Well what a couple of months it has been. And we have some great news.

Bedfordshire based creative companies Bonfire Design and Bluefin Marketing have joined forces in a bid to strengthen the breadth of services available to their current clients and reinforce their position as a real contender for major brand business.

The combined agency’s services include marketing strategy, product launch, name generation, brand development, identity, literature, websites, point-of-sale, packaging and PR. The company, recently rebranded as ‘Bonfire Creative Intelligence’, is headed up by Stephen Judge – Strategic Development Director, Jason Pearce – Creative Services Director and Louise Basquill – Marketing & Account Director.

Louise Basquill – Marketing & Account Director states:
“This is a very exciting time for us. We are already seeing the added value we can offer to clients by combining the skills from the two previous companies. The combination of Bonfire’s nationally recognised design capabilities and Bluefin’s focus in delivering measurable commercial outcomes give us a compelling proposition.”

Stephen Judge – Strategic Development Director adds:
“This year started very well for Bonfire. Becoming the first agency in the UK to be accredited by the Design Association was a great accolade. The merger with Bluefin means we’ll be ending the year on a high too. We’re already in talks with some of the UK’s biggest brands, which should see an expansion in our portfolio of clients in early 2008. It’s further evidence that you don’t have to be based in London to offer national and international brands the service and creativity they deserve.”

This is a big move and one that we hope you will all appreciate and benefit from.

Until next month
Bonfire
x

Bonfire are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic alliance with the marketing company Crisp Solutions. Working in complete synergy with the Bonfire management team, Crisp will be the centralised marketing resource for Bonfire bringing a greater focus to this aspect of the business with the addition of bringing Full Mix Management, Marketing Project Management, Marketing Consultancy and Change & Risk Management to the stable.

This, in conjunction with a full rebrand in August, will see Bonfire on track for the next phase of its business growth strategy. The rebrand also incorporates our recent accreditation which was officially unveiled over a double page spread in The Designer magazine this month. Check out the article here or, to get hold of a copy, contact the CSD. We are also in negotiations with another company to extend the offer further by bringing interior/environment design, consultation and installation to the table.

We have also been busy client side developing the concepts for an International Exhibition to be held next year for NEC Electronics amongst many other exciting projects to be revealed next month.

Bonfire would also like to welcome Alison Hardcastle to the team! Alison joins us taking over Lorraine’s reception/administration function. Lorraine will now move into a more client focused role providing a much needed boost to our new business management process.

It the spirit of last months closing good news we can also announce that, 2 babies later, Jason has finally popped the question to his partner Sam while on holiday. The wedding will take place sometime next year, so congratulations to them both!

Until next month.
Bonfire x

A lot has been happening in the last 7 weeks and we’ve been very busy as we prepare for the expansion into our second office. It’s been an exciting time since our accreditation and its getting more and more exciting by the day. Being a relatively small company it is always hard to get yourself noticed and prove your standing in a market saturated with branding waffle.

Our clear communication and the results achieved for our clients over the past 6 years now stands testament to our ability with the added reassurance of DA accreditation.

Highlights for March and April so far are:

• Won a pitch for a joint US/Japan manufacturer product launch in the UK. Depending on its success this could also be rolled out European-wide.
• Were awarded another project to promote a range of retail IT products across the UK for another joint US/Japan manufacturer venture.
• Completed the LCAL site and it finally went live with a great response from both the client and also the Director of Marketing at Boeing, who flew over for sign off.
• Won and delivered a pitch for the identity and website for iVita. iVita is a new business initiative of Bedford Borough Council’s Development Agency to help nurture and build the business of sport in the area.
• Have been working on a suite of 10 brochures for Cranfield University.
• And lastly but not least Steve’s been training ready for his Peru trek in May, so if you haven’t sponsored him yet here’s the link.

All we can say is watch this space and if you’d like to be part of this dynamic company, check the opportunities page regularly for updates.

We’ll keep you posted as things develop.

All the best.
Bonfire x