Creative agency Poke Marketing will provide external marketing, communications, and creative support to Professional Liverpool after winning a competitive tender. Tony McDonough reports

A Liverpool creative agency that launched early in 2021 has secured member organisation Professional Liverpool as its latest client.

Poke Marketing is made up of a group of people, and friends, who have worked together at other agencies over the last 15 years. It employs what it calls an ‘agile payment structure’, basing fees on hitting KPIs rather than on time.

Since starting up it has won a number of contracts and its latest, with Professional Liverpool (PL), is one of its most high profile to date. PL represents 350 professional and business services firms across the city region.

After coming out on top in a tender process, Poke will now support the in-house team at PL with external marketing, communications, and creative support on a retained basis. Mark Harrington, director at Poke, said: “Professional Liverpool is exactly the type of pro-active, collaborative organisation that businesses in this city needs.

“It is key that their proposition is communicated eloquently and to the right people. We are proud to be a member of PL and even prouder to have been chosen to work with them in disseminating their message.”

In 2010, PL faced a threat to its existence when the now defunct Northwest Development Agency withdrew its annual £200,000 grant, representing 80% of its funding. It also faced a threat from a rival organisation.

However, in the following years it saw off the competition, grew its membership and became a self-sustaining organisation that has been a powerful voice for the professional services sector both within the city region and beyond.

Current chief executive Andrew Ruffler added: “We have a 20-year history in the region and an associated reputation in the city which belies our size. We were looking to refresh and enhance our profile and position within the LCR business ecosystem and following a tender process, we identified Poke as the ideal partner to help us do exactly that.

“The process is part of a great opportunity as the uncertainty and restrictions from COVID continue to dissipate. Poke will help us implement the necessary changes to the way that we communicate to our audiences, and drive an increase in membership, revenue, and influence.”