Business

Published 16 November 2009

Brighton-based online and social marketing agency Propellernet saw off fierce competition to win an award for innovation in business at the 2009/10 Sussex Business Awards last week.

The award, sponsored by the University of Brighton, was judged by the university’s Business Development and Enterprise director, Alan Grundy.

This was the 21st year of the awards and a total of 46 individuals and businesses competed for honours in 15 categories. Presentations were made at the Grand Hotel in Brighton.

Propellernet’s winning entry was centred on two specific parts of what they do: Persona Insight - a modelling tool which Propellernet use to gain a holistic view of a brand, its customers and their unique customer journey, and Revenue Potential Modelling - a planning tool unique to Propellernet which looks at what the most lucrative targets and quick wins are and strategizes how to achieve these, pinning them down to budgets and forecasts. Both of which are part of Propellernet’s Strategic Planning Service.

Managing Director at Propellernet, Jack Hubbard, said: “The Innovation in Business Award is a fantastic achievement for our team and we’re delighted that our hard work has been recognised. As one of the UK’s leading online and social marketing agencies, delivering the best work possible for our clients is key, which is why we’ve made some really big changes in the last 18 months to how we approach online marketing on behalf of our clients.

“We’ve been working tirelessly on adapting and innovating our approach, embedding strategic planning tools and processes at the heart of everything we do with our clients. This has allowed us to successfully work alongside our broad range of clients as a strategic partner, helping them to achieve some fantastic results online.”

Alan Grundy said: “The university is supportive of innovation. We teach and research on the management and impact of innovation, and support companies who recognise the need to continually innovate in order to ensure their profitability and growth. Consequently we were pleased to sponsor the Innovation in Business award. In choosing from three strong finalists, the selection of Propellernet as this year’s winner was in recognition of the breadth of creative and innovative techniques they were employing to deliver positive results for their clients. This innovative mind-set applied equally to the creation and maintenance of a positive team environment – a key contributing factor in achieving their impressive growth.”

The other finalists for the Innovation in Business Award this year, Acumen Business Law and Nido Marketing were both highly commended.

Directors and founders of the online agency, Jack Hubbard and Jim Jensen both graduated from the University of Brighton. The ambitious team set up business together when they graduated in 1998. Driven and committed, Jack and Jim grew the company from only a handful of small clients to the 30 plus well known brands they now work with.

Recent business wins have included: Galabingo.com, Contiki Holidays and Hi-Tec.