Member Article

Newcastle creative agency expands to London following FW Capital backing

Newcastle-headquartered everythingdifferent has revealed the success of a two year expansion plan, backed by the North East Growth Plus Fund which is managed by FW Capital.

The creative agency saw its client billings top £15m in the 2014/15 financial year, a record high in the company’s 16 year history.

Moreover, everythingdifferent has opened a London office and has entered the list of top 20 independent agencies in the UK for the first time. Attracting a range of blue chip clients, including News UK, Autotrader and Sky TV, the agency has also doubled its staffing levels.

FW Capital first backed the agency in 2013 and has since developed its in-house capabilities and expanded its core services.

Central to its success over the last two years has been the company’s decision to invest in its talent base as well as in new technology to broaden its marketing proposition.

Yousaf Khalid, Group Managing Director, said: “We made a decision to diversify a few years ago which coincided with the shift towards digital and online marketing. By combining our creative background in advertising with new technical expertise in areas like online research and data insights we’ve been able to work with a wider client base.”

“FW Capital’s investment has enabled us to attract the right talent, launch new services and open new parts of the business, such as Differentology which specialises in research and data insights. We’re really pleased by the progress we have made in two years from a zero start.

“We’re working with household brands producing innovative work and have recently won one award and nominated for one other for our recent ‘Mobilizer’ project for client partner Sky TV.”

Headquartered in Newcastle, everythingdifferent’s connection to the North East is a strong part of its identity and over the last four years it has worked closely with a number of local universities through its graduate training scheme.

“There’s a huge amount of talent here in the North East and by expanding our range of services we’ve created more opportunities to nurture talented local graduates. Our mission is to give new talent the opportunity to succeed in the region by attracting clients we all love to work with,” added Mr Khalid.

Michael Vassallo, Senior Investment Executive, said: “everythingdifferent is an excellent example of how a business can grow successfully with the right backing.

“They’ve doubled their workforce in the last two years and are now not only a major player in the North East but also a top UK agency known for the award-winning campaigns they create for high-profile blue chip brands.

“The team at everythingdifferent has transformed the business over the last two years, expanding the range of services they offer to take advantage of the growth in multi-channel digital marketing. They’ve also increased their presence in the key London market and have exciting plans to build on their success.”