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A digital marketing consultancy hit by the full force of Covid-19 is now showcasing its skills to the world, thanks to a grant from the Open North Foundation.
Paul Barron from Barron Williams Executive Search was asked to present them with their £2,000 Covid recovery grant on behalf of the foundation.
See what Paul and Kris from Headland Marketing had to say about the great work the ONF are doing in the short video below:
About Headland Marketing
Headland, formed in 2014, was experiencing substantial year-on-year growth prior to the pandemic with a growing range of clients including travel agents, hotels, restaurants and dentists.
The company, which specialises in pay-per-click and paid search, was on the cusp of employing more staff when the country went into lockdown.
Owner, Kris Headland, learned that Open North Foundation was calling for applicants for its Covid recovery grants on the North Tyneside Business Forum website and put forward his case for funding.
The application was considered by a panel and Headland was awarded £2,000 towards the design and production of a new website.
About the Open North Foundation
At Barron Williams, we are proud supporters of the Open North Foundation and have been involved since its inception.
Established in July 2020, as a direct response from the business community in the North East to provide financial and in-kind support to small businesses in the region directly hit by the pandemic.
The ONF relies on the generosity of companies and organisations in the region to provide donations and has a structure of a board of directors, ambassadors and supporters, all of whom provide their services free of charge.
The impact of COVID-19 in the North East
Kris from Headland had the following to say at the presentation:
“While many digital companies have grown through the pandemic, we were one of those that were badly hit purely due to the type of clients that we worked for. Those in the hospitality and tourism sectors stopped trading overnight and so did all the dentist practices that we represented. Then, there were those clients that saw their turnover go through the roof in a matter of weeks and did not require our services as they could not cope with the demand. It was like a double whammy and we just had to knuckle down and look after the clients that needed our support.”
He went on to add:
“We are now in the process of rebuilding the company and have been fortunate enough to take on some great new clients so quickly after emerging from the pandemic, meaning we are now in a position to start recruiting again.”
In fact, just a few days prior to the presentation, Headland welcomed a new member of staff to its digital design team following recent new business wins, and Kris continued:
“We are at the stage now where we are looking to the future with optimism and the grant received from Open North Foundation is really important as it will allow us to produce a new website and assist us to show to the world the expertise and high levels of service we provide to our clients.”
Why Barron Williams supports the Open North Foundation
Paul had the following to say about the excellent work the ONF is doing across the region:
“There are a vast number of exceptional small businesses in the North East who support the wider sector and are vital to its growth. They provide innovation, specialism and expertise that is on par with and often better than can be found anywhere in the UK. Headland Marketing is one such company. It is a fantastic business that understands its clients very well and did not deserve to be so badly hit by the pandemic. However, it has survived and the Open North Foundation believes that it now has every chance to thrive and to bring in new staff. We wish Kris and the team all the very best for the future.”
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