MARKETING GUN

MARKETING GUN

FROM home office to powerhouse, Reload Media has exploded into one of the top digital marketing and strategy firms in the country.

From its humble beginnings in 2008, Llew Jury has grown the company exponentially, with income doubling year-on-year in its first three years.

Reload Media is now a global force to be reckoned with, boasting offices in London, Manila and Auckland and a client portfolio of up to 500 accounts.

The company offers a comprehensive range of services, including search engine optimisation, pay per click, content marketing, social media and consulting.

Reload Media's "one size doesn't fit all" approach has resonated with clients across all industries, and clients such as Super Cheap Auto and Heritage Bank.

It has triggered a number of accolades for the agency as a result, notably by taking out top honours in customer service at the Australian Service Excellence Awards earlier this year.

Jury says it's a testament to his game plan of exceeding the traditional standards of customer liaison, while combining it with expertise in technology.

"It's called customised solutions and basically everybody different and going to need something that will answer their number one demand, particular key performance indicator or key thing that makes them tick," Jury says.

"Answering that question across more than 400 concurrent accounts is always a challenge. But if you get the right people with great attitudes, you become partners with those clients and you're on to a winning formula."

Client retention is a highly valued metric at Reload Media, with an 11 per cent increase in return contracts and 28 per cent rise in new business sales contributing a healthy boost to its bottom line in FY14.

Reload Media also strengthened its partner channel to 140 agencies, providing invaluable access to a range of technical capabilities in design, advertising and digital fields.

This has allowed the company to invest in its future and expand internationally, with director Craig Somerville moving to London in 2015 to oversee operations.

"The UK has got 65 million people and more than 10 million in London, so if we can take the DNA of what we do with 40 staff in Brisbane and apply that to the UK it's going to be a success," Jury says.

"We've already got it underway with seven staff, but it's really to take it to a bigger league. We're looking at doubling the headcount in 12 months."

The "Reload DNA" involves creating multiple levels within the business and its services, rather than focusing on a single channel.

This mentality applies to networking and promoting brand recognition, with Jury also acting as a technology commentator and team members often sharing expertise at events.

"The difference with Reload is we encourage our staff to run the speaking gigs as well, so it's not just the one figurehead talking all the time about something technical," he says.

"What it's doing is breeding the next generation and generally those staff members want to stick around.

"There's not only a career path, but also a personal branding path that allows them to really enhance their own opportunities."

Jury says it encourages autonomy and empowers the team, leading to a large and "mobilised work force" sharing positive news about the company.

"You can't be just focused on the technology side, you've got to be good at content marketing and customer service as well," he says.

"What we used to have was a lot of technical people on staff and now we've got a lot more journalists and PR who are actually having that content conversation.

"Digital marketing entrepreneurs are going to be the next classification of business leaders of tomorrow.

"I'm starting to see a lot of that happening already."

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