Category — Press releases

Steak has been appointed by DSG international plc (‘DSGi’), one of Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailing groups and UK market leaders, to work on behalf of its UK brands Currys, Dixons.co.uk and PC World. The account, won in a four-way agency pitch, will see Steak provide search engine optimisation services to DSGi, creating defined natural search strategies for each of the three brands to achieve online revenue targets and effective integration with other digital and offline marketing activities.

Gareth Owen, Head of Natural Search at Steak said, “This is an exciting opportunity to enhance the digital face of three major retail names and reinforce the strength of their offline brands in the digital space.”

David Walmsley, eCommerce Director at DSGi added, “As part of our strategy to win on the internet and take DSGi’s multichannel business to the next level, it is vital for us to build a stronger search presence. We were impressed with Steak’s energy, insight, expertise, and proven track record in delivering results for major retailers. I’m pleased to be working with Steak on this next phase of business growth, and am confident they will help drive our online brands forward.”

Steak has been appointed to provide digital marketing services to support Start, a new initiative by The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President. The aim of Start is to promote and celebrate sustainable living and help people across the UK take positive and practical steps towards a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future.

Steak will provide paid search management and online media planning services to promote the Start website, on a pro bono basis from the beginning of May. The website, http://www.startuk.org/, which will re-launch later this year, will highlight the best examples of sustainable practice, explain the issues around sustainability simply and without jargon, and provide a platform for like-minded individuals and communicates to share their experience, goals and idea. The site will form part of a vibrant and diverse programme of activities planned for 2010 to engage people across the UK.

Commenting on the appointment, Ollie Bishop, Steak’s CEO said, “We’re very proud to be supporting such a forward thinking and inspiring initiative. Start has a realistic and constructive approach that we really admire and we’re looking forward to helping them achieve their goals.” 

Will Watt, Content Director, Start, added, “Our website will be one of the main ways in which we reach and engage with people as part of this project. Steak’s help will be invaluable and we’re delighted to welcome them on board as a supporter.”

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About Start:

• Start was launched by the Prince of Wales on 4 February 2010, at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.  www.princescharities.org/start
• The aim of Start is to use the tools of the modern age – the internet and television – to demonstrate to people how it is possible to adopt more sustainable behaviour.

Start is a new initiative to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like.

Its aim is to celebrate the very best examples of sustainable living in the UK and help us all to take part in simple, positive steps; and is an initiative of The Prince’s Charities Foundation.
http://www.start.org/

Dyno, the UK’s premier emergency building repair service, has launched its completely redesigned website built by full-service digital agency Steak, who were awarded the project following a competitive pitch.

Dyno’s current online presence, http://www.dyno.com/, has been in place since 2004 and is a core sales channel for the company, which encompasses the three franchised businesses, Dyno-Rod Plumbing & Drains, Dyno-Locks & Alarms and Dyno Glazing. To ensure the site’s continued success the Dyno team wanted an agency partner to overhaul the site, with the core objectives to deliver higher volumes of visitors, enquiries, and ultimately, bookings, and to reflect and support the Dyno brand and business aspirations.

Steak’s site puts Dyno’s customers and their needs at the heart of the website experience, and makes use of the latest web technologies including a bespoke content management system and helpful mobile applications, to simplify the user experience and provide greater interactivity. Fully redesigned, the new site links to the company’s call centres through an integrated telephone tracking system and incorporates geo location facilities so users are shown localised information on landing pages.

Jeremy Walt, Dyno’s Online Marketing Manager, said ‘Steak’s ability to clearly see the challenges and opportunities for Dyno and propose sound, workable solutions that place us at the leading edge of our sector was what most impressed us. We are confident that the new site will help customers access the information and help they need via an intuitive and enjoyable web experience.’

Derek Nicholson, Steak’s Client Service Director, added ‘Steak’s team is experienced in developing websites and digital strategy that deliver an online response for our clients, improving conversion and sales. We have placed the Dyno customer firmly at the heart of our thinking and are excited about building a site that meets their needs whilst continuing the online success of the Dyno business.’

WhiteCloud Digital Solutions Ltd (WCDS) has signed Steak as the first commercial partner to use their WhiteCloud affiliate management interface. Steak will be using the serving, tracking and reporting platform to manage affiliate campaigns on behalf of its clients.
 

WhiteCloud comes from a strong heritage of ongoing development in the online marketing sector, and is based on technology and infrastructure also used by affiliate network, dealgroupmedia. The platform manages over a billion global transactions a month and is considered to be the most robust system of its kind in the marketplace.

“The shape of the media sector is changing as digital becomes an ever more important factor in the agency market” says Dan Cohen, WCDS Managing Director. “That agencies are investigating affiliate management technologies is a logical next step in their evolution. We are thrilled that Steak appreciated the technological advantages of our WhiteCloud platform and we are confident that they will benefit from the investment and expertise that has gone into it.”

Mark Joseph, Steak’s Affiliate Director, commented “Steak selected WhiteCloud as our affiliate technology provider after in depth research and review in our quest to find a robust, feature-rich and flexible affiliate tracking solution. We’re happy to say that the network setup of White Cloud was surprisingly quick and seamless. It is also satisfying to know that there is a full time development team at White Cloud, constantly working to evolve tools and technology within the affiliate channel, through which our clients’ programmes will benefit.”

About WhiteCloud Digital Solutions Ltd

WhiteCloud Digital Solutions Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of dealgroupmedia UK Ltd specialising in the development of innovative technological solutions for online marketing. 

dealgroupmedia UK Ltd also trades as dgm, dgmAffiliates and dgmSearchlab, providing a range of products and services to the online marketplace in the UK and overseas.

www.thewhitecloud.co.uk

Full-service digital agency, Steak, has achieved ‘one star status’ in the 2010 Best Companies accreditation scheme, which awards an elite ‘Michelin style’ star rating system for organisations that demonstrate high levels of employee engagement.

Based on staff feedback, organisations receive a Best Companies index score that determines their star rating compared to a fixed standard. 1,086 companies from both private and public sectors applied for Best Companies accreditation this year, of which 402 were awarded star status. Steak was one of only 28 media companies to meet the standard. 

Jonathan Austin, Founder and CEO of Best Companies, stated “We would like to congratulate Steak on their outstanding achievement. An engaged workforce is essential as organisations move out of the recession and into a more stable economic situation. No doubt many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year. But organisations like Steak that have kept on engaging their staff and making sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future and should be congratulated for their efforts.”

Oliver Bishop, Steak’s CEO, commented, “In a challenging year we’ve managed to keep Steak’s people motivated and engaged, and develop our practices and processes to make Steak an even better place to work. We’ve gone from being ‘one to watch’ in 2009 to star status in 2010 and I’m delighted with this achievement.”

View the full Best Companies 2010 list here.

YUDU, the ePublishing library that lets web users read, publish, buy, sell and share digital content, has appointed The Steak Group to manage its paid and natural search accounts. Steak, the full service digital agency, will handle search engine optimisation while sister company Minute Steak will run the paid search marketing activity.

Steak’s partnership with YUDU will begin with a full technical audit of the site and then a programme of activity designed to deliver maximum performance for target keywords, sustainable link building, increased traffic and strengthened brand awareness. Steak will work closely with the Minute Steak team to ensure an integrated approach and shared learnings across all elements of YUDU’s search marketing. Minute Steak will focus primarily on delivering leads to the YUDU Pro site which offers advanced digital publishing features ideal for larger businesses and publishers.

Rob Elding, Marketing Director, Yudu, said, “We were looking for an experienced search partner to establish natural search as a key traffic driving channel for us and adopt an integrated approach that aligns our SEO and PPC activity with other marketing strategies and initiatives, both on and offline. In Steak and Minute Steak we have found the perfect solution for us; expert SEO capabilities and paid search management that fits our budgets and that we can scale up as necessary as we grow.”

Oliver Bishop, The Steak Group’s CEO and Co-founder, commented, “We’re really pleased that between Steak and Minute Steak we can satisfy the needs of partners like YUDU who want the benefits of a fixed fee paid search service as well as access to the digital marketing heritage and expertise held within Steak. YUDU is an exciting business that we expect to experience huge growth and we are excited to be contributing to their success.”
  

About YUDU Media:
YUDU Media is an award winning provider of innovative digital publishing solutions for catalogues, magazines, newspapers and books, helping companies and individuals all over the world benefit from the growth in online publishing and reading.  With offices in London, Lancashire and Boston, MA, YUDU offers advanced professional publishing with YUDU Pro and free publishing at YUDU.com, the eLibrary and marketplace that also allows publishers to promote, share and sell their publications and other digital content with the world.
www.yudu.com

About Steak:
Steak’s purpose is to drive digital response. We use a full range of digital strategies and tactics, including search marketing, online advertising, and creative design to get results for our clients. Our search-inspired approach means we bring the intelligence of search marketing to all communications, both online and offline. Steak’s clients include Virgin Holidays, British Gas, Debenhams and Swiftcover.
Steak is a previous winner of the coveted Media Agency of the Year Award at the Interactive Marketing and Advertising Awards and has offices in London, New York and Melbourne.
www.steakdigital.co.uk

About Minute Steak:
Minute Steak provides cost effective paid search marketing services to smaller budget advertisers who want specialist search expertise and account management at a level that suits their requirements and their advertising spend.
Minute Steak aims to cater for companies across all sectors.  Its current clients include fashion brands, high street retailers, FMCG companies, business services providers and charitable organisations.
www.minutesteak.co.uk

Steak, the full-service digital agency, today announces the appointment of John Barton and Mark Joseph to the roles of Head of Planning and Head of Affiliates respectively.

Renowned for his interest in digital media developments, ideas and theory, Barton joins from TBG London where he worked on accounts such as American Express, Harrods, Ladbrokes and Moneysupermarket.com. His role will encompass client strategy/development, campaign innovation and new business, and he is tasked with the development and delivery of Steak’s social media offering for 2010.

Mark Joseph joins from PHD Media where, as Affiliate Marketing Manager, he helped set up and run their in-house affiliate network. Prior to PHD, Mark successfully launched and ran his own agency providing affiliate marketing, search marketing, web hosting and website design and development services to range of clients including HMV, eBay, Amazon, Harley Medical, Foxy Bingo and Zavvi. 

Commenting on these appointments, Ollie Bishop, Steak Group CEO, said, “We’re very pleased to welcome Mark and John to Steak. They will play key roles in delivering to Steak’s clients the rounded digital offering that they are looking for from us. We have already seen social media become an integral part of the campaigns we are putting together and expect this area to go from strength to strength. And whilst affiliate marketing has been a core part of Steak’s business for some time we are fortunate that someone of Mark’s calibre has joined us to make sure that continues.”

Steak, the full-service digital agency, has been appointed to handle paid search engine marketing for retailer Debenhams, following a competitive pitch for the business.

Steak has been briefed to deliver cutting edge search campaigns to drive volume of traffic and significant return on investment for Debenhams’ core business functions – retail, finance and weddings. Central to Debenhams’ brief was the requirement for an agency to challenge the status quo, deliver best practice search marketing, and to react quickly to business and customer needs whilst remaining focused on a long term strategy.

Mark Irving, Senior Search Marketing Analyst at Debenhams, said, “Steak’s impressive experience of the retail industry and strong heritage in search marketing means they are ideally placed to help drive the success of Debenhams online. Their passion and commitment for delivering excellent service really made them stand out and we are looking forward to enjoying a strong partnership with them.”

Julian Walker, Steak’s co-founder, commented, “Search marketing has always been at the heart of Steak’s offering and we are delighted to be chosen by Debenhams to take their search strategy forward. In the current climate it is more important than ever that retailers ensure their digital marketing is performing as well as it possibly can and we are confident that we can do this for Debenhams.”

The Steak Group, which includes UK search-inspired communications agency Steak, offices in New York and Melbourne and sister company Minute Steak for smaller budget advertisers, has appointed Jane Latham as Group Finance Director

Jane will take overall responsibility for all financial matters, overseeing financial reporting systems and controls, and continuing to foster a strong commercial focus throughout the Group. Jane joins from Loewy where, as Group Finance Director, she was responsible for financial reporting across its collective of creative and media specialist agencies.  During a thirteen year career at Loewy and Wilson Harvey (pre-Loewy merger), she gained media-specialist experience of financial business management including delivering strategic financial reporting and forecasting, developing back-office operations and hiring staff.

Commenting on Jane’s appointment, Steak Group CEO Oliver Bishop, said, “Jane’s unrivalled experience and innovative approach to driving efficiencies and economies make her a valuable asset to the Steak Group.  I’m looking forward to working with her on the next stage in the company’s development.”

Steak, the search-inspired communications agency, has been hired by The Rezidor Hotel Group to manage digital display planning and buying for Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts and Park Inn Hotels in the UK.

Steak has been tasked with raising brand awareness, and driving web traffic and sales in the important first quarter of 2009.  Steak’s appointment coincides with a radical redesign of the Radisson SAS and Park Inn websites, part of the hospitality company’s significant commitment to the online channel.

Caroline Potter, Marketing Manager at The Rezidor Hotel Group, commented, “We were impressed by Steak’s ability to deliver a well-researched digital display campaign that could meet our branding objectives and be a seamless extension of the high-quality, flexible service we provide our customers.  It was vital that we picked an agency that could kick off our digital sales and marketing strategy for 2009.”

Stuart Aplin, Account Director, Steak, added, “Both Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts and Park Inn Hotels are major brands within their sector and we are very excited to be working with them.  We’re looking forward to bringing our experience in travel and hospitality to bear.”

Steak already works with Virgin Holidays and Enjoy England, the official website for tourism in the UK.  It also manages digital campaigns for Visit London, the capital’s visitor organisation.