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Bath Agency Ranked Amongst Country’s Best Start-Ups

Posted by: TheAgency

Date added: Wed 01 Sep 2010

Bath-based integrated marketing agency TheAgency, has been named one of South West and Wales’ top young companies in the prestigious HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards. Now TheAgency hopes to be selected to fly the flag for the region at the national finals, and convince the judges that it has the special X-factor to win the top prize of £30,000.

Entrepreneurs Sammy Mansourpour and Amy Stobie started TheAgency in January 2008 after spotting a gap in the market.

TheAgency is an integrated brand response advertising agency that uses both on and offline media to deliver its clients’ messages effectively, saving them time and money.

Its founders had experience in big London advertising and marketing agencies, working with major brands, and realised they could offer a superior service by offering a media neutral approach with direct access to key team members. Locating in Bath enabled them to invest more in their management team by reducing operational costs. Their target was large blue chip companies looking to reduce their agency spend without compromising on service.

Launching at the start of the recession may have seemed risky, but in fact, they were able to turn the economic conditions to their advantage. Major companies were looking for new ways of achieving their corporate communications aims and TheAgency was able to offer some interesting and innovative solutions.

TheAgency has invested heavily in understanding new technologies, most recently focusing on social media and how it can be harnessed in a profitable fashion. It also operates in multidisciplinary teams, which means a campaign is never limited by the specialised fields of its creators.

In just two years, TheAgency has made significant progress in a notoriously difficult market, in spite of the economic downturn. By the end of its second year it has snatched some major national and international accounts such as BSM, Future UK, NetRegs (Environment Agency) and Siemens Gigaset from much larger and more established agencies and is already well ahead of its growth target.

Looking forward, the founders aim to secure the company's reputation and grow the business to the point where they will dominate the South West and make their mark on the London market, as well as develop an international presence.

Head of Business Banking for HSBC, Huw Morgan, said: “HSBC Start-Up Stars is about demonstrating by practical example that, with the right help and support, there are still great opportunities out there for people with the dedication and drive to succeed.”

The HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards, now in their 10th year, recognise the UK’s most promising young businesses less than four years old, with more than £50,000 worth of cash and prizes waiting for the winners.

The are also two new specialist categories – Green and International – which recognise businesses with a specific focus on environmental issues and those who are applying vision and enterprise to expand into international markets.

Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable, said; “Celebrating our enterprising and innovative business culture is a wonderful way to highlight the essential role of entrepreneurship and commerce in Britain today.

“These companies demonstrate how British entrepreneurship is driving the Small Medium Enterprise sector forward. They have achieved this despite some of the toughest economic conditions for decades, and are succeeding in sectors across our economy and markets across the world.”

Now TheAgency is hoping to land a place at the top table on 18th October when more than 300 business leaders come together at London’s Dorchester Hotel to hear the names of the national winners.

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