Member Article

Ambitious closes 2023 with new hires and revenue growth

Bristol-based PR company celebrates continued growth with exciting new business wins and new hires.

B2B and corporate PR and communications specialists, AMBITIOUS is closing 2023 by celebrating two new strategic hires and seven new business wins to round off a year of solid growth for the firm.

With the agency expanding to 27 staff and on track to meet its £1.65 million revenue target, AMBITIOUS has secured its position as one of the largest independent PR agencies in Bristol and the Southwest.

Sarah Woodhouse, Director, AMBITIOUS, said: ‘This year we’ve seen the same challenges as other agencies with a lag between briefs being awarded and work then starting but we’ve had a strong new business pipeline. The ink has dried on seven new contracts in the last quarter of this year alone and together with strong client retention, puts us in a strong position for 2024.“

Based on Oakfield Road in Clifton, the agency has grown from strength to strength with new retained clients including Tunstall Healthcare Group, GlobalGiving UK, Harley Row Clinic, and a short project with UCAS.

Further growth also came from the agency’s existing client base expanding their remit.

Sarah Woodhouse explains, “CEOs are striving to build trust signals with customers and prospects, driving up the need for third-party endorsement. We’re seeing growth from organisations that want to build understanding and earn these trust signals from a range of audiences – and we have a key role in driving these strategic communications. We’ve also seen uptake for our work supporting companies to integrate their marketing and PR efforts.”

AMBITIOUS has made two key hires since September, in addition to four hires made earlier this year. Maria Dickson joins as Marketing Director, a newly created role signalling the agency’s commitment to more integrated campaign activations. She’ll also be leading the agency’s marketing strategy as it looks to expand. Chloe Tonkin also joins as a senior PR consultant and copywriter to support the firm’s growth.

With over 12 years of experience working in award-winning communications agencies and most recently leading all national marketing and social media for Girlguiding, Maria Dickson is a seasoned marketer. Having led UK and global agency teams across consumer, pharma and not-for-profit sectors she has extensive experience in developing and implementing integrated strategies. Her career includes roles at Pegasus (now Evoke Mind + Matter) and Edelman, working with clients such as GSK, Bayer and EIT Health. For the last four years, she led all marketing and campaigns at Girlguiding, including a new brand rollout - the largest in the organisation’s 113 year history.

Chloe Tonkin has over ten years working agency-side across B2C and B2B-focused sectors, in both the UK and New Zealand. Her experience spans technology, FMCG, healthcare, and beyond. She’s worked on campaigns for big-name clients including Samsung, American Express, HSBC, Specsavers, and Unilever. Her primary area of expertise is in traditional earned PR and media relations, but she also has extensive experience in running influencer programmes for clients like Samsung and Dove.

Lis Anderson, Founder & Director, AMBITIOUS, said: “We’re excited to grow our team again this year and welcome Maria and Chloe into the fold. They each bring a wealth of experience to complement our existing team, ensuring that we can deliver the best possible service to clients as we look ahead to 2024.”

“Ensuring we have a happy and healthy team is of utmost importance to us. We’re proud of our growing team and a record of 3.5 years with no staff attrition – a testament to our team culture. We’re excited about the year ahead.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lis Anderson .