Merritt & Fryers Ltd. have been a retained client with us since 2019. Thanks to COVID and Brexit changing face of the marketplace, many strands of the marketing strategy we initially planned fell by the wayside but together we evolved our approach to support the firm’s continued growth.

The leading builders’ merchants in the Skipton area, during our marketing tenure Merritt & Fryers have consolidated their position by taking over another firm in Barnoldswick to extend their reach into Lancashire.

The client first approached us to work with them after becoming disillusioned with a few larger agencies who were found to be too inflexible; trying to shoehorn Merritt & Fryers into the same box as their other B2B and consumer clients. Merritt & Fryers were seeking a firm who ‘really got them’, understanding that their core customer – professional tradesmen – required a different, quite traditional, approach; a firm who genuinely understood the unique rural local customer base.

Following their wish to keep their existing branding, we refreshed and fine-tuned without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Managing their advertising budget and media liaison, we add value with ideas and copywriting to reach the tradesmen and present the products and services more memorably. It’s the little things that make the difference. For example, Merritt & Fryers have used the earpieces on the back page of the local newspaper to reach their sports-mad customers for some years. Instead of just featuring the logo, we’ve taken it up a level by using those top banner left and right adverts reflect different sports each week according to current local or national sporting events. So we have ‘Put us to the test / we’ll bowl you over’, ‘For all your conversions / tackle it with us’, ‘We’re open / swing by for trade supplies’ and so forth. It’s not rocket science but it’s the creative flair to communicate that the Merritt & Fryers team are down to earth, friendly and on the same wavelength as their customers.