Digital Hub companies join forces

Two digital businesses based at the Leeds Digital Hub are pooling their resources to help clients generate leads online.
Date: 3rd May 2016.
Picture James Hardisty.
Launch of a new Leeds Beckett University and Yorkshire Post Newspapers partnership within the digital hub, Leeds. Pictured James Mitchinson, Editor of The Yorkshire Post, Katie Rigarlsford, Enterprise and Innovation Manager for Leeds Beckett University, Mark Casci, Yorkshire Post Business Editor, and Fran Parkinson. Enterprise & Innovation Hub Operations Manager, with digital hub users looking on in the new Digital Hub Enterprise and Innovation Academy at Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Leeds.Date: 3rd May 2016.
Picture James Hardisty.
Launch of a new Leeds Beckett University and Yorkshire Post Newspapers partnership within the digital hub, Leeds. Pictured James Mitchinson, Editor of The Yorkshire Post, Katie Rigarlsford, Enterprise and Innovation Manager for Leeds Beckett University, Mark Casci, Yorkshire Post Business Editor, and Fran Parkinson. Enterprise & Innovation Hub Operations Manager, with digital hub users looking on in the new Digital Hub Enterprise and Innovation Academy at Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Leeds.
Date: 3rd May 2016. Picture James Hardisty. Launch of a new Leeds Beckett University and Yorkshire Post Newspapers partnership within the digital hub, Leeds. Pictured James Mitchinson, Editor of The Yorkshire Post, Katie Rigarlsford, Enterprise and Innovation Manager for Leeds Beckett University, Mark Casci, Yorkshire Post Business Editor, and Fran Parkinson. Enterprise & Innovation Hub Operations Manager, with digital hub users looking on in the new Digital Hub Enterprise and Innovation Academy at Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Leeds.

Web design firm Rocknine Creative is working with digital marketing agency Haystack Digital in order to bring their design and advertising expertise to campaigns.

Craig Duerden and Luke Lynam have now decided to create a separate business called Leadspark to run alongside their respective companies.

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Mr Lynam said that being in the hub provides opportunities for collaboration as it contains the skills usually seen in full service digital agencies.

“The prime example of the advantages of working in the hub is myself and Craig meeting here,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

“It’s bringing loads of different services together that you would see in a typical agency,” Mr Lynam added.

Mr Duerden says that Leeds is a hotspot for the markets they are looking to target with Leadspark, with the duo looking to attract financial services clients.

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If they hadn’t been based at the hub they might not have ended up working together, Mr Duerden admits.

“We can sit side by side and look at campaigns and be as reactive as possible,” he added.

The collaboration kicked off when Rocknine was looking to help one of its clients with digital marketing.

“I’d always been looking for a partner to work with on the digital marketing side which is something that I’d look to offer my clients but I’d never found that partner,” Mr Duerden said.

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After working separately on that particular client account, they decided to take a more integrated approach.

It led to the creation of Leadspark, which often adopts a performance based model. Mr Duerden works on the design, Mr Lynam runs the digital marketing campaigns and together they optimise client’s websites for maximum lead generation success.

“It’s a performance based model in that the results that we generate for clients in terms of sales, conversions, enquiries, it’s those results that we get our commission and fee from,” Mr Lynam said.

When they first start off on campaigns they will use their industry expertise but once a campaign is live they will react to the data.

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Mr Duerden said: “The decisions are often made by the data which Luke has collated.

“We translate that into what changes we make on the web. That’s where I’ll bring in my expertise.”

Leadspark then looks at what changes need to be made not only to the targeted ad campaigns but also to the website to improve conversion.

“Every client we’ve had has trusted us to make those decisions being experts in that field which has been quite refreshing,” says Mr Duerden. “It goes back to the fact that this almost works as a partnership rather than fixed fee. They know we’re making those decisions because we’ve got a vested interest in how the campaign goes.”

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Haystack has been going for nearly three years while Rocknine has been established for nine years.

The duo are set to launch a new website for Leadspark. They currently have their individual sites http://www.rocknine.co.uk/ and http://haystackdigital.co.uk/

Helping hand for business

The Leeds Digital Hub is a tech office and co-working space which is run in partnership between Leeds Beckett University and The Yorkshire Post.

It is part of a network of Leeds Beckett University Business Centres which have been operating for more than 15 years.

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More than 200 businesses across the region are currently located in the university’s private, shared and co-working spaces, which have supported over 800 businesses to accelerate their growth.

Tenants, working across a diverse range of sectors including tourism, education and event planning, are working within the hub.