In the summer of 2014, our now Director Marc was working for another agency where the ownership changed, and it felt like the right time to branch out on his own and be in full control of the business and the direction. When we started, we were in a shared office environment, and there was Marc and one other person. As the other agency started to wind things down, some of his previous clients found him on socials and naturally moved over to us, and we quickly established ourselves in the area on a foundation of customer service and value for money. We used a lot of previous contacts, and local networking, to spread the word, and we were supported by friends and local business contacts we have known in the industry for years.
Within 9 months we wanted our own place, so we looked around. We wanted signage, a better visibility, our own space for meetings, and to be in full control of our surroundings. We found a small building on a main street and a busy road, which we knew would be perfect to get our name in front of people even more. Shortly after moving, we looked at apprenticeships as a convenient way to recruit and train fresh staff, and we stayed as a team of 3 for another year, recruiting another apprentice in 2016.
We then joined the Nettl group as the Taunton Studio in 2017 after meeting them at a local trade show. As the Nettl Studio in the area, we were able to use this partnership to help grow the print side of the business and further expand the product range of print items to our clients.
In 2017 we leased the first business vehicle, which we felt was going to act as a mobile advertisement for the business, as we were able to take it to clients as well as make sure it was visible daily, in our local area and out on the road. This was incredibly positive!
As we expanded, the skills grew. From 2018 our skills continued to grow. Harvey, our apprentice, was maturing into a long-term and valuable member of the team. We recruited for more technical development, upskilled existing staff and were able to bring in extra design skills and restructured to have a more robust system and structure of supervisory responsibility. The client base grew in both the businesses we dealt with and their size, and our geographical reach also started to expand.
The business created several positions through the Kickstart Scheme, and we were lucky to recruit some keen young people looking for work, and to have a chance in the industry. Three people were recruited, and Abigail was successful enough to secure a long-term position and remains with us until this day.
We worked hard and continued to recruit, and while COVID-19 and lockdown presented some incredibly significant business obstacles, the team pulled together and managed to adapt, continuing to provide the absolute best service to our clients and help them through the challenging period. Our dedicated and committed team continued to stay focused and deliver an expert service to all clients over some challenging months; something that we are enormously proud of. Professional, expert advice and guidance, along with a responsive and flexible approach meant clients could be confident that we continued to deliver to the highest standards.
We started to think bigger and wanted to promote ourselves with some fresh energy – some slightly new identity to better reflect the new team and skills, and our fresh energy. So, we started to undertake a rebrand in the business.
By August 2020, our rebrand was well underway. We had been working hard over the last challenging months on our new identity and branding! A fresh approach to go along with some recruiting allowed the business to move from strength to strength. Expanding the team and expert professional services around Search Engine Optimisation, Pay Per Click and Digital Strategy places the business in an extremely unique and strong position as a full Digital Agency. The creation of the wonderful new brand was used to springboard the company into a new phase of growth.
The new colours and design pushed the business forward, and we continue to recruit more skills and expertise. We are always enhancing our services further, striving to be the absolute best Digital & Performance Website and Design Agency in the area. We have continued to invest in staff, infrastructure, and recruitment to provide clients with the best service and technical knowledge available.
Having our new branding on the car in 2021 was (almost) the final change to our business brand revamp, with the office signage and window coming a few weeks later! The office now looks fantastic.
Getting this new car was such an exciting period of growth for us through some genuine business challenges throughout COVID-19. The team worked tirelessly throughout the disruption of the pandemic, still delivering an exceptional service to clients, so this new car represented how much this arduous work achieved. The dedicated team, and our client base, has grown slowly, and through internal growth of our expertise and training, we are also making sure the knowledge, service, and quality of what we deliver is consistently still first-class.
Our office front rebrand was the final stage of the company rebrand. Someone is in the office everyday so if you’re ever in the area make sure to drop by to have a closer look and say hi to the team!
We’re so excited about what the future holds for the company. We’re looking forward to continued growth, from skills to services to staff. We’re continuously looking for improvement and upskilling everything we do. We’ll be exploring accreditations and other recognised qualifications, to set us apart. We’ll hopefully even be looking toward future office expansion in the next couple years. Thank you to our clients, customers, staff and partners for the last 8 years; here’s the next 8 and beyond!
