Happy Birthday to the Ideal Marketing Company!
Fifteen years is a long time in marketing. Since The Ideal Marketing Company was set up in 2003 to provide marketing services to companies in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and beyond, both the business and the business of providing marketing services has seen significant changes.
Expertise in digital marketing, PR, copywriting and design
Ideal Marketing has gone from being a one-person company to a full-service agency with a team of marketing experts in SEO, social media, PR, copywriting, email and d
irect mail marketing, design, digital marketing and general marketing strategy. Similarly, the marketing industry itself has transformed with digital marketing rising in prominence as a strategy for selling products and services.
Setting up The Ideal Marketing Company 
So, how did it all begin? The Ideal Marketing Company was the vision of one man, the original managing director Alastair Campbell. After working for several media agencies in London and then as a marketing manager at Voice Connect in Leicestershire, Alastair decided to pursue his dream of setting up his own company.
He took the risky step of going to his boss and explaining that he wanted to leave and set up his own marketing agency. He asked if they would come on board as his very first client. The MD agreed – and The Ideal Marketing Company was born.
The company started small, with Alastair working from a home office. He had a website created (basic by today’s standards) and slowly grew the company through word of mouth, and recommendation as well as other methods such as networking and direct mail. After a few months it became clear that the company had scope to expand, and so Alastair asked his wife Helen to join him and grow the PR side of the business.
The company continued as a two-hander for several years, relocating by just a few metres to a purpose-built garden office. However, as the number of clients
looking for marketing services across Leicestershire and Northamptonshire grew, it became clear that there was potential for further expansion.
Expanding digital marketing services
Alastair also realised that the nature of marketing was changing and although he kept up with new digital techniques, to truly compete and offer companies a fully integrated marketing service, he recognised that he needed to bring in experts in different fields – including digital marketing.
Ideal Marketing took on its first employee to carry out general marketing activity in 2009. This was followed by a designer to enable the company to carry out design projects in-house and a digital marketing manager who specialised in web design and social media, enabling the company to become a true full-service marketing agency.
By the company’s 10th anniversary, Ideal Marketing had expanded into picturesque waterside offices at Market Harborough’s Union Wharf with an experienced team able to offer a wide range of marketing services from website design to PR.
Once again, the company outgrew its offices and in 2016 relocated to larger premises in Market Harborough’s iconic Old Town Hall near the top of the High Street, just a stone’s throw away from some of the company’s clients such as The Angel Hotel, Andrew Granger & Co and Bray & Bray law firm.
Teamwork to overcome adversity
With a stable and talented team offering a range of marketing expertise, the company continues to go from strength to strength. However, tragedy struck in 2017 when MD Alastair suffered a cardiac arrest at the company’s offices which left him too ill to return to work. Despite the trauma of such an unexpected event, the loyal staff pulled together, working with an interim MD to ensure that it was business as usual for the company’s clients. They succeeded as not one client left – and they continued to grow, taking on new clients and new staff. Having helped run the business for 14 years, Alastair’s wife Helen stepped into the role of MD, ably supported by a talented management team.
Celebrating 15 years of marketing services
As they arrive at their 15th birthday, it’s an event of mixed feelings for the staff and for Helen herself as the person who started it all back in 2003 is no longer able to celebrate with them. However, she believes that the future holds exciting things for the company and that the best tribute they can pay to Alastair and all the hard work he put into growing The Ideal Marketing Company is to stay true to the principles of integrity, quality and value that he founded the company on.
A marketing company with values
“Alastair believed that having a good marketing strategy could really transform an organisation. His goal was to offer honest, unbiased marketing advice and he genuinely wanted to help companies to grow and achieve their business goals. Th
at integrity will always be key to the company and the services we provide, no matter how much we grow and evolve as a company ourselves.
“Marketing has certainly changed since Alastair founded the company, but the principles of good marketing practice still hold true. We like to think we have adapted to the new while retaining the value of the old to become a truly full-service agency. No one knows exactly what the next 15 years will look like, but we are excited to find out!”
Speak to a marketing specialist today
To find out how a marketing specialist can help your business grow, email us at info@idealmarketingcompany.com or call us on 01858 374 170. Your initial consultation is free.
