The Voice of M3.agency by m3.agency

The Voice.

INTRODUCTION

As we wrap up a record year, we’re proud to be continuing our run as one of the fastest-growing marketing agencies in the West Midlands. Hitting an annual revenue target of £6.5 million, we’re now looking to achieve a 10% increase next year. To help us reach this ambitious target, we’re excited to announce three key additions to our senior leadership team.

Justin Griffiths has been promoted to Group Creative Director, and Candice Donnelly is now our Group Account Director. We’re also excited to welcome Rob Pollard, founder of Lightbox, as our Client Strategy Director. Rob brings 17 years of experience and strong leadership to our team.

INTRODUCTION.

“

A WORD FROM NICK

Helping M3.agency become one of the largest independent marketing agencies in the West Midlands has been the most rewarding period of my career and now we’re setting our sights on bringing even more blue chip clients into the region – attracting them away from Manchester and London in the process.

Our growth has been down to investment in the team, with the latest recruitment of Rob and the promotions of Justin and Candice giving us an extremely talented and experienced senior leadership team.

M3.agency news

Rob Pollard Client Strategy Director

“This is an exciting personal opportunity for me. I know that my 17 years of agency experience and client-facing skills can add real value and align perfectly with the company’s ambitious expansion plans. Bringing members of my team from Lightbox into the M3.agency fold has also been a fantastic experience, and we’ve all hit the ground running with accounts across food and drink, professional services, and renewable energy.”

Candice Donnelly Group Account Director

Candice, who has 25 years of marketing experience and has been with M3.agency for over a decade, has been promoted to Group Account Director in recognition of her exceptional management of key accounts, including West Midlands Safari Park and MG Motor UK. In her new role, she will amplify the voices of her colleagues and support our upcoming B-Corp submission.

Justin Griffiths Group Creative Director

Justin became our Group Creative Director in 2022 after completing a UAL Creative Direction course. Under his leadership, M3.agency has successfully established a working relationship with Disney UK through a partnership with ‘Inside Out 2’ and retained the MG Motor UK account, recently launching the ‘Feel Good’ TV campaign.

Justin reflects, “It has been a truly rewarding 18 months, working on brilliant creative projects and building a strong studio team that I’m incredibly proud of. A good studio culture is vital, and I’m excited to see how my colleagues continue to thrive.”

END OF AN ERA

As Dave and Dawn Lawrence step away from the business, we are filled with gratitude for their many years of leadership, dedication, and passion. Together, they have shaped not only the company but also the people within it, leaving a legacy of integrity, vision, and commitment to providing an excellent service to our many and varied clients.

While they prefer to leave without fanfare, we simply could not let this moment pass without acknowledging their remarkable contributions. We will carry forward the values they instilled and continue building upon the strong foundation they leave behind.

Thank you, Dave and Dawn, for everything you have done. We wish you both happiness and fulfilment in the next chapter of your journey. Go and make the most of those new walking boots!

M3.agency news

WAVE CMS: AI-POWERED CONTENT FOR SMARTER, FASTER WEBSITE MANAGEMENT

In the Development department of M3.agency, the team has evolved our offering to the website management ecosystem by continuing to develop Wave CMS, a user-friendly content management system aimed at business owners and marketeers that merges advanced tech with intuitive design. The latest evolution of Wave introduces a cutting-edge AI model designed to revolutionise how businesses manage digital content.

By training the AI on clients’ business, data and documents, the AI gains deep insights into their products, services, brand voice, and tone. It then streamlines the creation

of future content - pages, articles, and posts - helping maintain consistency and authenticity across platforms.

As businesses navigate the digital landscape, Wave CMS streamlines content management and amplifies communication strategies, ensuring an impactful, cohesive online presence, delivered faster than ever before.

Au Revoir Kesh

After over six incredible years with us, Kesh Kakhtar, one of our invaluable Digital Project Managers, has headed off to new adventures. Kesh has played a key role in delivering countless projects, making sure websites and developments launched on time and on budget. She’s been the perfect bridge between developers and the rest of the team, always making the tech side easy to understand. We’ll really miss her energy and big personality, but we know she’ll go on to do great things.

Best of luck, Kesh – you’ll be brilliant wherever you go!

MG3 Hybrid+ ‘Feel Good’

FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE MG3 HYBRID+

To support the launch of MG Motor UK’s first pure hybrid model, M3.agency was tasked with creating a campaign that would engage audiences emotionally while highlighting the car’s features and benefits.

The challenge was to ensure the campaign would work not only in the UK but also across Europe, requiring all photography and footage to meet EU standards and for the campaign assets to be easily adaptable for local markets.

The creative team developed a concept that put the spotlight on the MG3 Hybrid+, balancing the car’s key features with a powerful emotional message: The new MG3 Hybrid+ gives you a ‘Feel Good’ you just can’t hide.

MG3 Hybrid+ ‘Feel Good’

LIGHTS, CAMERA, DRIVE

In the TV commercial, the MG3 Hybrid+ takes centre stage, with the car itself telling the story. This approach allowed the car to showcase its features while also building an emotional bond with its owner, Katie, showing just how great it feels to drive.

We created a CGI “Feel Good” aura, visually representing the joy and positive emotions the driver experiences. Working closely with our film partner Lambda and their VFX team, we carefully designed the aura’s colour, texture, and behaviour. The TV production was filmed in Birmingham’s city centre and Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield. These locations offered a European feel and connected to MG’s British motoring heritage, making them the perfect backdrop for the campaign.

DRIVING SUCCESS FOR HOLDCROFTFT

Prior to joining M3’s portfolio of automotive clients, Holdcroft had enjoyed a longstanding partnership with their previous agency, spanning over two decades. With a network of new and used car dealerships across Stoke, Staffordshire, and Cheshire, they represent 12 leading automotive brands, including Renault, MG and Nissan.

In September, M3 was appointed as Holdcroft’s creative agency on a 12-month retainer. Within the initial months of collaboration, we have successfully launched campaigns for each of their dealer brands and delivered standout designs for the Group’s communications.

Our email campaigns have delivered remarkable results, achieving open rates as high as 65%. During an end-of-quarter sale push for the Group, we swiftly executed a campaign that resulted in 465 appointments booked over one weekend, with nearly 50% converting into car sales.

Holdcroft

EMBARKING ON A NEW FLAVOURFUL ADVENTURE WITH POMS

Poms teamed up with M3.agency for an exciting brand and digital transformation. With a solid foundation in the hospitality world, Poms was ready to step up its game and grow even further. The goal was to shape a brand that not only serves amazing, sustainably-sourced food and drink through local partnerships, but also truly impacts people and communities. The new digital experience now gives both loyal and new customers a true ‘taste’ of Poms online, where they can easily book a table and get immersed in everything the brand has to offer.

The refreshed brand has now rolled out across all venues, marketing materials, and social media, with a new location recently opening its doors in Ashbourne. The response has been fantastic, especially from longtime customers who see Poms as their “home away from home” and feel a genuine connection to the brand.

BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE PUREX BRAND

The Digital Marketing team at M3.agency had been working with Purex, a leader in fume extraction products across various industries, for some time on their online marketing activity when they briefed us on refreshing their tired visual identity and outdated website. We reimagined their brand to better reflect their industry leadership, developing a modern look and tone of voice that resonates with their target audience. Additionally, we built a user-centric website that prioritises the customer journey and features an enhanced content management system, empowering Purex to maintain up-to-date content effortlessly.

FINDING OUR HAPPY SPACE

We’re excited to share our latest work for @MGmotoruk:

OUR SPACE

“Find Your Happy Space with the MG HS.”

From start to finish, we pulled this campaign together in under 4 weeks. We created everythingfrom social films and photography to press ads, fleet materials, digital content, dealership displays, a product brochure, and even a national radio ad. With the help of our amazing production teams, we captured it all over two scorching-hot days on location and two studio days. After that, we handled the retouching and pulled together all the campaign materials in our studio.

4 WEEKS, 2 LOCATIONS, AND ENDLESS CREATIVITY

One of the standout moments was a 30-second film that captures the feeling of your new car being a peaceful escape. The shoot was smooth and beautifully executed, with top-notch sound and colour grading. We wrapped up this little gem in just a few hours at the end of the main shoot.

FAST. CREATIVE. IMPACTFUL.

CELEBRATING EVERYDAY HEROES

We created a campaign for Ford Money which promoted their new Regular Saver product called “Regular Heroes.” The campaign concept celebrated the extraordinary impact of ordinary individuals. In a world often spotlighting celebrity and fame, our “Regular Heroes” film shone a light on everyday people whose acts of kindness, resilience, and compassion inspire profound change in their communities. These regular people in our communities inspire us to recognise the potential for greatness within ourselves and to embrace the belief that even the smallest gestures can spark meaningful change.

Our “Regular Heroes” film centred around Joe Lockley, founder of Brightstar Boxing. Passionate and experienced in empowering vulnerable young people to create positive futures, Joe is an inspirational figure in his Shropshire community. Joe and his team have developed a diverse range of programs utilising sport and education to create life-changing benefits for people struggling with mental health challenges or at risk of offending behaviour.

Set up in 2020, Brightstar Boxing provides boxing-based education and mentoring programs for tackling social issues and has

Ford Money - Brightstar

HEROES

developed impactful and multi-award-winning initiatives.

One of the most rewarding outcomes of this project was getting to know Joe and witnessing the growth of his project, which now positively affects people’s lives across the Midlands and beyond. Rob and Justin from our leadership team attended a large charity event for Brightstar, and as a gesture of goodwill, we filmed and produced a social video for them.

DRIVING GROWTH FOR DIAMOND HEAVEN

AMID UK EXPANSION

M3.agency has partnered with nationwide jeweller Diamond Heaven for over five years, delivering significant online growth and increasing store appointments. Headquartered in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, Diamond Heaven operates in key UK cities including Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, London, and Manchester.

In the past year, M3.agency has helped drive a 66% increase in organic traffic, with a 20% boost

in the most recent quarter alone. As Diamond Heaven plans to open new stores across the UK, we are expanding their connected advertising strategy across Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Our data-driven approach has helped keep Diamond Heaven competitive, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership as they expand further across the UK.

66% 33% 58%

LUXURY PAVING THE WAY FOR

BOOSTING MEMBERSHIP FOR UOB SPORTS & FITNESS

UoB Sports & Fitness, part of the University of Birmingham, offers world-class facilities, including a state-of-the-art gym, a 50-metre pool, and climbing walls. Faced with the challenge of increasing engagement and driving membership sales among local communities and students, they approached M3.agency for support.

M3.agency conducted a full audit of both Google Ads and Meta

accounts, rebuilding the strategy with community-focused audiences in mind. By leveraging Google Discovery and PMax campaigns, we expanded local reach, achieving more impressions and clicks at a reduced cost.

The outcome: heightened engagement, a boost in membership sales, and significant improvements in ad performance compared to previous campaigns.

15% above membership for the year 210% increase in overall campaign reach -78% decrease in average cost per enquiry

ENHANCING PAID MEDIA STRATEGY FOR WOLVERSON FITNESS

Wolverson, a leading independent fitness equipment and accessories retailer, has been a trusted name since 2008, collaborating with major brands like CrossFit and HYROX. However, after running in-house campaigns with mixed results and steady growth, Wolverson sought agency support to enhance their paid media strategy and improve their return on ad spend (ROAS).

M3.agency stepped in, conducting a deep analysis of Wolverson's unique selling points, industry position, and audience. We restructured their Google and Meta campaigns and implemented a content-first SEO strategy. This led to significant improvements in visibility, engagement, and overall performance, driving substantial growth in their digital presence.

28% increase in overall sales YoY

34% increase in overall blog traffic and rankings YoY

37% increase in ROAS from paid campaigns YoY

PROPELLING CONFETTI INSTITUTE’S GROWTH IN CREATIVE EDUCATION

Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, part of Nottingham Trent University, stands as one of the UK’s premier providers of specialist education in creative, gaming, and event courses. Aiming to elevate brand awareness, attract prospective students, and boost applications and enrolments, Confetti ICT turned to M3.agency for a strategic overhaul.

We implemented comprehensive full-funnel campaigns across

Meta, Google, and Programmatic platforms, targeting various stages of the student application journey. By delivering category-based informational ads, we highlighted the exceptional opportunities at Confetti, gradually tailoring our creative efforts to focus on specific courses as students progressed through the funnel. This targeted approach significantly enhanced engagement, resulting in increased applications, enrolments, and attendance at open days.

200K

total engagements with students

129% increase in impressions vs previous activity

4.9% ad engagement with BOFU clearing campaigns

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Team members of Your Digital Hub at their launch event (L-R); Paul Morris MBE, Tim HUbbard, Jen Hubbard, Steve Bull MBE and Steve Arnold

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LET’S CONNECT! INSPIRATION STARTS HERE.

Need to get some ideas brewing? Or just curious about what we do? We’d love to hear from you.

Whether you’re exploring new strategies, thinking about a fresh approach, or just want to say hello, let’s grab a coffee and chat. No pressure, just good conversation - and maybe a few insights to spark some inspiration.

Drop us a line, and let’s make something amazing happen together.