Your Creative Partner

Based in Hartlepool, County Durham, Focus Removals & Storage are fast becoming one of the leading removal and storage companies in the North East. Formed in 2012 by ex-servicemen Lee Caldwell and Peter Crowe, the company has gone from strength to strength in recent months picking up new business from all corners of the UK.

To assist with their growth, Focus have been working alongside M Media & Design (mm&d) for the past two years to boost the profile of the company both in the North East and further afield. A key part of their marketing strategy is based around a new website which, when launched in April 2015, will allow customers from around the UK to find out more about the services on offer. An innovative quoting system will allow visitors to list their items for removal, the destinations involved and then be given a real-time estimate. Lee Caldwell, Focus Removals & Storage;

We are a very ambitious company and want to be seen as the ‘go-to’ removal company in the North. We have also carried out removals from overseas and can help clients through every step of the removal process, including shipping.

Getting our marketing right has been crucial to our success. We see the new website as an opportunity to compete alongside the established national removal firms.”

Working in such a competitive industry, mm&d have also supported Focus with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to ensure they are well ranked in a range of search engines.

To assist with the development, Focus applied for, and were successful with their application for funding through the NBSL programme. The Business Improvement Fund offered Focus the opportunity to bring in external expertise for advice and guidance and covered 40% of the cost of work supplied by mm&d.

“We weren’t even aware of the funding programme until we met with mm&d. The application process was simple and we had everything confirmed within two weeks.”

Commenting on the success of the programme, Owain Jenkins, Business Development Manager at mm&d;

“Over the past 6 months we have seen a huge rise in the number of enquiries from the NBSL programme. We are an approved supplier and always try encourage businesses like Focus to apply for funding. It can make a significant difference to their improvement projects and helps create a budget that might not have been there to begin with.”

The deadline for applications to the NBSL Improvement Fund will close on 31st March 2015 and projects will need to be completed by 30th June 2015.

For more information visit:

www.nbsl.org.uk

www.focusremovals.co.uk

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OVER a thousand teenagers on Teesside will have the chance to find out more about their dream job at Middlesbrough’s largest annual careers guidance event this month.

The Big Skills Event, organised by Middlesbrough Council’s 0-19 Service and M Media & Design Ltd, will also be open for a special evening slot to give parents the opportunity to join their children in finding their employment or education path.

Over 1,300 school children and parents are expected to attend the careers fare at Middlesbrough Town Hall on 8th October, as a variety of exhibitors and industry experts look to unearth Teesside’s best young talent.

Among the careers on show will be graphic design, hair and beauty, engineering, sports development, catering and construction, with a number of interactive demonstrations to be held during the day.

John Keelty, Middlesbrough Council 0-19 Service Manager said:

We have run this event for a number of years and the feedback from attendees has always been great. The advice and guidance on the learning pathways available to young people when they leave education is priceless for the students with such big decisions on the horizon.

This is the largest impartial careers education event in Middlesbrough and we have tried to make every young person aware of the event through work in schools, on social media and individual letters as we want them to make the correct career choice at 16.

Once again the Town Hall plays host to the event so that young people in Middlesbrough have the opportunity to visit this historic building that remains the heartbeat of the town.”

Mark Skirving, Director, M Media & Design, said:

Once again we have enjoyed working with Middlesbrough Council on The Big Skills Event. We are particularly pleased with the wide-range of exhibitors we have at this year’s event. We also have 12 interactive demonstrations running throughout the day- offering hands on advice on different careers.  .”

The event, which is free to attend with no appointments to see exhibitors needed, runs from 11.00am to 3.00pm and 4.45pm until 7pm.

Between 11am to 3.00pm, year 10 and 11 pupils from all local schools in Middlesbrough are invited to attend.

The event is keen to welcome parents, carers and young people, including year 10 and 11 school pupils along to the evening session which is held between 4.45pm to 7pm.

If you have any queries or would like more information on the event, please call 01429 874 5TG.

ENDS

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About the client

Based in Redcar & Cleveland, this newly-formed partnership consists of several academies that together form St Oswald’s Catholic Academy Trust. Included in the partnership are:

About the project

St Oswald’s Catholic Academy Trust is the first Catholic academy in the Middlesbrough Diocese. As such, they required an entirely new brand for the Trust that oversees all the academies along with the creation of separate brands for each individual academy.

mm&d provided St Oswald’s Catholic Academy Trust with a wide range of design services that involved the production of new signage, stationery, prospectuses for each academy and school as well as pens and pin badges for all our staff, students and governors when the academies were launched.

According to Pam Hanrahan, Headteacher, the personal service offered by mm&d has been particularly beneficial to the Trust:

mm&d provides a thorough and professional service – nothing is too much trouble.  Someone is always available at the end of a phone and they are also willing to come on-site at the drop of a hat. I cannot speak highly enough of their services.”

Working with schools is an area mm&d is particularly experienced in, having recently signed several contracts with the soon-to-be-launched academies. Director Mark Skirving is looking forward to forging new partnerships in the coming years:

As a business, we see the education sector as an important element of our work. We are able to offer a wide range of bespoke marketing services specific to schools, from complete re-brands to uniform designs. We offer all services in-house.

Schools are increasingly having to operate in partnerships with the local community and we can help ensure they are presented in a professional manner.”

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About the client

Mohujos is a Mexican restaurant that first opened in Billingham in 2007. After several years of success, the company recently opened their second restaurant, on Stockton’s Riverside. Mohujos by the River serves food from Tuesday to Saturday and offers a range of exciting Mexican and tapas with an element of street food.

About the project

The team at mm&d recently began working on a new brand for Mohujos in April 2014. Already boasting the award for the world’s best Parmo, the management at Mohujos felt they needed a new brand identity to reinforce their growing reputation. mm&d provided new logo designs and branding, signage and fitting and various printed materials for use in the new venue.

Work has also commenced to develop a new online home for Mohujos, which will be launched in the coming weeks. Chris White, mm&d Account Manager:

Sometimes it is hard to come up with a new brand for a business as well known as Mohujos, but we are really pleased with the new designs.”

The guys at Mohujos are delighted with the work mm&d have done, and we can’t wait to sample their delights soon.”

The project was part funded by NBSL, a North East Enterprise Agency that works to assist pre-start, new and existing business by providing information, advice and support on running and developing a business. They fully understand the role a successful marketing strategy can have on bringing in new and retaining current customers.  Wendy Sayers, owner of Mohujos:

Setting up a new restaurant is a very expensive process. We knew that getting the marketing right was vital and we were delighted to have the advice and financial support of NBSL and creativity of mm&d.

I would encourage more businesses to look at external funding and help create that budget that might not normally be available. We are a fairly small business that competes against some very large national chains, and this support has allowed us grow as a company.”

More information

www.nbsl.org.uk

www.mohujos.co.uk

Work carried out

Logo Design, New Signage, Website, Menu Templates, Loyalty and Business Cards, Kids Menu, Gift Vouchers

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About the client

Established in 1991, ACEDA has grown to become a leading provider of adaptable solutions and services in a number of key market sectors. They are a national provider of integrated services with all projects delivered through their network of offices, in Middlesbrough, Aberdeen, London and Manchester.

ACEDA have three business divisions:

Key market sectors include offshore wind, oil & gas, health, education, retail and construction.

About the project

After identifying the need to update their company website, ACEDA invited a number of businesses to tender for the redevelopment. Following a successful proposal meeting, mm&d began working closely with ACEDA to prepare the updated layout of the site.

It was important that the new site reflected the companies re-structure into three business divisions, ACEDA Energy & Process, ACEDA Commercial & ACEDA Support. To do this, a new landing page and sub-domain was created for each division.

Originally brought in solely for the website redevelopment, mm&d has gone on to  assist ACEDA with a number of other projects including design of z-cards, capability statements, flip books, exhibition stands among others.

Nick Harker, Managing Director, ACEDA has been particularly impressed with the professionalism of the team and the standard of work produced at mm&d:

[They] have been professional and conscientious for all projects carried out for ACEDA. They have an all-round knowledge and capability from website development to design which allows them to provide a turnkey service and assist with any requirements ACEDA have.

The knowledge, guidance and advice provided by mm&d has enabled us to produce high quality designs, literature and web pages and improve the marketing of the company.”

The team at mm&d pride themselves on time management and achieving all set timescales, Jamie Arthur, Director, mm&d:

For this particular project the timings were fairly stringent but with constant communication we were able to meet all targets. ACEDA have been a pleasure to deal with throughout the past 12 months and we look forward to continuing to support their marketing needs going forward.”

For more information

www.aceda.co.uk

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Your Creative Partner

Lets face facts, exhibitions or trade shows can be stressful depending on the level or your involvement, size of your market and how much time and money you have invested. As a company you will be looking to not only showcase your products and services but also looking to make key introductions and impressions on prospective customers/clients.

You could be planning o go to your 100th event or your 1st, so the guys at mm&d have put their heads together to come up with the Ultimate Exhibition Guide!

1. Do your homework!

If you are going to spend a small chunk of your marketing budget to attend exhibitions you best make sure that the events you are exhibiting at are worth the investment. Before you even think about signing up, double check to see what the average attendance is being estimated out, ask the organisers how many invites are being sent out and who to. Have a look at the type of companies that are being invited – are they the type of companies that you are trying to target or work with? Also have a look at the list of other exhibitors in attendance, is your main competitor there? If so, don’t you think you should be to?

 2. Set some targets/goals 

Sit down and think about why you want to attend this event. Is it to meet new clients or expand your current relationships with existing clients and customers? Are you using the event as a product or service launch? If so, is this event the right platform to do so? Make sure you set yourself some targets or all the hard work and effort you put in will be for nothing.

 3. Make sure you understand what you are paying for!

The event organiser should have supplied you with an abundance of information and costs attributed to their event. Make sure you have a full understanding of what you are actually paying for, are you just paying for floor space or will you be supplied with a table etc. If you need electricity for a laptop or display materials, always double check to make sure if you need to rent an electric socket on top of you exhibition costs.

4. Plan and make a timetable

You might think that you are a hardened event veteran that can arrive, set up and be ready for the doors to open all in half an hour but you never know what curve balls could be thrown your way. You will know the date of your event, work backwards from that day marking on your calendar what tasks need to be completed and who by, remember if you need new literature printing, always leave a few days for the print to be completed and delivered. If you have any support staff joining you from other departments, make sure that they have the full details of the event, get a contact number from them just encase anything changes and work out when you will need them at the event – it is all about balance, you don’t want too many staff at your event but on the other hand you don’t want your stand to look bare.

 5. Fill out all the paper work

It is the bane of everyone’s life – PAPERWORK, but when it comes to events paperwork is very important, if you miss any part of your booking etc. it could mean that you cant display what you want to show, you might loose out on a spot with electric or you might end up a million miles away from when your thought your spot was going to be. You might also need to fill out a bundle health and safety forms, but in the end it is all worth it in making sure you secure your spot.

6. Work out what you are going to take

Depending on the floor space you have booked you might have to be brutal with what you take to an event, yes, you want to be able to show off your products and services to their full potential, but in a tight space with a table and stands you might be limited in what you can display. Having limited room shouldn’t put you off in being creative, it just means you have to work out the best way of displaying your products and services, it could be a bespoke brochure or a table top display. There is nothing worse than running out of literature or freebies, so make sure than when you do plan out what your taking plan to take enough. If the organisers have 500 people scheduled to turn up make sure that you have enough materials for one item a person. If your budget doesn’t stretch that far you will have to become savvy with who you issue your literature or freebies to, work up a bit of a rapport with the visitor to see if they will need more information from you about your product or service. If you are taking freebies to give out, it is always good to stick with something safe and cost effective like pens, but if you are really looking to stand out from the crowd, maybe it is time to look at something a little different.

7.  Raise awareness

Some of your current and potential clients might follow you on Twitter or like you on Facebook. Why not push out a few messages via those platforms to gain a little extra exposure. If the event itself has a social media account or hashtag remember to use them in anything you send out, it might get you a retweet or a share to a bigger audience.

8. Do a little networking

Take a look around at the other companies at the event, yes you are there to talk to the visitors about your product and services but depending on the size of the event there could be 100’s of other businesses around you primed to network with. Have a quick look at the list of exhibitors, highlight a few to maybe go over and have a quick chat with maybe set up a meeting for after the event. Try to get the maximum amount of exposure you can. While at the event if you get a few minutes down time, why not have a look and see if any of the companies you have spoke to are on Twitter, if so, follow them – maybe give them a little tweet saying it was good to see them at the event.

9. Follow up leads

While it might be hard to gauge how interested everyone’s interest who visits you, you should be able to gain some clear indication of who is really interested in talking to you further, make sure that you highlight these people – keep their contact details separate from everyone else’s, follow initial contact up with a quick email or call a few days later and if possible, book in some time to meet face to face. That doesn’t mean that the other leads should fall by the wayside, get in touch with them to see if they have any requirement for your product or service, but don’t leave them out because you never know.

10.  Evaluate

After the dust has settled post event and you have worked up contacting prospective leads sit down and work out if the event has been worth both the investment and time that you have put into it.  If you have gained new business off the back of the event, then maybe when it comes around to the next time it is on, sign back up, maybe expand your floor space, make more of an impression. If by chance you haven’t gained anything from the event and it hasn’t really worked for you, don’t write exhibitions and trade show off completely, maybe this event wasn’t for you, have a look at other events in your sector, do some more research before you commit to further commitments to other events.

We are in no way saying that the above points are set in stone, you might have your own way of running events, but we find that the 10 points above are always a good starting point when looking to really excel at events.

Remember if you need any literature, printing, exhibition stands or freebies, mm&d are always here to help.

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Working with a varied range of clients is always exciting and interesting at here mm&d and it always keeps us on our toes, always looking for new ways to innovate and evolve. A lot of the time our work schedules and timetables are planned out with plenty of time to turn around even the most complicated of projects. But sometimes clients have been left in the lurch by a previous supplier or need a project turning around quickly and turn to us for a solution.

In most instances people generally think that sacrificing time out of their project must always mean that the quality of their project is affected and they will receive a subpar product or service. At mm&d this isn’t the case, due to the unique way we are structured we are able to work up design concepts from a brief in hours not days, we are able to develop and launch websites in only a few months instead of a year and turn around projects without loosing out on quality.

Yes, this might sound amazing and we understand that you don’t think that this is possible and that because you have sacrificed on time you will receive a poor end product or service. In a perfect world it is always good to have a nice amount of lead-time on a project, but when is the world of business ever perfect or easy? If it was we would all be millionaires.

Here at mm&d we believe that you shouldn’t look at a quick turn around time as a bad thing. Really time should be irrelevant to any project, it is the way that the project is delivered that counts. Look at it this way, you could be a really fast runner for example, but without the correct technique and right method of running you will never be the fastest. Get the technique right and with your natural ability you will be able to be the fastest.

The same can be said of how we handle quick projects at mm&d. We have a set of talented designers and developers and due to our flat unique working structure we are able to free up their time to do what they are really good at, designing. This means that you, the client, receive work of the highest standards and in those instances that time is a factor you can have total confidence that mm&d can deliver.

So with that in mind why not get in touch today and see what mm&d can do for you!

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About the client

The Herts Sports and Physical Activity Partnership is an award winning organisation that was established in 2003.

They are one of 49 County Sport Partnerships in England that were created by Sport England as part of the long-term plan for delivering sport across the nation.

Known as HSP, the Partnership is led by an executive board of voluntary representatives and has a core team of full and part-time professionals all of whom are passionate about the work carried out by the Partnership.

The project

HSP carry out a wide range of projects that aim to get more people involved in sport and improve their health and wellbeing. mm&d have provided marketing support for all of these projects since 2012.

The biggest event of the calendar is Coach Education Week, Europe’s largest single coaching event. John O’Callaghan, Sports Development Manager at HSP, has seen a huge improvement in how the event is marketed:

The two years that mm&d have been involved with the Partnership has coincided with a rapid rise in the number of coaches attending Coach Education Week. We now have over 2000 bookings on the week-long event during February half-term. A lot of this is down to the new interactive digital brochure. Finding a course and booking onto it couldn’t be simpler.”

Herts Sports Partnership is one of an ever-growing group of businesses using mm&d in the South of England. Roz Ringe, Marketing Manager at HSP has found mm&d particularly easy to communicate with:

Even though we are based in Hertfordshire, dealing with the team at mm&d has been a simple process. They are able to answer any queries thrown at them and are often able to help with last minute jobs, which given the nature of our work can happen more often than we like! Very few sport organisations can afford full-time marketing staff and the professional support mm&d provide is a great resource for us.”

Marketing support for the sports industry is an area that mm&d specialise in. Along with HSP, mm&d have agreements in place with organisations such as the Wooden Spoon Charity and Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club.

More information

Visit www.sportinherts.org.uk

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About the client

propertyskipper was formed in January 2013 and originally operated as a property portal dedicated to Bermuda. Following early success, the portal expanded to include the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The project

Property Webmasters, part of the mm&d group, worked closely with propertyskipper in the company’s infancy, including developing the branding to support the business launch.

The main area of the project involved building the property portal from scratch as well as developing the front end of the website, managing the property feed and providing ongoing technical support.

To show their commitment to the project, the Property Webmasters team travelled to Bermuda to meet the client face-face, something Peter Goodall, Director, propertyskipper appreciated:

We found the staff at Property Webmasters very approachable and clear at all stages of the project. We have developed a good working relationship with them since. From the beginning they were very supportive of the project and we were delighted to host them for the launch in Bermuda. They even returned the hospitality with a night around Durham!”

With the marketing support of Property Webmasters, propertyskipper exceeded their own objectives in the first year of trading. They were the number one property portal in Bermuda which accounted for over 90% of the available listings. The success of the award winning site led to several other Caribbean-based companies working with Property Webmasters. Jamie Arthur, Director, Property Webmasters has overseen the development of the portal:

The platform has evolved many times to suit the needs of various clients in the Caribbean. Our approach has meant that we are able to adjust a range of functions to meet the needs of the consumer.”

Property Webmasters and properyskipper continue to work together and Jamie and the team are looking forward to developing new projects in the coming years, with the portal likely to include more islands in the Caribbean.

The project has been a very rewarding development that at times has tested the skills of our team, from design/branding right through to ongoing website maintenance. We are proud to be a part of such a successful project.”

More information

Visit www.propertyskipper.com

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Let’s face facts, mobile and tablet browsing is increasing exponentially, users are not only using mobile devices as their first point of internet use while on the move but they are also now choosing to use a mobile device or tablet as their primary source for all Internet use. With Internet users becoming more savvy with technology and with over 80% of Alexa’s Top 100 sites now using a responsive design, isn’t it time you responded to the needs of your visitors?

What is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive design is a technique that creates websites that react to the size of a user’s screen. Responsive design optimises a browsing experience by creating flexible web pages, optimised for the device that is accessing it.

Why should I have my site designed in such a way?

Traditionally sites have been designed with a PC or Laptop in mind in the first instance and Smartphone or Tablet second, with two separate sites designed for both platforms, meaning in some cases two different versions of the site exist and two sites may need updating, meaning more time spent working on updates & design. With responsive design this is not the case, one site is designed for use across three platforms and the site reacts to whichever device it is being displayed on.

Using a responsive design now also means that you have to spend less money, time and effort designing and developing a separate mobile version of your website, meaning you can use that wasted resource on something else.

With a responsive design you also don’t lose out on your precious SEO Rankings by developing a separate application to run your site, the application isn’t listed on the web and wont count towards any of the hard work you are doing on your SEO. A responsive website is always on the web, regardless of what platform people are viewing the site on, meaning all that hard SEO work is not lost!

The numbers don’t lie… did you know that?

  • Data suggests that over 56% of people now have a Smartphone
  • 50% of the average global mobile web users now use their mobile device as their primary device for internet browsing
  • 52% of people that use a tablet, prefer using it to browse online and shop online than they do on a PC/Laptop
  • 57% of visitors would not recommend a website if the website had a poorly designed mobile version

Responsive design allows you to stay ahead of game. As the demand for sites that can be viewed seamlessly across different platform grows, and with the increase in Tablet and Smartphone use, responsive design is key to keeping one step ahead.

How can I get a responsive design?

There are two very simple routes you can go down when looking at applying a responsive design to your site and here at mm&d we have decided to make it as stress free and simple for you. Don’t worry, we understand that you might have just spent thousands on a new website that hasn’t included a responsive design, we can apply a reactive design to your current site using your current content and imagery, with prices starting from £350.00.

If your site is in need of a full re-design we also offer a complete new re-build of your current site with prices depending on the specification of the development.

If you would like to talk to us about your website requirements please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Contact us for more details>

From the studio

Read more about our latest client campaigns. Like what you see? Get in touch to see how we can add creativity to your next project.

What we do

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