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Out Of Home Social Media Yorkshire

Yorkshire Focus

By The Drum, Administrator

August 27, 2009 | 24 min read

Ask a Yorkshireman for his opinion, and he’ll give you it straight, or so the stereotype goes. So, who better to ask about the current market conditions and how the industry is faring at present than the creative businesses based in the area?

The locals talk of a “wartime” or even a “Gung ho” spirit among the region’s creative sector.

So it was perhaps with shock that the region’s best known creative studio announced its closure at the beginning of the year. The Designers Republic wasn’t just well respected in Yorkshire, it was a global name in design. From its Sheffield base it was best known for its anti-establishment aesthetics, while simultaneously embracing brash consumerism. Making a name through its album cover designs, it worked for the likes of Coca-Cola and Orange too.

In the mid-eighties, when Designers Republic was launching, a growing reputation saw Sheffield dubbed the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire – from which the famous studio took its name. However, the region’s socialism of the 80’s has now been replaced by a new, more forward looking perspective.

Yet, despite one of the UK’s best know design houses coming from the region, Yorkshire isn’t always seen as the most glamorous location for a creative agency to be based. But its stature is growing – despite (or maybe even, because of) the current climate.

“There does seem to be a bit of ‘wartime spirit’ around at the moment,” says JDA boss, Mike Ashton. “This year has been the cause of a lot of ruthless self examination across the industry. A year ago we might have believed we were operating at maximum efficiency, but somehow we’ve managed to find another 10% because we’ve had to. There’s no room for any passengers in this business nowadays. Anybody who can prosper in the current market will come out of the recession a lot stronger than they went in. Even when the situation improves I don’t believe working practises will return to how they were before.

“The agency landscape has changed dramatically over the last 12 months and it’s still moving. When it eventually settles down things are going to look very different, more fragmented and diverse.”

The fragmentation of the industry is something that Gordon Bethell, joint managing partner at Leeds-based Gratterpalm, also remarks upon: “The Yorkshire creative scene has managed to retain its “independence” with very few creative or marketing organisations being part of larger networked groups compared to other regions. The challenge, of course, is that this “independent” strength can turn into a weakness and become too “fragmented”.

“We are seeing a lot of individuals setting out on their own, which can only be expected in the current climate,” agrees Carla Murphy, development director, LOWD + KLEA, parent agency of both LeadsDesign and L&K Creative. “This happened seven years ago too and undoubtedly the shift will follow the same trail again, especially as far as the creative sector is concerned.

“The commercial digital industry is where we have a very positive regional outlook, its thriving but, as with all things, it could well become over populated and exceptionally competitive outside of the more strategic agencies. A recession breeds innovation, it makes people communicate, it drives new thinking and collaborations – this is happening in Yorkshire and that’s what excites me.”


Diversification

But with fragmentation and innovation often comes diversification. Andrew Craske of Screen Yorkshire – which is perhaps best known for its work funding and supporting a number of high profile TV and film productions, including The Damned United; Unforgiven and Wuthering Heights for ITV1; and Red Riding for Channel 4 – says that the developmental organisation has been diversifying its support in response to this changing nature of the industry.

“Businesses continue to diversify into new areas and Screen Yorkshire has invested in a number of businesses and individuals looking to diversify into development in areas such as mobile, video content and iphone app development.

“Although traditional media is being hit hard by the recession, as advertising moves online there will hopefully be opportunities opening up for new talent, business models and digital content. The region has four of the world’s top 100 video games studios and increasingly these companies are looking to keep ownership of their own IP and digitally distribute without the need for publishers – this is changing the whole business model and will hopefully create significant wealth for these companies and the region.”

Still, Screen Yorkshire’s major challenge has been to retrain and support those affected by the ITV Yorkshire job losses as well as keep productions filming in the region to create new job opportunities. It also aims to ensure that Yorkshire’s creative and digital companies benefit as much as possible from the BBC’s MediaCity UK move and will be working with the BBC to ensure this happens.

Whilst traditional media has been hit hard (major job losses at ITV Yorkshire, just one example) as spend continues to move online, many digital agencies continue to grow.

In fact, Yorkshire has developed quite a niche in the digital sector.

“The sector is full of opportunity at the moment,” says Coolpink’s Claire Robinson. “We’ve just gone through an MBO and restructured the board to capitalise on this. We have an ambitious plan for organic growth, but we definitely wouldn’t rule out acquisitions as a potential way to move forward even more quickly. Maybe we’ll snap up an offline marketing or branding agency in order to flesh out our service offering – now wouldn’t that be a novel twist, a digital agency buying a traditional full service agency?

“We are extremely upbeat about the overall long term effects of the current recession on our sector. Yes, there’s going to be a lot of pain in the short term, a lot of businesses are having to really dig deep and take a long hard look at where they are and what they do. That’s never going to be easy if you have a 50 or 100 year history of doing things in a certain way – but in today’s economy, it’s the only way to survive. Things move much faster and businesses are just going to have to face up to that fact and make those painful, difficult and expensive changes much more quickly.” 



No Illusion

Another Leeds-based digital agency, Numiko works on projects that include ITV’s I’m A Celebrity..., brands that include Ghd, and also for a number of the BBC’s flagship TV programmes. But, while the agency may be busy at present, creative director Darren Navier is under no illusion that conditions remain tough. “Anyone who tries to claim things aren’t tricky at the moment is a liar. We (that’s agencies and our clients) know agencies are closing, downsizing, ‘merging’ (which is just downsizing two companies at once).

“Now, far be it from me to claim clients who do have funds are looking to take advantage of the situation with some hard bargaining. But are our ideas and creativity worth less in a downturn? I would argue that ultimately, if they are good, they are worth more to any brand with an eye to stealing a march on competitors for when the good-times return. The clients that see the present climate as an opportunity are the real positive, and those are the sorts of client attitudes which will make for great client-agency relationships especially in the interactive space.”

A lot of the optimism of the region has, so far, emanated from the digital sector, but not everyone agrees that that sector will continue to grow disproportionately when the current economic climate settles.

“On balance, the Yorkshire scene is thriving and there are agencies in both Leeds and Sheffield doing good stuff, but it does feel that Yorkshire has lost some of its voice, though” says Tony Stanton, chief executive of An Agency Called England. “Those who do talk, talk digital as though digital is the panacea, the cure to all the ills. This may suit the moment, but the sector will need to get back into balance once the recovery arrives.

“Some high profile spending has gone out of the region too amid strong criticism from Yorkshire agencies (think Welcome to Yorkshire). Leeds has done a great job promoting the legal and financial sectors, but this hasn’t ever crossed over into promoting the creative and media sector outside the county.

“The biggest challenge to the area is to profile Yorkshire as a centre of excellence, with great agencies and great clients. This will require cohesion and a joined-up approach that is currently lacking.”

It might be argued that region’s development bodies are trying to do just that now. The digital sector has already attracted a great deal of support. As part of this support, Digital Week will, this year, be expanded across Yorkshire, with talks, presentations and events, culminating in the DADI Awards, in association with Leeds, Live it Love it, celebrating the best in digital development across the UK – further raising the region’s profile in this sector.

There are, however, mixed views on the support that agencies in the region receive. But what does seems unanimous is that Yorkshire business folk like (or want) to network.

“We’ve found a number of initiatives and other sources of help where previously we wouldn’t have looked,” says Steve Wills, co-founder and creative director of B&W Studio. “Business Link really seem to be on the ball at the moment. They are involved in the ‘Designing Demand’ initiative from the Design Council which helps businesses to become more innovative, competitive and profitable through the use of design. We also receive regular emails of current and new tenders in the region which is a constant source of new business opportunities.”

“The infrastructure here is pretty good,” agrees The Small Agency’s Stu Grainger. “Yorkshire Forward (and its local derivatives) do a lot of good work promoting the region and the business community within it. Even if you haven’t benefited directly from a Yorkshire Forward initiative or funded project, the emphasis they put on Yorkshire businesses and what we can offer does filter down into the mainstream business communities thinking. Other initiatives such as Designing Demand are even more specific to our industry and work hard to reinforce the value of good design to businesses in the region.”

“There are plenty of business networking sites to join up to – a kind of localised Linkedin,” adds David Exley, MD of Barnsley-based Ledgard Jepson. “Also some great networking opportunities and events such as Sheffield’s Wednesday Night Live and the recent Tramlines Festival. People in Yorkshire like to meet up, so networking is very important.

However, Numiko’s Navier tempers this praise. “There are bodies set up to help Yorkshire business’ ‘do business’ with other Yorkshire business’,” he says. “And while that’s fine, there seems to be very little done to assist in promoting the talent the area has beyond the county boundaries; to the South, to Europe and beyond. If it exisited, it would help in two ways. Obviously from a lead and business generation perspective, but this would then, in return, hopefully lead to a reduction in the talent drain from Yorkshire academic establishments who feel that they have to go ‘daan Sarf’ to work at the sort of agencies and on the sorts of projects they want to cut their teeth in.”

Oddly enough, the London problem doesn’t feature much. However, the view from Yorkshire of Soho and it’s bright lights is summed up well by Propaganda chairman, Julian Kynaston. “We’re recognising the attrition in London’s dominance in our sector,” says Kynaston. “With huge budgets traditionally camped within the M25, London agencies have thrived in a creative process undoubtedly made easier by budget to buy an endless choice of A-listers to face-up brands, with any location/treatment possible. And without the budget they’re coming unstuck. A strength of the North has always been to ‘out-think not outspend’, and hence we’re seeing the benefits now.


Tough Market

“The tough market has also forced the entrepreneurial spirit forward and we’re working with several new start-ups,” continues Kynaston. “And in the more ‘traditional’ client base, we’ve seen that when budgets are squeezed, brand owners are forced to think more laterally to maintain their share or performance, so we’re enjoying the experience of clients being open to new thinking and approaches.”

Propaganda has also championed the power of marketing at board level, a move that has gained some steam in the current climate.

“We have always worked relentlessly to see marketing engaged at board, and ironically the climate is helping that,” says Kynaston. “With budgets under more scrutiny than ever before, marketing has finally been forced to deliver tangible business benefits and be accountable direct to board. And in many cases the board is turning to marketing to help them out of the recession. Our activity at board and appointments as non-exec directors within our client base has seen a significant increase.”

The Marketing scene in Yorkshire is fundamentally no different from anywhere else, though – and creativity has become ever more accountable and comms planning ever more precise and well informed. This means agencies have to be better run than ever before if they are to thrive, says Adrian Watts of Live & Breathe. “This means that business practices are improving all the time with much closer scrutiny of KPIs and peer comparisons, which all helps drive up standards.

“The Yorkshire creative sector, in the widest sense of the term and including high tech industries, seems to be going through a mini boom and the culture of creativity across all disciplines, fostered by the efforts of universities like York and Leeds, all helps contribute to a sense that the region has moved on.”

But despite this “mini boom” the reverberations of a recession have been felt in Yorkshire, as it has everywhere else.

“We’ve faced a few issues, the biggest being the collapse of Zavvi at the end of 2008 and managing the HR and financial consequences of losing a large client,” continues Watts. “We’ve also noticed a reduction in spending by a few of our smaller shopping mall clients. Yet, other than that, business has not really been affected and were it not for Zavvi we would have only experienced a very small dent in performance. From a financial risk management point of view, operating in the retail sector means that it’s virtually impossible to get affordable credit insurance but luckily we’ve been in business for a long time and can manage the risk internally.

“We’re still growing Live & Breathe through a combination of organic growth and carefully selected pitches. This year we have added several new clients to our portfolio including Zizzi Restaurants, Comet, Palmer & Harvey, Reckitt Benckiser and Lacoste.”

One sector in Yorkshire that is booming is the legal sector. With a little bit help and support, law firms have really made the region, in particular Leeds, their own, forging a strong reputation in the area.

Raised their game

Matthew Williams MD of Sheffield’s Quba says: “Professional services have kept us pretty busy: legal and financial. They have really raised their game over the last year or two when it comes to using the internet to both market and manage their businesses.

“No doubt it’s been a pretty tough year all round but we are receiving plenty of new business referrals and pitch opportunities from Yorkshire companies. Certainly the professional services sector seems to be investing noticeably more into online activity. Yorkshire has a good base of professional services companies who are keen to use regional expertise.” 
Other client sectors haven’t fared so well, though.

“Banking and manufacturing giants were our biggest clients,” says David Exley, managing director, of Barnsley-based Ledgard Jepson. “Emphasis on ‘were’! We retired our Chief Exec the year we dived into recession (at vast expense) and have had to work very hard to keep our heads above water.

“But Yorkshire has Gung ho spirit! We know that the shakedown following the crash will blow out a few cowboy companies and that means better business practice in future. We work very closely with our clients in the private sector. Believing in our own abilities and not being influenced by either negative climates or people works best for us, we’ve seen enough of that in the last three years to know how to avoid them.

“Plus we are in South Yorkshire and proud of the fact that if you can survive here, you can survive anywhere, they don’t take prisoners around here.”

In the current economic environment – there are two popular strategic responses – spend or consolidate, says Julie Stead Connor of Intermaketing. She claims that the areas that are keeping the agency most busy are utilising one of these strategies. “They also represent the ones with the most to lose by lowering their share of voice in the current climate,” she adds. “So retail, mail order and leisure are high on the spending list. It is muted that the consumers least effected by the current situation is the youth market – and this is also inline with our experience of the brands that are continuing to spend and re-shape their marketing to take advantage of this fact.

“Moreover, clients are demanding a lower cost base and the need for strategic thinking to be part of the service rather than an additional fee.”

“We’ve seen pressure on existing budgets but nothing too drastic, says Stu Grainger of The Small Agency. “We have to justify costings in more detail than a year ago but that’s to be expected, and probably no bad thing. We have had some additional bad debt which has been a direct result of the recession, but nothing too bad. We’re lucky in that most of our clients are very solid businesses on a solid foundation and not prone to rash decisions.

“Quoting is currently ultra competitive. There are definitely agencies out there who are under-quoting, be that out of desperation to stay afloat or by loss leaders to acquire new clients at a time when businesses are obviously examining their bottom line. We look at our clients (and prospective new clients) costs as closely as we can but, in the end, we’ve taken the view that we deserve to be paid a fair rate for a fair job and we won’t be held to ransom. Short term gain is not our motive, we have a long term strategy with our business and whilst being able to adapt to the current climate is important, we won’t surrender everything we’ve built in a fire sale.

“We’re very proud that not only have we not had to lay anybody off, we’ve actually recently added to the team.”

And it is this reasoned optimism that is adding a sense of excitement, says Simon Kendrew, director of BrandNew (part of the Logistik Group). “The current climate is an exciting creative challenge that pushes the emphasis back onto creativity, innovation and original ideas to deliver great results. But my biggest concern currently is, that the region’s graduates and creative raw talent believe there are no opportunities in Yorkshire and therefore gravitate to London to further their careers in the industry, and yet, this grassroot talent is the lifeline to agencies like us in the region and should be nurtured,” comments Kendrew.

“We need to continue to celebrate and reward the creative Yorkshire agencies that do great pieces of work to demonstrate that there are reasons for creative people to stay in the region.”

One such nurturing project was undertaken by Bulletpoint Design’s creative director, Paul Kerfoot – albeit at a particularly ‘grassroots’ level.



Pilot project

“There are several creative DIY projects where design agencies are reinventing themselves,” says Kerfoot, “how they think, how they work and how they make money. Take our work in schools for instance – a ground breaking, pilot project aimed at years 9 to 11 called Design Your Own Superhero and promoted by [me] The Bulletman.

“Design Your Own Superhero worked with Artworks, Cape UK, Creative Partnerships and a local school. We are currently making a pilot video for the project – funded by Bulletpoint – and assisted by a very talented animation student I spotted from Bradford College called Daniel Hill.”

Another interesting [but similarly off-the-wall] project to be completed recently saw production company Motus’ work screened at Cannes.

Partner Jamie White, explains: “Everyone thinks that because ITV Yorkshire has closed its doors on its main studio its all doom and gloom for television in this area but there is still a huge amount of good quality work to be had out there.

“We produce some great work for big name clients such as UEFA, ITV, HBOS but the one project that has stuck in my mind this year has to be a short film we produced about a Yorkshire man who raced his one eyed cat.

“Life’s about having an ambition and having the determination to follow a dream and his was to make a film about his extraordinary cat. He became a media phenomenon over night hitting the headlines and news desks for having the lowest budget film ever to be shown at Cannes film festival. He’s now after backing to make a feature length children’s film!”

Over the last 18 months there have been many good months and some not so good, this has been true for Sheffield-based Iris, admits Paul Lenihan, business development manager. The agency had to take measures to reduce overheads, which has unfortunately meant making some roles redundant. “However,” he says, “In streamlining the organisation and working on how we position our services, we are confident we are in the right place to ride out the economic storm and emerge on the other side stronger and more focused. We have been in business for 18 years this year and we have experienced downturns in the past. What we find is key to our continued success in these times lies in the motivation of our staff to keep their chins up, battle on regardless and the inherent steely Yorkshire grit to never say die!

“In the past we have been guilty, like many other agencies, of neglecting the new business function and not keeping our new business activities targeted or varied enough. The market at present is incredibly saturated with agencies of all sizes offering the same or similar services; professing to offer quick turnaround times, competitive pricing and an unbeatable service level. It is therefore very difficult to differentiate yourself and this is why we have drastically altered our approach to new business development.

“We are now utilising many different channels as part of our ongoing business development strategy and we are confident this revised approach will yield substantial results over the coming months. We have a lot to shout about as an organisation and have previously only whispered it to those familiar with our work.”


Perceptions

As predicted, straight talking was always going to be on the cards, but one subject has yet to be broached. The future. What can the Yorkshire region, and the agencies that it plays home to, do to ensure a continued growth and rise and rise in both their fortunes and perceptions?
“The trend of fragmentation and the physical make up of the region means that unlike other regions who can create centralised communities, our region has spread into disparate pockets of talent, says Gordon Bethell, joint managing partner at Gratterpalm. “The region needs to unite more and celebrate its own successes better. People have tried to force a London or Regional agenda in the past and we have spent too much time watching each other. We should create a forum that celebrates excellent creativity in our own backyard and use a conversational tone that is not based on our regionality but is based on our ability and results.

“There is tremendous opportunity within the region for business. The recent news about Ryanair being based at Leeds Bradford shows the region is big enough to attract new business and that is good for both clients and agencies.

“These times really do bring about a fresh focus on the parts of the business that matter. We made fundamental changes to how we developed new business at the start of the year and consequently saved thousands by not wasting our time on briefs and opportunities where we wouldn’t excel. We’ve re-launched our brand and our identity and have put a clear stake in the ground as to our three-year plan along with a applying a new clarity to structuring the business to improve service further. The financial climate offers ultimatums – to do nothing is dangerous.

“For us and Yorkshire a lot of it comes down to self belief,” concludes JDA’s Mike Ashton. “Talent and ability wise we have what it takes to deliver. When I first moved up from London in 1994 Yorkshire had a truly dynamic and vibrant agency scene. Anybody who thinks we’re still there is living in the past, anybody who thinks we can’t get back there underestimates what we have.”

Positivity

But the last word is reserved for Tina Mappin, of Sheffield-based Uber, who senses a cautious air of positivity in the region.

“I feel the true worth and potential of the region is being mined right now, and even though the reasons may be through necessity it can only be a good thing long-term. I think outside of Yorkshire the perception of the region has certainly felt a lift.

“To maintain the growing confidence in the region and ensure any ground gained in the last few years is retained and expanded once the economy begins to improve is one of the biggest challenges facing the region. We need to prove that just because budgets begin to increase again it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be directed away again.

“Prior to the recession many cities in Yorkshire were experiencing expansion and investment, which was swiftly withdrawn once the economy crashed. This needs to be reinstated at the earliest opportunity to avoid unfinished building and development being left and cities appearing run-down. We can all help this by continuing to grow and attract business to the region.”

To read the full Yorkshire report and view all the answers from these and other contributers see www.marketingindustrynetwork.com

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