Corporate and financial comms
Professional services and finance sector.
“I have always been impressed by James’ ability to understand our business and objectives, and deliver strategic, creative and inspiring solutions across PR, social media content, all forms of digital marketing and market research. His engaging and open approach is refreshing, and his focus is always on delivering beyond expectation, on time and within budget. I could not recommend him enough and would not hesitate working with him in the future.”
- Senior Marketing Manager, Monahans
Monahans
The Brief
Monahans was well respected in a small pocket of the south-west but had aspirations to grow to be a Top 15 accountancy practice.
The firm needed an ‘all-encompassing’ service, comprising PR strategy, content marketing, SEO copy and more, to help grow its regional reputation, build a greater share of voice in a crowded market and achieve consistent business growth.
The Challenges
Interestingly, what could easily have been a mighty challenge to an accountancy and business advisory firm – a turbulent financial backdrop, leaving businesses reticent to part with their money – proved to be Monahans’ greatest opportunity.
The message that ‘we’re all in this together’ in the wake of COVID, served to position Monahans as the go-to choice for SMEs, both to survive and thrive in the struggling market.
The Delivery
Acting as ‘right-hand man’ to the firm’s marketing manager for several years, I advised on best practice around a number of key initiatives for the firm. Campaigns included building an online portal, offering SMEs free advice on a range of business topics; highlighting an increased focus in HMRC tax investigations and the support Monahans could provide; market research to determine business trends amongst regional SMEs, and a comprehensive whitepaper on the findings; and a thought-leadership content marketing strategy that provided commentary on specifics sectors and key financial announcements, such as the Chancellor’s biannual Budget Statement – all of which served to position Monahans as the go-to offering in the region, to bolster its reputation as the south-west’s leader.
The Results
Based on key metrics, the campaigns were a resounding success, boosting media reach and web traffic upwards of ten-fold, and increasing domain authority points by 50%. The resulting growth and profile of the firm led to interest in acquisition from a ‘Business Champion’ that brought Monahans on board as its exclusive south-west hub in January 2024.
With this investment and integration into the Sumer Group, Monahans has itself acquired four further accountancy practices across the region, resulting in business growth of almost 20% and a steadfast ambition to retain the position of the leading practice in south-west.
