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Leeds-based digital agency Iff Digital was shortlisted for its first award at the Northern Digital Awards 2024. The agency’s Managing Director, Mike Longfellow, explains why the shortlist reinforces their decision to launch the agency in 2021.
On Friday 17th November, the 2024 Northern Digital Awards judges announced their shortlist to the world. Cue the celebrations in the Iff Digital office 🙂.
But for the team at Iff Digital, the shortlist announcement was extra special. The agency had landed its first nomination in the highly competitive “Best Digital Marketing Campaign – Retail” category.
“It’s been an amazing year for the agency,” says Mike Longfellow, Iff Digital’s Managing Director. “We have grown the team, landed some amazing new clients, and most importantly seen our client’s businesses grow. This nomination is a testament to the team and their relentless focus on delivering client value”.
A celebration of our mission – ‘It’s our business to grow yours’
When Iff Digital launched the senior leadership set out on a mission to do things very differently. So while the nomination is a fantastic achievement, Mike reiterated that this isn’t the main reason why the team comes to work every day.
“Winning nominations and awards is great, but winning our clients’ customers is better,” says Mike. “Our clients often refer to us as a ‘critical friend’; we’re proud of that. In fact, the CEO of Seaspray said we have restored his faith in his own business’ eCommerce journey – so for us, you can’t get a better accolade than that.”
A recent testimonial from Seaspray’s CEO echoed these sentiments “Iff Digital have been invaluable in our DTC journey and have helped to restore faith in our ability to develop and market our brand. The team at Iff brings a rare mix of strategy, commercial thinking, creativity and ROI-focused delivery that fits our requirements and is tailored to our brand. We have been working with Iff for a year now, and the results speak for themselves. We have found a true digital partner and critical friend in Iff Digital”.
Iff Digital started its life in 2021 and is part of the DISOMO Group – one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent agency groups.
“We’ve always believed that clients were looking for more from their agency relationships,” says Mike.
“Digital Marketing is constantly evolving and sometimes you just need a bit of help to move in the right direction. And ideally, you want that partner to cut through the noise, get on your level, and explain how it all works in words that you can understand. We are a trusted digital voice for our clients. Irrespective of whether that’s at board, strategy, or delivery level. In doing so we help them facilitate faster, more efficient and sustainable digital and business growth.”
The agency says it thrives on projects that require deep commercial insight, cut-through thinking and performance-based results. Mike says “As an example of our commitment to our partners we have moved away from traditional agency charging models and work with clients on flexible commercial models built around mutual dependency.”
We believe ‘integration’ is a key pillar to success in 2023
Despite launching the business in 2021, the leadership team has almost two decades of agency experience and, as a result, a solid understanding of what brilliant looks like. They set out to build a team that will think differently and drive positive change for their clients, the digital industry and society in general.
But Mike says that Iff Digital’s willingness to challenge the status quo and keep things simple is critical to its success.
“Our approach is simple – we help our clients minimise their risks and maximise their returns,” says Mike. “Organisations have more complex challenges now than ever before, especially in digital. Channel overload, surge in digital & customer expectations, increasing competition & costs to complete and poor attribution. You can’t solve them with the same siloed thinking and disparate approaches.”
“Iff is an abbreviation of ‘if and only if’. So the idea of interdependence runs through everything we do. We help our clients connect the dots to reach new audiences, identify new growth opportunities and ultimately drive growth online. It’s integration but not as you know it.”
Iff Digital’s focus on disrupting the current agency model with a stronger focus on highly experienced teams and integration is evident in its proposition development. The agency will be launching its ‘Imprint’ proposition in January 2024, designed specifically to help brands and organisations answer the key digital and commercial questions that often go unanswered.
The agency is looking forward to the Awards Ceremony in January and has a big year planned for 2024.
“To win at the Northern Digital Awards would be particularly special, not only to cap off a fantastic 2023 but also because the award evidences and reinforces our commitment to being a trusted digital voice for our clients,” says Mike.
“The competition looks fierce but we are thrilled to be on the shortlist and wish the best of luck to all the nominees. See you for a beer or two in January!”
