Design agency looks to Golden era of digital

Visual design agency Golden believes digital will play an increasing role in the future as it helps international clients such as Nike, NBC and Arla to market their brands.

Golden’s chairman Steve McKevitt said: “How ideas are going to be communicated through the various digital channels is a major consideration for all of our clients.

“Certainly we are finding it an increasingly important component of the brief.”

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The Leeds-based agency, one of the runners up for Young Business of the Year award at last month’s Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards, is keen to develop multi-channel ideas.

“Brands like working with us because we are able to make ideas work across all the communication channels,” said Mr McKevitt.

“People enjoy working with us because our approach is inclusive and collaborative, but ultimately the only thing that matters is quality.”

The firm, which was set up in 2009, started off with an annual turnover of £242,000.

This year its turnover rocketed to £720,000.

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Golden, which employs a core team of 10 staff, describes itself as a design, ideas and art direction agency.

Its goal is to build, from a regional base, an international, high-margin business that can compete in the more lucrative global market.

The strategy is to provide a best in class creative service to the world’s leading brands and it aims to achieve a £1.5m turnover by 2014 and establish itself as a leading player within the sector.

The UK design services sector is crowded and competitive, with over 7,000 registered companies in Yorkshire and the Humber alone.

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These rivals are typically very small. In Yorkshire and the Humber only four per cent of them have a turnover of more than £250,000, according to Design Week.

Golden’s big projects include a major global campaign for Nike Football in support of FIFA World Cup, a European identity for NBC Universal, a European rebrand for Leeds-based Arla’s Lurpak butter brand and projects for the NHS and Virgin Media.

It is also working for Nike, Umbro, Nandos and Warner Brothers and has won a project on the 2012 Olympics for Nike in the USA.

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