Birmingham creative agency merges sister agency and establishes new management line-up to package a full service offering for clients
Based in the heart of Birmingham’s creative quarter, One Black Bear has relaunched with a refreshed proposition and a new management team in place, following new business opportunities with clients such as National Express.
Owned by two business partners, Jon Harrison and Richard Elwell, who have a 25 year background as a creative duo, One Black Bear has integrated its previous sister Social Media agency, Shadow Giants, in terms of both team and expertise to rebrand under one name.
Founded in 2003, today’s new look One Black Bear agency comprises of a 24 strong team of creatives, strategists, content producers, digital and social specialists.
PR services have also been added into the mix to link together all facets of One Black Bear and create a full service communications package; a change that has taken place as a direct response to client feedback and changes in the way brands look for creative partners to work with.
The new PR arm of the agency is headed up by Kelly O’Hanlon, formerly of WPR where she began her PR career some 11 years ago and most recently operated as a Divisional Head, leading the well-established home and lifestyle accounts and team.
A former CIPR Young Professional of the Year finalist, Kelly joins a team of three other directors, each of whom bring many years of expertise from all corners of the communications industry to lead the agency’s creative, marketing, digital, design, PR and social services.
For digital, Amy Eddy was appointed early last year as Managing Director of the former Shadow Giants team, bringing with her 15 years of marketing experience, 10 of which has been focused on digital strategies at Total Media and McCann Erickson.
Amy Gouldson heads up Account Management. Amy started her career at One Black Bear almost five years ago and has worked her way up the ranks to oversee the majority of accounts in the agency.
Kate Hartshorn joins the agency as Associate Planning Director to lead the agency’s strategic output and ensure One Black Bear create work that truly impacts the bottom line. She spent 15 years at Big Communications, most recently as Managing Partner of the Leicester office and has worked across a number of blue chip clients, including WKD, Domino’s and Joules Clothing.
“The time was right to make a change to our business,” comments Richard. “Since we first formed in 2003 with our first venture, The Unagency, Jon and I have identified changing requirements within the communications industry and have adapted our business model in response to the evolving needs of marketeers.”
Jon agrees. “This has been a natural evolution rather than a knee-jerk revolution; we know our strengths and we understand what brands are looking for. We have remained agile through challenging economic times and are excited to be bringing everything under one enigmatic name.
“We believe One Black Bear stands out from the creative crowd because of our core ethos – ‘get to the point’. The communications industry can often over-complicate the art of communication, thinking that purely having a lot to say at a pitch equals new business wins. To the contrary, to our mind this often confuses clients and what they really need is an agency that can cut through the waffle and arrive at a solution to the given business proposition quickly and in a creative manner.”
This formula is working well for One Black Bear, having been chosen as the lead creative agency for National Express at the start of the year and already adding experiential PR to their remit with a recent campaign. Other accounts include University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Camping and Caravan Club, youth homelessness charity St Basils, Honda Motorcycles and Marketing Birmingham.
The agency is opening new doors with its PR offering. “It’s an exciting time to be joining One Black Bear,” says Kelly. “The team is incredibly passionate about what they do and the prospect of bringing my background in consumer and B2B PR to enhance their service proposition was incredibly appealing.
“PR doesn’t operate in a vacuum and being a part of a wider communications team that truly understands what it means to be integrated in its approach is refreshing and generates new opportunities – not just for ourselves, but the clients we work closely with.”
Richard concludes: “What makes One Black Bear is the fact that it’s an agency led by creatives. We have distinct areas of specialism but these can blend seamlessly with each other as a client brief calls for. It’s a creative collaboration we strive for as a team and with our clients, and we’re excited for the next chapter in the One Black Bear story.”
The One Black Bear team is based at Fazeley Studios, Fazeley Street, Digbeth, Birmingham.