Expanding marketing firm to open two new offices

Apr 16 2009 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

INTERNET marketing agency Ph Creative is opening new offices in Manchester and London as it continues its expansion.

The company, which bought search engine optimisation business Be Visible in January, is also looking for larger offices in Liverpool as it bids to position itself for more growth.

Ph, which also has a base in New York to promote its work in North America, says its new offices will open within weeks.

The firm employs 15 staff and says that number will double when the new offices are opened.

Managing director Bryan Adams said: “We need to move soon so that we can maintain our operations in line with servicing the diverse array of companies and sectors that we now support.

“From humble beginnings, ultimately we have been able to prove that our innovative online marketing strategies can help any business grow, whatever the industry or climate.”

Ph won ten new accounts in March in sectors from health and fitness to professional services.

Mr Adams said Ph bought Be Visible this year so it could become a “full service, online marketing agency”.

Mossley Hill-based BeVisible has clients including Somerfield, Bupa and The Thompson Directory. Its former managing director, David Hazlehurst, is now head of search marketing at Ph.

Rodney Street-based Ph has also appointed Richard Waters as a director. He joins from digital agency Latitude, who last year recorded a £60m turnover, and has already helped launch a series of Ph marketing seminars that have attracted sponsors including Google and Facebook.

Mr Adams said: “This exciting appointment reinforces our intentions towards taking a stronghold on the search marketing sector, following our recent acquisition of Be Visible.

“We’ve been able to grow quickly after significant investment and time spent developing Phuse, our lead generation software that we introduced to clients 18 months ago to help grow their business and ours.”

Mr Waters said: “My background is working within large corporate agencies, but the spirit and entrepreneurial streak within the team is a real buzz.

“What has impressed me most is their commitment to delivering a premium service to the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. The idea of bringing the service levels expected within the industry’s top five agencies to the SME market was one of the major reasons for joining Ph.”