East Yorkshire’s leading digital marketing agency is moving to Hull’s Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) to be at the heart of the city’s creative community.
Strawberry’s move reinforces C4DI’s status as the flagship of the region’s digital economy and will add to the growing vibrancy of Hull’s Fruit Market area.
The award-winning business will bring 35 staff to C4DI and occupy 2,500 sq ft of space on the top floor of the tech hub from May.
Creative Director Dominic Love said: “We’ve very excited by everything that’s happening in Hull and we want to be at the heart of what’s going on. Moving to C4DI gives us that.
“The Fruit Market is now firmly established as the city’s cultural and creative quarter and, as the area’s leading creative agency, we believe it’s the ideal place for us to be.
“It also means we’ll be surrounded by creative digital talent in an environment that is perfect for the business to continue to grow.”
Strawberry is moving from premises in Strawberry Street in Hull – hence the company’s name – where the business was founded 23 years ago. Strawberry’s spin-off business, StrawberryToo, which is staffed by new graduates and apprentices, will continue to be based in The Maltings in Hull city centre.
Digital Director James Greenwood said Strawberry’s move was a key part of the company’s strategy for growth.
He said: “We see C4DI as providing us with potential partners for us to work with into the future, to enhance our service to clients.
“We already have strategic partnerships with organisations such as Google, Amazon Web Services and online retail platform Shopify and we see our future being based on developing further collaborations.
“We see a great opportunity to work with some of the freelancers, start-ups and emerging businesses at C4DI to grow their businesses and ours, for the benefit of our clients.
“We have the expertise to formulate the strategy for clients, do the creative and deliver their marketing effectively, but we see the opportunity to enhance our service to clients by working with partners in niche areas such as complex web data visualisation. C4DI is the perfect place to tap into those specialist digital skills.”
Strawberry’s business has doubled size since 2008 and is on course for turnover of £1.8m in the current financial year. It has more than 100 clients including leading local brands such as MKM, Arco, Hugh Rice, Beal Homes and Smith £ Nephew.
The company’s new offices will have spectacular views of The Deep, River Hull and Humber estuary and will be designed by Hull-based creative commercial interior designers Red Frog Design.
Strawberry Managing Director Jonathan Leafe added: “Our new offices will enable much more flexible ways of working. All our staff already work on laptops rather than desktop computers, so they are fully mobile, and we will have one gigabyte KC Lightstream wifi Internet connectivity.
“We will work in a flexible space with more breakout areas. Instead of having pods of marketers, creatives and developers we want to mix it all up, to offer our clients an even more efficient and better co-ordinated service.
“We also want to retain in Hull and attract to the city the best creative talent. Being at C4DI will enhance our ability to do that. We can offer talented creatives the opportunity to be part of a great company working with excellent clients in a superb working environment.”
C4DI is the centrepiece of the £14m @TheDock development by Hull’s Wykeland Group. The spectacular gold-clad building offers offices from 200 sq ft upwards to accommodate growing and established digital and technology businesses as well as hot-desking facilities for tech-based start-up companies and freelancers.
Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “We’re delighted Strawberry are coming to C4DI and adding to the tremendous array of digital companies and tech talent within the building.
“Strawberry’s move reinforces C4DI’s place at the heart of the region’s rapidly-growing digital and technology sector and the Fruit Market’s credentials as a creative cluster.”
Strawberry’s decision to move to C4DI means the building is now almost fully let less than four months after opening. Wykeland is also making rapid progress on two neighbouring office blocks which are due to be complete in June, with one already under offer.
Wykeland is also working with Beal Homes, as Wykeland Beal, to transform the Fruit Market, in partnership with Hull City Council, through the creation of new homes, art spaces, shops, bars and restaurants.
The Strawberry team will enjoy spectacular views overlooking The Deep visitor attraction from their new offices at the C4DI tech hub. Pictured on the third floor are, from left, Wykeland Estates Surveyor John Gouldthorp; Strawberry Digital Director James Greenwood; Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons; Strawberry Managing Director Jonathan Leafe and Strawberry Creative Director Dominic Love.
