Bath-based specialist creative campaign agency Xcetra Media has rebranded as Ready ahead of a five-year programme of planned growth under which it aims to more than triple in size.
Ready, which specialises in subscription and membership marketing, was founded by brothers Jake Xu and Shane Carnell-Xu in 2007 and boasts a list of major national clients such as Quidco, the cashback, voucher codes and grocery discount site, free to air digital terrestrial television service Freeview and Future, the Bath-based publishing group where the brothers previously worked.
The agency, based in The Tramshed on Walcot Street, creates marketing campaigns designed to attract and retain customers for businesses that operate a subscription model.
Last year it developed an online game for Quidco.com to encourage new member sign-ups and promote affiliate partner brands. The game, Coconut Smash, attracted more than 617,000 plays in 10 days, with 33,000 Quidco members taking part, and 57% of retailers seeing an uplift in purchases.
Shane Carnell-Xu said: “When we first set up the business we were fortunate to quickly establish a portfolio of national and international clients from the magazine publishing industry.
“Thanks to referrals and a reputation for developing highly creative and cost-effective campaigns that deliver results, we were able to branch out and secure contracts with major clients in other industries, such as [British beauty brand Soap & Glory], for whom we are the lead creative agency for digital campaigns, as well as Quidco and Freeview.”
The agency received funding from Creative England and worked closely with Emma Collins, former chair of the West of England Design Forum, to further refine its focus and positioning and identify new channels for growth. From this process the new brand Ready was established.
Shane added: “We are a small team of eight and very agile, so we can respond to a brief very quickly. Clients can trust us to give our full attention and commitment to whatever the project is.
“For local businesses that operate a membership or subscription model, such as gyms and even charities, we can translate our experience of working with high-profile clients onto their campaigns without the large agency prices they might expect.”
Jake and Shane, pictured below, moved to Bath from Beijing at the age of 18 to study Computing and Business Management respectively at Bath College. On graduation the pair worked at Future Publishing before taking on internal freelance work at the company, and eventually offering their skills to the wider marketplace.
