Factor 3 is a multi-discipline, independent and integrated marketing agency of 20 people. We work from one beautiful building in the heart of Cheltenham, with the dangerous allure of Hotel du Vin just across the road.
We are proud members of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, something that is valuable to us and, we believe, invaluable to our clients. Talking of which we currently have 25 of them, gleaned from all four corners of the commercial world. We find B2B as much, if not more fun, than B2C and we respond by a client’s need not their value. We’re not precious but we are principled and have proof that the best work comes from the best relationships.
A recent bit of work you are proud of?
One of the things that makes Factor 3 a little different, a little nicer and a lot more valuable as a marketing partner is that, no matter what the question from a client, we’ll always try to find a way to say yes, because we recognise that if a client’s asking, it’s important to them.
So when we were asked if we could help create a ‘video-scribe’ film as, with a pressing deadline, another provider couldn’t squeeze it in, we said yes.
And in the following two weeks we delivered the finished article just in time for an important tender that ended with a round of applause from the audience.
Adept though we are at scripting and storyboarding this was our first in house video-scribe production – involving a steep learning curve, some midnight oil and real teamwork, not just within Factor 3 but with the client team in a number of hurriedly arranged webexes.
In just 12 working days we’d agreed the brief and content, written the script, mastered the software, pitched the storyboard, made amends, got the green light, drawn the assets, recorded the voice over, selected the soundtrack, edited the whole shebang and handed over the finished article.
What makes your integrated marketing agency unique or different?
Our promise to clients is to deliver Winning Made More Fun.
Winning means success in whatever you need us to achieve – ROI, a rebrand, a product launch, a website, better SEO, staff engagement, likes.
More fun is relative. It doesn’t mean humour necessarily – it means more reasons to smile from a process that’s easier, faster, more efficient and more effective.
Us delivering on time is more fun. Work that’s right first time is more fun. Getting more than you expect not less, is more fun.
Success is always the goal but good people enjoying what they do, and crucially that includes the client team, maximises everyone’s potential to achieve it.
A pitching/Chemistry meeting horror story?
Where do we start? A car being broken into and laptop, briefcase and wallets stolen en route to the pitch causing shards of glass to fall from the creative as it was presented; spilling a full glass of water over the client; a dress coming undone putting more on show than appropriate(!) and a ‘chemistry’ meeting with 20 representatives from the client, who all sat at one end of a 30ft table – strangely not a great formula for good chemistry.
Where do you see the future of agencies?
It’s an exciting time for both agencies and clients. With the ever quickening pace of digital, the services we provide are continually evolving and developing at a faster rate than ever before. More agencies will become purists, specialising in specific areas of the digital and marketing sphere; others, like us, will embrace full integration – with branding, design, digital and advertising all fully connected. This will give clients more choice and agencies more opportunities.
If your agency was an animal what would it be and why?
A meerkat - Alert, highly sociable and good at working together.
