Company’s driving force beats the credit crunch

Jun 18 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

Alistair Houghton meets KEITH AUSTIN, managing director of Event Marketing Solutions

HE TOOK the tough decision to leave his identical twin brother’s business and strike out on his own – and Keith Austin’s Event Marketing Solutions (EMS) is growing at such a rate that even the credit crunch doesn’t look like stopping it.

Austin founded EMS in 2000 to supply mobile display vehicles, and has built up a client list ranging from blue-chip companies such as DHL, Marks & Spencer and Sony Ericsson to charities such as Macmillan.

From its base next to Cheshire Oaks, EMS sends vehicles as far afield as the Middle East and Russia – and the company, now one of the biggest players in its field, is plotting further expansion into new markets.

Early this year, the company lost two key banking clients as the credit crunch hit bankers’ promotional budgets – but it is still growing by winning new contracts.

Between January and May, the company secured £5.4m of new business on top of £2m of retained work. That included a £3m contract to provide the Aimhigher roadshow for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills – EMS’s biggest-ever contract.

ŠEMS, which today employs 48 people, is in line for another record turnover this year, ahead of last year’s £4m figure.

Austin said: “The market is incredibly good. We’ve never had such a strong start to a year.

Š“That was surprising because we lost two clients, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Alliance & Leicester, who in 2007 had done a lot of activity with us.

Š“With the problems with the credit crunch and everything else, they wouldn’t be doing any activity this year, which made us nervous because we were losing the revenues from two large clients. But other areas have been incredibly busy.

“There is caution – for ex- ample, clients are becoming an awful lot more thorough in credit checks. But people are looking at different ways of working which can be beneficial to us.

Š“If you’re launching a new product and haven’t got the money for a TV campaign, you have to look at different ways of achieving results.

Š“We’re already 26% up on last year, five months in, which is amazing.”

Aimhigher was already one of EMS’s biggest contracts. Over the six years of its previous campaign, it delivered 44,100 interactive sessions to 661,500 children. Cheshire Oaks, with its connections to the motorway network, is EMS’s worldwide hub. Š

ŠVehicles are sent from there around the world accompanied by EMS staff, though the company recruits local promotional staff in each market.

Š“At the moment, we’ve got a vehicle in Bahrain that’s been to Russia for DHL and has also been to Dubai,” said Austin.

“For a relatively small regional agency to deal with brands that are big both in the UK and globally is fascinating.”

ŠAustin, whose family originally hails from Newport, in South Wales, started his sales career straight after school with high street electrical retailer Dixons, and also spent time selling fire extinguishers and advertising space before joining the family business, JH Austin.

ŠIt was while selling advertising space for a business directory that he first saw the potential of mobile display vehicles.

ŠHe said: “I went to sell to a company in Manchester that builds these display vehicles. ŠApart from the fact that I sold them a half-page display advert, which I was very pleased about, I realised that this was an industry with potential.”

ŠAustin took that thought with him when he joined JH Austin’s Pro-Ex business, and the company soon signed up Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall Motors as its first mobile display client, swiftly followed by Peugeot.

He enjoyed the mobile display work so much that it became the focus of his business – and eventually decided that he wanted to make it the focus of his own company, EMS.

ŠIt was not an easy decision for Austin to leave his twin’s firm, but he has no regrets about striking out on his own.

Š“There was an element that he thought I would never leave and I thought he’d never let me leave,” he said.

Š“But in hindsight it was the best thing because it gave me an understanding of how to run a business, rather than just the sales work which is my back-ground. I’d been a director but hadn’t dealt with banks, lawyers and everything else that way.”

ŠAustin’s parents and siblings still live within a few miles of Chester and he says the family remains close. As well as Pro-Ex, Jonathan Austin now runs consultancy Best Companies, which compiles the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For lists.

ŠKeith Austin was helped on his way at EMS by Iain Johnston, an experienced technology entrepreneur who advised him on how to go about setting up in business.

Š“Iain gave me some great advice,” he said. “He said: ‘You need to make sure you’ve got all the processes of a big company but a small company’s feel and passion’.”

Mr Johnston, now EMS chairman, still plays a key role advising Austin and is helping him plot the firm’s overseas expansion.

ŠAustin says EMS is also well-placed to expand in Europe, the Middle East and beyond, as advertisers in other countries look to make more use of display vehicles than they do at present.

ŠHe is also keen to expand into India and China.

Š“It’s important for us to push forward,” he said, “but in a way that’s sustainable and doesn’t leave us in a position where we expand too quickly or don’t fully understand the pitfalls.”

Austin is now considering expanding the business through acquisition, for the first time, as well as organically. He said: “We want to really expand the business in a more aggressive way with the right acquisition strategy.

“We have to consolidate our position as market leader in this area and keep investing in new equipment and facilities that will allow clients to move quickly and get their message across.

Š“Often, people want to launch tactical marketing activity with short lead times.

Š“We have to anticipate the market and be able to satisfy those demands.”

Austin is proud his small North West business works all over the world with some of the corporate world’s biggest names – but says the wide variety of the company’s work is what gives him his job satisfaction.

He said: “We’ve just got a new client based in Cardiff – cancer support charity Tenovus.

“Seeing that kind of contract win probably sums up the enjoyment I get from this role.

Š“Apart from working with a fantastic team of people, it’s really the diverse range of projects we get involved with. That could be anything from promoting the latest mobile phone at a Robbie Williams concert to delivering messages at a Macmillan roadshow.”

alistairhoughton