Another Bath creative firm has relocated to Bristol due to a lack of suitable space in the city.
Customer relationship marketing agency Armadillo CRM, which works with brands such as McDonald’s, hotels.com and Disney, has made the move after 25 years in Bath.
The agency, whose 30-strong team was based in Alfred Street, has ambitions plans to double in size following a management buy-out (MBO) earlier this year
Executive chairman Chris Thurling, part of the MBO team and a former owner of Bristol-based 3Sixty – one of the region’s first web design and digital marketing agencies – said: “Our Bath office was bursting at the seams and to fulfil our growth plans, a move to Bristol was a natural step.”
Armadillo’s decision echoes that of Bath brand brand, creative and digital agency Mr B and Friends, which relocated Bristol last year after failing to find a suitable office in its home city to meet its expansion plans. It had been based in Bath for nine years.
Since its move to Bristol it has continued to grow and taken on new clients. Not-for-profit technology adviser Eduserv also relocated to Bristol last year.
Property agents in Bath have long warned of a slow-but-steady exodus of firms from the city – especially those in the tech and creative sectors which are regarded as crucial to the city’s future economic expansion.
With little new space suitable for these kind of high-growth firms on the market in Bath and new office space in developments such as Quays South – which will have an emphasis on tech, creative and digital – still several years off, property agents fear the problem will only get worse.
One of the few new developments offering prime office space in Bath, the refurbished 20 Manvers Street, is now fully occupied after attracting Bath creative firms such as gift designer and retailer Wild & Wolf and Edit, the three-way merger between marketing giant St Ives’ subsidiaries Occam DM, Response One and Amaze One.
Armadillo, which has grown its turnover by £1m in the past five years, saw early on the potential to develop a business that provides motivating and inspiring customer journeys, working with pioneering brands such as Blockbusters.
It is now based in The Quorum building in Bond Street, close to Bristol’s city centre, which it described as a spacious, newly refurbished office that should offer huge potential for the company’s growth plans.
With expansive views over the city, the new office is also designed to maximise collaboration, as the agency continues to grow across the board. The senior team collaborated with Dr Harriet Shortt, associate professor in organisation studies at Bristol Business School, UWE, during the office move to design the optimum office environment.
Chris Thurling added: “Inspiration will be on our doorstep, with creative networks such as Bristol Media and facilities like Pervasive Media Studio, the VR lab and Engine Shed.
“As well as giving us space to expand and encouraging further collaboration, relocation will also give us access to a new pool of world-class, creative talent in a vibrant, connected city.”
Last October Armadillo won the best email campaign for its work on McDonald’s Win Win campaign at the renowned Wirehive 100 Awards, which recognise outstanding creative and technical talent.
The campaign achieved click-to-open rates of 56% – the highest ever for the brand – while its targeting and incentivisation strategy drove a 14% uplift in participation. The campaign was hailed by the award judges as a “brilliant campaign, with great use of data, personalisation and anticipation building”.
Pictured: The Armadillo CRM team with Chris Thurling, far right back row
