Mallusk business secures its 100th client in less than three years

A Mallusk-based digital content creation business has secured its 100th client in less than three years.

After 10 years in the PR industry, eightyfive90 was launched by Andrew Kelly two weeks before the pandemic hit.

However, the business has since gone on to work with brands from around the world. This month, eightyfive90 worked with its 100th client - Belfast design agency Extn5.

The company has a varied range of clients including; Miss Universe Ireland, Fibrus, ITV, NI Housing Executive and local charities Hope4LifeNI and Cavaliers in Need. Originally started as a video service only company, the pandemic forced a change of business strategy and accelerated the future plans of the company.

Andrew Kelly, owner of eightyfive90, said: “In many ways the pandemic was a mixed blessing as it forced me to really think about the direction of the business, the clients we wanted to work with and how we would get there. It became clear there was a need for a wider digital service offering locally and very quickly we went from one digital service to five.

“Our digital service offering is now full circle, offering video and photography, digital workshops, drone work and content audits. We have formed partnerships with a number of other small businesses to also offer website design, branding, event management and PR & marketing support. We also bring in other content creators on an ad-hoc basis to assist in delivering larger client projects.

“Over half of our first year in business was spent in lockdown so to reach 100 clients this quickly is something I’m extremely proud of.

“Digital content plays a massive role in every business and that is only going to continue to grow over the coming years. New platforms and ways of reaching consumers will force companies to adapt how they operate and it is about embracing those changes, not shying away from them.”

Having completed Invest NI’s Go For It Programme, the company is now taking part in the OPTIMAL Programme delivered by Mallusk Enterprise agency.

Praising the programme, Andrew continued: “We’ve had great support from a number of local enterprise agencies since the company started and the business coaching available has been a valuable resource. By being able to learn from mentors with vast amounts of experience, we’ve created a new long-term strategy for scaling the business.”

Looking ahead, he believes there are untapped opportunities in the RoI market for business: “Northern Ireland has been our main focus for the past few years and certainly I feel there are many opportunities to be working more across the UK and Ireland. We are also working on developing a new product to help SMEs and entrepreneurs tell their stories that will be launching in spring.”