Web design, marketing and branding agency Walnut Creative has invested in marketing automation technology from Force24 to boost efficiencies, free up the team’s strategic thinking time, and drive business growth moving into the 2020s.
Having always positioned itself as a creative agency with nuts, the bold full-service organisation – based in Barnsley – has evolved to become a 17-strong team since it was established in 2015. And working for a range of clients small and large, 75%-100% turnover expansion is now expected over the next three years.
Keen to ensure the creativity of the company does not become stretched as it continues to grow, Walnut made the leap to invest in a marketing automation platform that will streamline multichannel marketing campaigns while enhancing personalisation potential moving forward.
Force24 was selected due to its reputation as being one of the fastest-growing platforms, built and managed in the UK.
Walnut’s director Glen Crossland explained: “The majority of competitor marketing automation platforms are US-owned, whereas we were attracted to the agile, easy-to-use and GDPR-compliant functionality of Force24. The fact that they’re local to us is an added bonus – we benefit from a more personal relationship without compromising on technical functionality whatsoever!”
Utilising the solution on a self-service basis, Walnut has already deployed the technology to help manage multiple marketing streams for a large client running different campaigns for 11 different sites.
“This deployment is a perfect example of the power of automation,” continued Glen. “We’ve created savvy workflows to ensure the right processes are carried out by the right people at the right time, and our data analysis – complete with proactive triggers – is now far more sophisticated.
“Because Force24 is streamlining operational elements that can be automated, our team has more time to focus on being creative – and strategic – which is surely what every comms professional aims for. It’s certainly why I got into marketing! And it’s definitely what our clients pay us for – driving results, while technology keeps the engine running.”
Already in talks with five other clients about potentially using Force24 to power their communications, Walnut Creative has quickly earned partnership status with the platform.
Established in 2010, Force24 is a multichannel marketing automation platform which powers ultra-personalised email, SMS, direct mail and social media conversation with clients throughout the UK. The 60-strong team sends upwards of 15 million emails for clients every month, and 400 trillion data exchanges pass through the platform every year.