BIG Partnership employees are to share a £250,000 bonus after the agency reported its best-ever year, with turnover increasing by £1.4 million to £8.8 million in the year to May 31st 2018.
The marketing agency, which has offices in Manchester and Scotland and employs 107 staff, also saw profits rise to £1.4 million .
BIG put the results down to major account wins across all offices plus an increase in marketing-led accounts with existing clients including Loganair, Stewart Milne Group and OPITO.
The company’s Manchester office, which opened in 2015, has doubled profits in the last year after new wins including packaging enhancement specialist API Group, leading planning consultancy Turley and an expanded remit with legal firm Addleshaw Goddard to support its Manchester and Leeds offices.
Associate director and head of BIG’s Manchester office, Sarah Lawless (above), said: “Winning more integrated accounts, where we combine digital, marketing, design and PR to make a measurable impact for clients, has significantly boosted performance this year.
“As well as new account wins, we’ve also expanded the range of services we provide to existing clients, which has made a major contribution to fee income. Increasingly, clients are looking for an agency which is adept at combining SEO, PPC, social media and PR to give returns that they can measure, so we’ve worked hard to recruit really effective, experienced experts in these fields.
“We have a hugely talented team which works incredibly hard for clients and it’s important that they share in the success of the business, so we’re genuinely thrilled to be paying out our largest-ever staff bonus across the entire company.”
The business, which has taken on 27 people in the last 12 months is poised for further growth and expects to increase headcount significantly over the next financial year, particularly in digital, design, creative and strategy roles.
Director Allan Barr added: “This year has been the strongest in our history and we have continued to invest heavily in our people. We have strong momentum as we start our new financial year and will be unveiling some further senior hires very soon.”
Digital income was up 51% and BIG has strengthened its offering around SEO, PPC, social advertising and video content. The firm has secured new business across a range of sectors, including energy, food and drink, sport, transport and property including new assignments for the Offshore Europe partnership, which leads one of the world’s largest oil and gas conference and exhibitions.
