Association Agency or Supplier of the Year
Barley Communications
Barley Communications is an award-winning social purpose communications agency delivering high-impact work on issues that matter. Membership organisations make up a good proportion of our client base, alongside charities, public sector organisations and other purpose-driven businesses.
In 2023 we achieved 23% revenue growth, taking us into PR Week’s league table of the Top 150 agencies in the UK for the first time. We have maintained high levels of quality and client satisfaction as we’ve grown. In our 2024 client survey, our clients rated the Barley team at 4.67 out of 5 (where 5 is excellent).
We are committed to walking our talk when it comes to our values and believe this differentiates from others in our field. Two recent examples of this which we’re particularly proud of are becoming employee-owned in 2022 and becoming a certified B Corp in 2023.
Cantarus
Founded in 2003, Cantarus is the premier independent digital agency in the UK in the membership and associations sector. With a team of circa 70 experts across the UK, USA, and Moldova, we are committed to delivering exceptional digital experiences.
Our extensive expertise covers Business Development, Design, Infrastructure Services, Finance, Marketing, and Software Development. Our services include:
- Web & App Engineering
- Online Community
- Experience Design & Branding
- Support & Hosting
- Data & Insight
- Consultancy
Our mission is to deliver transformative digital experiences that empower organisations not only to survive, but thrive. We’re committed to turning digital projects from arduous tasks into seamless journeys that drive engagement, enhance brand visibility, and generate tangible, measurable results. Our client-centric approach, coupled with a deep understanding of membership and association challenges and data-driven strategies, positions us not only as service providers, but as genuine partners vested in our clients’ success.
CPL One
CPL One deserves to win Agency of the Year because during 2023 we delivered outstanding results-driven partnerships for a range of membership bodies, while also achieving industry-leading levels of employee engagement.
Among our outstanding client successes were:
Relaunch of a charity magazine that smashed its growth target by 50% and led to more new givers signing up in the first 12 months than during the past four years
Content marketing campaign that led to a trade association achieving a 15% increase in registrations compared with the previous year.
20% uplift in media and event sales for a Royal College
This entry focuses on our sustained and excellent performance as a creative and commercially focused content marketing agency working with more than 30 clients in the membership sector.
These include chartered professional bodies, trade associations and charities, for which we create multi-channel content that addresses and solves specific communications and commercial challenges.
We achieved all this during a year when we also launched a new name, a new brand and a new business purpose and strategy that underpins everything we do.
Engage Comms
Established in 2012, Engage Comms Ltd is an award-winning B2B marketing communications consultancy specialising in working with purpose-led organisations in niche sectors. Since being appointed to carry out an in-depth piece of consumer/stakeholder perception research for the UK trade body for the debt purchase and collections sector (Credit Services Association) in 2013, we have built a wealth of experience of working with membership associations as an innovative, well-respected fully outsourced marketing communications partner which has a track record of delivering tangible, long-term impact on both social and commercial aims. Current clients include not-for-profit membership organisation Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) and Civil Court
Users Association (CCUA), both of which see us as a core part of their operations and a trusted strategic adviser. From cost effective, innovative websites and social media strategies, to strategic event maximisation and membership engagement, we build the profile, influence, credibility and networks of membership associations in niche sectors and help them to communicate their complex messages with the right people in the right place at the right time. We believe that expert comms and engaging content should be at the centre of any membership association’s strategy.
LIQUONA
LIQUONA partnered with the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) to create a Virtual Reality (VR) Laboratory aimed at showcasing the vital role of biomedical scientists, the hidden heroes of healthcare, to the next generation!
The VR experience allows users to act as biomedical scientists, analysing a urine sample with realistic equipment, thus highlighting the field’s complexities and significance.
The VR lab was used at career fairs to attract school leavers.
The project required close collaboration, innovative solutions and thorough user testing.
The immersive experience, set in a spacecraft-like environment, made biomedical science exciting, enjoyable and therefore memorable.
Results included over 200 students engaging with the VR at autumn career fairs, a microsite receiving substantial viewer engagement, and a social media campaign reaching over hundreds of thousands. The project successfully raised awareness and inspired students about careers in biomedical science, with positive feedback from both IBMS members and students.
A student at a careers fair summed it up best:
“I love science, but I never knew this kind of career was possible!”
The project demonstrated LIQUONA’s creativity, innovation, and effective partnership with IBMS, evidencing their genuinely collaborative approach.
Redactive
Redactive was established in 1994 and since then has differentiated itself from the majority of publishing and content agencies by focusing on the core membership and professional association sector.
We currently work with 40+ membership organisations with vastly different audiences. Ranging from the 400,000-strong consumer community who belong to u3a (University of the Third Age) to the 4,600 highly specialised members of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM).
This unparalleled overview makes it fair to say no other agency has a better breadth or depth of understanding of the content needs of membership organisations. And as of March 2023, we became an Employee Owned Business perfectly in tune with the ideals and aspirations of our client base.
Sunday
Membership organisations are evolving and membership audience needs are changing. As a digital-first, social-experienced, multi-channel content agency, we know that content has to be commissioned and tailored for each channel to deliver maximum engagement, and work smarter and harder than ever before.
Here are six reasons why we should be considered for the 2024 Association Excellence Awards Agency of the Year award:
Our approach is truly multi-channel
- We’re helping to inspire and recruit the next generation
- We deliver game-changing campaign work
- We have a single-minded focus on measurable growth
- We are trusted implicitly by our clients
- We are constantly evolving our own brand
The proof is in our performance. 2023 was the best-performing year in the agency’s history. Profits up, satisfied clients, innovation delivered every day, and an efficient, happy team producing effective content that drives bottom line value for our clients. 2023 was a stellar year for the Sunday team.
Think
2023/2024 has been transformative for Think. Celebrating our 25th birthday in 2024 with record-breaking wins and the launch of new divisions, Think has disrupted the membership publishing space and now competes with large global competitors.
The way membership organisations are creating, distributing, and monetising content has shifted dramatically in the last 12 months – and with it the way agencies and organisations work together. At Think, we’re proud to be driving this positive change, creating even more impactful partnerships with clients that genuinely deliver brilliant results.
This year we have truly helped clients be brave in the way they communicate. For some, we’ve said goodbye to magazine sub brands – phasing out print altogether – and hello to more integrated, digital-first solutions focused on thought leadership and data-led insight.
Wonderly
We are Wonderly, a progressive award-winning agency inspiring and engaging audiences through remarkable content, thriving live events and innovative tech solutions. We deliver services across all formats whether that be print for clients such as Kew Gardens and the Football Association, live events for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). In the last year, we have brought all of Haymarket’s membership clients under the Wonderly umbrella, bringing together core skills, expertise and experience across the business to deliver as an agile agency with scale.
Our ethos is to continually drive creativity and innovation to help our clients connect with their audiences effectively and authentically. Over the past year, we have onboarded new association accounts such as the Marine Conservation Society, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) – adding to our already diverse and exciting client base. Our core experts – the editors, journalists, designers, event organisers, marketeers, sales advisors and producers – spend time understanding their sectors, associations and the context in which they operate, and deliver solutions that specifically enhance the member value proposition.
