Mike, our Managing Director, deftly steers our business strategy.
He makes sure we stay aligned with our values while constantly pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve. A cocktail of calm expertise with a splash of Negroni-loving charm, he’s the driving force behind our vision.
When I started the business in 2015, I’d love to say my vision was clear with what I wanted to achieve.
The truth is, I stepped into self-employment on the back of a particularly challenging experience, and I wanted a more interesting, enjoyable and exciting way of earning a living.
In all honesty, after nearly 10 years in marketing, my last couple of roles had left me a bit disenchanted, I’d lost my enjoyment and enthusiasm and needed a change. When I decided to go it alone, I was lucky to find opportunities to work with some interesting businesses, led by fascinating entrepreneurial people who had a real verve for life. Opportunities came, and with them, some great connections and friendships along the way.
My roles in the early days were focused on providing exceptional marketing support to businesses, acting as their outsourced Head of Marketing, providing strategic level guidance to help them step up their growth. Little did I know that this step into the unknown would evolve into something much bigger and more exciting than I could have imagined.
Over the years, the business has changed dramatically. We started as a one-person show, and today we stand as a thriving company with a dynamic core team of highly talented marketers, project managers, account managers, and channel experts. Our extended family of experts, associates, and freelancers has allowed us to cultivate a comprehensive pool of talent, specialist support, and expertise that fuels our innovation and excitement.
But it’s not just our size and capabilities that have changed. We’ve been lucky to have worked with some amazing businesses founded by people with strong values of creating positive impact through their businesses and doing business in the ‘right way’. There’s not enough space in this article to name check them all but the guidance of a range of people including We Are Adam’s Richard Gahagan, Simon Ursell and Jon Berry of Tyler Grange, Lee Ali of Expo Stars, Martin Murphy and importantly, my advisor John Shinnick, who has shaped the way I want my business to operate.
We spent time as a team developing the values we stand for, the projects we want to be involved in, the clients we want to work with and the impact we want to have on the world through what we do.
As the business has grown, we’ve been able to choose work that excites us and clients that match our values, purpose-driven businesses that care deeply about making a positive impact, as much as they do about profitability. We don’t just provide marketing; we build powerful relationships with our clients, delving deep to understand their unique needs and delivering bespoke support that fosters growth, purpose, and positive impact.
Our evolution has been driven by strategic thinking, a dedicated team, and a commitment to living our values.
But one thing we realised was that the way our business looks and sounds, was still stuck in 2015. Who we are, what we do and how we operate is vastly different to back then. We’ve grown up, and it’s time for our brand to grow up with us. The decision to rebrand was not taken lightly. It was driven by our desire to authentically represent the essence of the business as it stands today – a unique, strategic, expert, purpose-driven, and exciting organisation.
We wanted our brand to truly reflect our team’s strategy, expertise, and the warm personality that sets us apart. Our goal was to create a high-quality brand that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best.
We aimed to create a brand identity that enables our talented team to craft content that is not only powerful and inspiring but also consistently high-quality. We wanted a brand that inspires creativity and excellence.
I’ve always believed in a collaborative approach focused on powerful relationships, giving back, and doing what’s right. Our team embodies these values, and it’s evident in our day-to-day interactions. We put people first, solve problems together, celebrate ideas, and cultivate genuine relationships based on shared values.
Our commitment to purpose has also been a driving force. We’re on a journey to become a B-Corp and are passionate about creating a positive impact on culture, community, and the planet through our work. We’ve increasingly collaborated with purpose-driven businesses, helping them understand and embrace their own sense of purpose.
Our rebrand centres around three core themes:
We focus on strategy over tactics, emphasising the importance of impact over outputs. We help businesses understand the broader implications of their marketing efforts, helping them see how it contributes to their overall goals.
We believe in the power of people. Our brand showcases the importance we place on relationships, mutual respect, and collaboration. It’s not just about the work we do but also how we work together – planning, strategy, facilitation, mentoring, training, and more.
We aim to lead the charge in marketing for purpose-led businesses. From strategic perspectives on purpose orientation to demonstrating your values through your brand and content, we’re committed to providing insights and practical guidance for businesses that want to make a meaningful impact.
Our decision to rebrand is a reflection of our evolution as a company. We’ve grown, both in terms of our capabilities and our commitment to values. Our new identity represents the unique, strategic, expert, purpose-driven, and exciting essence of the business.
Our name is changing, slightly. We’re simplifying the name to MP&CO, it’s how most people refer to us anyway. The name change takes the business essence away from me and focusses it back on the strength of our team. Whilst I’ll always be present and involved, it shouldn’t be me that takes the limelight. We’ve also turned it into a perfect little acronym to summarise who we are as a business,
‘Make and impact, Drive Purpose and Collaborate’.
Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?
What you’ll see now is just the start, over the course of the next few months we’ll launch phase 2 of our website, bring you events and content, and create new opportunities to bring our brand to life.
A big thanks goes out to Sarah Wilde for working with me to shape our proposition and Sean Booth for bringing it to life through his creative expertise, Ben and Natalie at Studio91 for their amazing photography and video, Vanessa De Rudder for designing a stunning new website, Georgina Walls for the copy and the whole team for their input and involvement throughout the process.
We’re excited to embark on this new phase of our journey, and we invite you to join us as it all comes to life.
© Copyright 2023. MP&Co is the trading name of Mike Pye Marketing Ltd, a registered limited company registration number 10647332. VAT Registration Number: 289 4156 59
