun, who just go on year after year building solid results and adding real value.
Digital Face
Name: Colin Gilchrist
Position: Director
Founded: April 2003
Projected turnover (12 months): £260,000
Clients: Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Jones Lang Lasalle, Grosvenor, Miller, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, BeCogent, Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, Thomson, Bethune, Morgan Est, Eyes 2, Kenmore, Quantum Recruitment.
Business Philosophy: We are a creative new media marketing agency with a passion for form-to-function application. We have a true belief in providing the very best service while ensuring a genuine return on investment for the client.
Business role models: Friends Reunited is too early in its life cycle, but a genuine admiration is held for its success. Ruth Handler, the creator/inventor of Barbie Doll (1959) – to this day, two Barbies are sold every second: Ruth was a co-founder of Mattel.
dijitol.com
Name: John Campbell
Position: Director
Founded: April 20000
Biggest achievement: Roll-out of corporate site and 28 operating companies’ sites for the First Group, the UK’s largest growing public service transport provider. Continuing to win awards.
Clients: Belhaven Brewery, first, Journey Solicitors, NEC Computers UK, Scottish Information Commissioner, SEEME, Morrison Bowmore.
Business Philosophy: To deliver real-life solutions for the virtual world.
Business role models: Ajaz Ahemd of Aqga. He has built Aqga into one of the UK’s top online agencies and, now a global player as well as award-winning creative, has proved that online can be a major contributing factor to a successful business strategy.
EMR Group
Name: Andy Rouse
Position: Marketing director
Founded: 2003
Biggest achievement: Being included in the top 100 emerging companies after only being open for three months.
Clients: The Edrington Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, BD Tank, Kwik Fit, Allied Irish Bank, Sainsbury’s Bank, Abbey National, Navigator.
Business Philosophy: The whole business is founded upon four principles – honesty, integrity, service, results. Our philosophy is to be the best first, the biggest second.
Equator Group
Name: John McLeish
Position: Managing director
Founded: 1999
Projected turnover (12 months): £1.4m
Biggest achievement: Creating a unique business model that has allowed Equator to beat some of the world’s largest agencies to some of the most sought-after blue chip account clients.
Clients: Allied Distillers, NTL, Shell, Umbor, Unilever, Audi, Bourne Leisure, De Vere hotels, Hanover International, Lloyds TSB, Gleneagles, Britannic Asset Management.
Business Philosophy: To be one of the most respected e-business agencies in the UK and, given a little more time in business, the world.
Family
Name: Ian Wright
Position: Managing director
Founded: June 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £1.8m
Biggest achievement: Surviving year 1, making a profit, winning Roses Awards at IPA and saving the loyalty of our clients.
Clients: Biggart Baillie, Burns Stewart Distillers, Capability Scotland, Dunfermline Building Society, Dunfermline Town Centre, Gordon MacPhail, Indigo Vision, the Law Society of Scotland, Martin Frost, Overgate Shopping Centre, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Investment Trust, Scottish National, Scottish Widows, Squash it, Vida.
Business Philosophy: To make a noise. Why do something if nobody’s going to hear you? It’s a waste of time and money. Make it relevant, make an impact, and make people listen.
Fifth Reality
Name: Tom Fletcher
Position: Managing Director
Founded: 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £200,000
Biggest achievement: Winning the industry website of the year for our clients.
Clients: Sunday Herald, Mulitvision AV, Flavours of Italy, Image Business Systems, The Energy Brokers, Congresent Change.
Business Philosophy: We believe in adopting a highly professional approach to our work and clients, providing them with a transparency and flexibility to ensure that not only does the final product meet their company’s needs but we can build a strong working relationship with them in the future.
Fireone Sound
Communication
Name: Stuart Duncan
Position: Creative director
Founded: March 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £ 150,000
Biggest achievement: Getting started.
Business Philosophy: Unfasten your seatbelt and burn your return.
Business role models: Yoda.
Framec
Name: Alan Frame
Position: Managing director
Founded: 1992 (MBO 2003)
Projected turnover (12 months): £2.4m
Clients: ASSIST, AWG Outlet Centres, Buchanan Galleries, clubgolf, Direct Cleaning, Gala Bingo, Sportsscotland, Scottish Claymores, Sunday Mail, Gala Casinos, Glengoyne Whisky, Higlands Islands Airport, Loch Lomond Shores.
Business Philosophy: Most other agencies are chips off the same old block – born of other agencies. We’re not. We come from a different place. And it shows.
Fraser Green
Name: Alan H. Fraser
Position: Managing director
Founded: September 2000
Projected turnover (12 months): £2.1m
Biggest achievement: Not losing money in current climate.
Clients: Scottish Equitable, Turning Point, Motherwell College, WVE Group, Aegon UK, Scotmid, Terex, One Plus, South Lanarkshire Council, Acumen, Advance Eye Laser Surgery, GHA, Simim Community, MBHA.
Business Philosophy: To provide a service that will exceed the expectations of our team, with finely honed support services.
Freight
Name: Adrian Searle
Position: Director
Founded: May 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £500,000
Biggest achievement: Rebranding 50 per cent ScottishPower.
Clients: ScottishPower, Fuji Films, Jim Beam, Glasgow City Council, Angus College, Tag Theatre, Abbey National.
Business Philosophy: We’ve got brains – we’re a consultancy, NOT a studio. Creativity is only as good as your marketing insight and vice versa. Fun is the most important objective.
Glasgow Animation
Name: Tessa Hartman/Sascha Hartman
Position: Managing director/ chairman
Founded: 2000
Biggest achievement: Staying afloat in this age. Convincing Sir Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Richard Briers, Patrick Doyle, Ruby Wax, Gayle Porter, and Ford Keirnan to join the Billy the Vet cartoon project that we are developing.
Clients: Laing the Jeweller, Stobo Castle Health Spa, SMG, The Lighthouse, NESTA, Scotland Office, Glasgow Records.
Business Philosophy: Taking each day as it comes and believing in the business. We have a small passion-driven team at GA, who have dreams and ambitions complementing our in-house technology.
Greenparka
Name: Nick Craig
Founded: 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £320,000
Biggest achievement: Building relationships and winning repeat business.
Clients: Large and small, local and international, financial services, software development, IT security, travel, professional services, construction, property development, manufacturing, drinks.
Business Philosophy: We take a high-quality, nimble, creative and efficient approach. We're passionate about building the business and passionate about business in Scotland. It's a tough market but innovation, level-headedness and a down-to-earth attitude allow us to grow surely and steadily into the future.
Halogen
Communications
Name: John Crawford
Position: Strategy director
Founded: July 2002
Projected turnover (12 months): £250,000
Biggest achievement: Winning the William Hill account.
Clients: William Hill, Sancroft International, Forgmore Investments, Makanyan Safari, FrameC, Equal, British Basketball League, Basketball Scotland, Rubicon International, Hot Bite, JSC Partnership.
Business Philosophy: Earn the respect of our peers.
Business role models: Montgomery Burns.
Hatch Design Ltd
Name: Mark McPhelim
Position: Junior vice-president (just like Homer)
Founded: March 2003
Biggest achievement: Understanding tax and VAT returns.
Business Philosophy: Hatch Design offers a creative alternative design service to clients on a personal and friendly level. Hatch Design can only grow through providing quality work to sustain and build the client base.
Hookson
Name: Bryan Hook
Position: Creative partner
Founded: 2001
Projected turnover (12 months): £750,000
Biggest achievement: Can’t say until the press release is signed off – a couple of new and exciting wins for us over the last week.
Clients: Caithness Glass, Colonial, Haute Future, Hotel Connexions, Jasper Conran, Kyndal, Morton Fraser, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Salfouns, Scottish Courage, the Hogarth Group, the Lifebuilding Company, Wedgwood, Wilson Connolly.
Business Philosophy: Hookson are design consultants specialising in the creation and development of brands. We deliver thought-provoking creative solutions through a constant process of careful consideration and lateral thinking.
Hot Tin Roof
Name: Sarah A. Lee
Position: Founder
Founded: June 2002
Biggest achievement: Winning two awards in the first twelve months. Launching and growing in a climate of cutbacks. Winning all new business through word of mouth. Holding a 100 per cent client retention rate.
Clients: Ambergreen, Blink Red, Storm ID, Anello.
Business Philosophy: To emerge as the top PR company in Scotland by creating iconic reputations for UK companies through concrete communication.
I-Design
Name: Ralph Hasselgrew
Position: Managing director
Founded: 1991
Projected turnover (12 months): £750,000
Biggest achievement: Secured first paid-for ATM advert in UK.
Clients: British Airways, Cardpoint, Co-op Bank, Lloyds TSB, Manor Kingdom, MoneyBoa, National Australia Group, Nationwide Building Society, NCR, SQA, TESCO Personal Finance.
Business Philosophy: Work in partnership with clients to develop and deliver products and services that create real value for their business.