16/03/2020

Our company culture.

‘Culture.’

One of the stylish, corporate buzzwords that roam around, and, when overused, can be as irritating as a wasp at a picnic.

Yet, this is jargon that we can’t keep batting away, as it directly impacts our day-to-day.

Company culture is essentially the personality and character of an organisation. 

It’s the environment of a workplace - how it functions, how employees communicate and how staff are managed.

Company culture can have a significant impact on your job satisfaction and productivity. It is one of the most important factors to consider when hunting for work.

Working out what sort of company culture works for you is very personal and directly relates to your habits as a worker. Are you an intrinsic team player? Do you work far more efficiently when left independently? Do you need clear targets to stay focused?

These elements are so important to establish, but can be tricky to figure out before getting stuck into a job. And, you may find out, too late, that a company's culture doesn’t align with your personal working style.

That’s why we’ve decided to be as transparent as possible!

We’re laying our cards out on the table and giving a thorough overview of our company culture so that we can attract like-minded people.

Our company culture is intrinsically linked to our values. We believe that working in a friendly environment - one of authenticity, integrity and mutual respect - is conducive to productivity and job satisfaction.

As a team, we’re a committed bunch. We’re dedicated to our work, but also to one another and we’re proud of our upbeat and supportive working environment.

We’re proud of our retention of staff and how the atmosphere we’ve created feels more like working with friends than colleagues. 


Here are 8 aspects of our company culture...

     1. We can wear what we want to the office. The relaxed and informal nature of our office environment means we don’t assign to the corporate world of suits and ties. We think being comfy is far more important.

     2. We have quarterly activities as a team. In the past we have been Go Karting and for a night out at Flight Club. Each member of the team gets their own turn to pick an activity of their choice.

     3. We have an Office Mum. Marcia, our officer manager, is the company’s unofficial, but kinda official, office mum. She looks after us superbly and brightens up our office with her sense of humour. She enjoys rating the cups of tea we make her out of 10 and offering us sage advice. We even got her a mother’s day gift last year!

    4. We have flexible hours. As a company we believe that we are all far more productive when we can work at our optimum hours. We have a combination of night owls and early birds in the office and our flexibility suits both.

    5. We can easily work remotely! Our jobs are usually done from behind a computer screen, allowing us that flexibility of work. We have the option of working from home a few times a week, whenever suits us. 

    6.  Our project manager Stephen regularly keeps the office well-stocked with all manner of sweet treats. Doughnuts, biscuits, cakes - you name it.

7. We sometimes like to indulge in Fat Fridays - a day where we explore the culinary delights of the Northern Quarter. This is a day completely free from calorie-counting.

   8. We have 25 days of holiday!


If you like the sound of our company culture, check out our recent PHP developer role.

18/02/2020

PHP Developer role

We’re looking for a talented PHP Developer to work on innovative projects for a wide range of clients at our agency based in the Northern quarter, Manchester. We’re a friendly, forward thinking team who value innovation and provide an open forum for ideas and ways to improve.

We specialise in bespoke website builds for our clients and their critical business systems. You’ll be a key member of our development team and play a crucial role in the development of our new company products. 

The right candidate will care about quality, be a self-starter and have a real passion for development and progressing their skillset.

Experience:

— Object Oriented Application Design

— MVC framework experience - Laravel / Zend / CakePHP or similar

— Wordpress plugin development

— MySQL

— Caching (e.g. Redis, Nginx)

— Version control (Git)

— Property feeds

— Linux server administration (Debian / Ubuntu)

Nice to haves:

— HTML5

— XHTML

— CSS2/3

— Javascript / AJAX

— Node.js

Responsibilities:

— Development of back-end systems for a range of websites 

— Development of company products

— Perform coding to written technical specifications

— Investigate, analyse and document reported bugs

— Perform maintenance development and correction of identified bugs

— Create and document test plans, implement and manage unit tests and scripts

— Communicate regularly with project managers to provide understanding of technical requirements, processes and dependencies

Benefits:

— 25 days holiday

— Friendly and supportive team

— Christmas / summer party

— As much coffee as you can handle

— Friday beers

— Flexible lunch and regular breaks

— No dress code

— Yearly appraisal and pay review

— Convenient central Manchester office location [Post the COVID-19 crisis]

What to send us

— Your contact details

— A bit about you and what you’re passionate about 

— Your experience

— Examples of projects utilising the required skills

— Your reasons for wanting to work for 22 Group

Thanks and good luck!

Email us now

17/02/2020

Our values: the heart of 22

Maybe it’s our Manchester roots that make 22 Group friendly, straight-talking, and confident. We're committed to our responsibility to deliver incredible results, with heart.

There’s more to crafting an effective and distinct brand than a knock-out logo or a sleek website. Whilst important, these more tangible aspects of brand identity work best when combined with what already exists at the beating heart of any solid brand: its values.

Strong marketing is built upon clear brand values. Integrating the message of a company into its marketing increases engagement with customers who admire and align with these ideals.

Showing what the company stands for - its personality, so to speak - resonates with people and reaps results.

For example, think of brands like IKEA who celebrate simplicity and are known for their minimalist style and easy to build products. There’s Spotify’s playful spirit, easily pinpointed in their 'Listen Like You Used To’ adverts. Or Dr Martens, who recently captured both their long-standing rebellious image and product durability in the ‘Tough As You’ campaign. Good branding also has a ripple-like effect, sticking with customers and helping to build brand reputation.

Essentially: think of your values as your brand DNA.

Brand values show your ‘true north’ (no geographical bias intended) as they act as an orientating guide for both your clients and colleagues. They define the business. The blueprint the business. They also show us here at 22 Group what each individual client strives towards and what, together, we’ll focus on conveying.

Distinguishing the message of a company goes a long way. And, whilst it’s important for us to be attuned to the brand values of our clients, we also realise it’s probably important to outline the 22 Group team’s shared ethos — so you know exactly who you’re taking the dive with. Of course, communicating these values is also key so prospective clients can clearly identify connecting strands between our brand and theirs.

So, we’ll go first ... Here’s what our brand stands for:

Friendliness.

A cornerstone of our company’s culture, we put this shared value into practice daily. Cultivating positive and long-standing working relationships amongst ourselves and with our clients is genuinely important to us. It’s all about being our best selves and bringing out the best in each other.

Straight talking.

Honesty and authenticity sets us apart. In a world inundated with options, decisions and choices to be made, it’s nice to know who you can rely on to get the job done. We won’t set unrealistic goals or mess around with your expectations. Building open and honest relationships is always our aim.

Confident.

We believe in ourselves - and you should too. Our passion for each aspect of what we do shines through into our work and you can trust us to give it our all. We recognise our capabilities and are comfortable to try new things in order to make the most of our talents.

Committed.

We take pride in what we do. Loyal and long-standing client relationships are just as important to us as project details. Each and every one of us is dedicated and genuinely invested in our work - and to upholding our brand values.

If it sounds as though we’re kindred spirits, or you’d like to make your brand stand out in a crowd, get in touch with our team: jess@22group.co.uk 

23/12/2018

Our team is growing….meet David Christian-Woodruff!

2018 was a busy year for 22, with quick growth we went from 8 to 12 members of staff. As we continue to take on such a wide range of clients across varied sectors we’ve been refining our processes and tightening our procedures to offer our clients the very best experience. As part of that we’ve employed a new Project Manager, David Christian-Woodruff to help everything run smoothly.

We talk to David about his experience and what he’ll be doing in his exciting new role!

Q1. Tell us a bit about your background?

A: I was born in London, before living in Belgium for 15 years from the age of 3, where I attended a Francophone school and learnt to speak French. I then moved to an international school. I returned to UK to study at De Montfort University in Leicester to study Graphic Design. For the last 6 years, I’ve been working at a digital agency starting as a designer, then moving to team leader and finally digital producer role (which is similar to project manager).

Q2. What made you want to work at 22 Group?

A: On meeting the team initially, it was the ethos, vision and team togetherness that convinced me that this was the place for me! I wanted somewhere I could go and get stuck in, not only to use my experience to manage projects but to be able to help the business in a fundamental way moving forward. Having had experience working with many projects at once, it was an exciting prospect to work at a company where I could streamline processes and take on both the PM and a more analytical role.

Q3. What does the role of PM involve and how can you help clients?

A: From my perspective, being a PM is all about being there for the client, liaising with the team to ensure that from the very beginning, all parties know what needs to be done and by what date. My aim will be to keep clients informed throughout, suggesting new ideas and helping their business and brand push forward in an ever-changing climate.

Q4. So, you're new to Manchester what do you think of it so far?

A: It's brilliant! Coming from Leicester to Manchester is a BIG change, but there is so much more to do and see and it’s a great, cultural city! Having only been here a short time, I know I will still be things I will be discovering for some time yet.

Q5. What do you get up to outside of work?

A: I like being active so going to the gym, playing football, tennis or any sport is high on the agenda. Apart from that, I love to explore and try new things! The nightlife in Manchester will also certainly be a massive bonus now I've moved up here!

12/12/2018

22 Group receive an ‘Honourable Mention’ at the AWWWARDS

I'm really proud of the amazing effort our team put into building our website. https://www.22group.co.uk .We knew it was good but didn't really shout about it (well not as much as a lot of agencies do).

I've been told in the past that considering the amount of great work we have done I'm too humble and need to shout louder. It maybe a bit of a cliche, but as an agency, I feel we'd rather just get on and do an amazing job for our clients, rather than try and get ourselves noticed. So it's great to get the honourable mention from the Worlds leading website awards body, the highly respected AWWWARDS http://www.awwwards.com

This is not a small clicky group of UK judges who are wheeled out once a year because they know someone who knows someone, this is 75 of the Worlds most respected digital creatives. The AWWWARDS website is an inspirational hub for digital creatives in all corners of the globe, so to be recognised and featured on it is a true honour.

Well done guys! Now back to work:)
- Robin Arnold, Creative Director

19/10/2018

Getting social at the Northern Business Expo!

On October 14th and 15th we had our first Tradeshow as 22 Group - The Northern Business Expo! I was honoured to be asked to run a workshop on social media at such a high profile event (particularly with our award winning Creative Director Robin Arnold and supermodel Caprice already on the billing)! Social media is such an integral part of a cohesive marketing plan and I felt this would be a good chance to talk to businesses about how they utilise its impact and reach to support their business objectives.

I wanted to ensure every participant went away with some new knowledge which they could apply on a practical level, so we covered some of the basics such as how Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (the most used social channels in a business context) differ in how users engage. This gave participants the opportunity to think about how to craft the appropriate content for each channel and look at what the banner, profile images and bio say about the company. Each of 3 social channels we looked at offer a range of measurement tools to really help businesses be strategic about their social media activity and we spent some time focusing on the benefits of each of these. We then moved onto how to manage complaints and took a look at some of the things the big brands are doing.

This was followed by a practical exercise, getting everyone into the habit of following, sharing, retweeting, scheduling and posting content! It was great to see how involved everyone got and see some real connections formed amongst participants - that's what social is all about after all! Towards the end of the session we started to put together a social strategy for each participant so everyone could take something useful back to the office with them. It was fantastic to see so many people there and everyone getting so involved!

If you would like to receive the slides for the presentation or want to discuss how 22 Group can support your social media efforts please email: amber@22group.co.uk

18/05/2018

Northern Business Expo- Websites

OFFER EXTENDED: Sign up before the end of April and get 3 months FREE hosting worth £270

Landing page/

£949 (Usually £1,200)

Struggling without a web presence? We'll create a stunning landing page for you complete with details about your business, social media links and an attractive enquiry form for potential customers to contact you.

Further £100 off when purchased with another of our packs 

Email hello@22group.co.uk - Offer only available until the end of April.

Package includes:

— Webpage with logo

— Customised design

— Customer details

— Call to action

— Social media links

— Attractive enquiry form

— Google Analytics set up


All packages are subject to terms and conditions

18/04/2016

Northern Business Expo- Creative

OFFER EXTENDED: Sign up to either of our creative packages before the end of April and get a FREE 2 sided flyer designed and setup for print worth £225

Creative package/

£800 (Usually £1,600)

Realise the power that branding can have on your business with this 'feel the brand force' starter pack.

Package includes:

— 1 hour brand identity development review

— Research and analysis of your competitors and market leaders branding

— 3 bespoke logo concepts with 1 set of amends on your chosen route, supplied in various file formats for on and offline use

— Stationary designs and print ready artwork including; business cards, comp slip and letterhead

— Social media graphics

— Logo usage print / web guidelines


All packages are subject to terms and conditions

Sales brochure/

£322 (Usually £450)

A well designed sales or corporate brochure is essential for conveying your products, values and services, in a professional and appealing way to your potential or existing clients.

Package includes:

— Evaluation of your current literature

— Design of a sale brochure (up to 16 pages) in a print ready format

— Up to 4 stock photography images

— Up to 8 bespoke icons

— Up to 4 bespoke illustrations / graphics

Extras

Additional pages: £75 x 4 pages

Content writing costs: £700 up to 10 pages


All packages are subject to terms and conditions

email us at hello@22group.co.uk -  Offer only available until the end of April 

18/04/2016

Northern Business Expo – Marketing

OFFER EXTENDED: Sign up to either of our marketing packages before the end of April and get the first month FREE (when signing up for 6 months minimum)

Starter package/

£600 per month

We'll produce a full audit of your current marketing activities and put together a starter package which makes use of traditional, inbound and digital channels to help meet your business objectives.

Package includes:

— Set up/review and management of all social accounts

— Social media banner designs

— Daily content updates and engagement

Full service package/

£1,100 per month

Full service marketing support to meet your wider business objectives. Review of benchmarks, targets and KPIs, with regular reporting throughout.

Package includes:

— Set up/review and management of all social accounts

— Full time Account Manager

— Social media banner designs

— 5 Tweets per day

— LinkedIn strategy and content push

— 2 Blogs or news pieces per week

— Pieces of print/collateral

— Google Ads - review and campaign strategy

— Google Analytics set up


NB: Costs for Google Advertising not included. All packages subject to terms and conditions

Email us at hello@22group.co.uk - Offer only available until the end of April .

13/04/2016

Come see us at the Northern Business Expo – We’ll make it snappy!

The team at 22 Group are exhibiting at the Northern Business Expo on 14th and 15th April. The renowned business exhibition, which is free to the general public, provides business owners with the opportunity to forge valuable relationships with potential customers and suppliers, gain solid business advice from over 150 exhibitors as well as the chance to take part in free seminars and skills packed workshops. Two of those will feature 22 Group members this year in the Digital Marketing hub. The Expo has always attracted leading speakers and thought-leaders, this year featuring supermodel Caprice talking about how she built up her global enterprise.

Our award-winning Creative Director, Robin Arnold is holding an ‘Introduction to Branding’ workshop at 10.30 each day, which explores how understanding the difference between branding, marketing, design and advertising can lead to business success. If online is more your forte, at 2.15 you can head over to hear from Marketing Manager, Amber Stevens at a fun social media workshop which will provide you with the basic skills and knowledge to get started online and advice on how to make your social media campaigns an ongoing success.

If you fancy a break from developing new skills and knowledge, pop over to stand A22 to meet the rest of the team and get your selfie snapped for a chance to win a luxury 2-night stay in the prestigious Mayfair hotel, 9 Hertford St, just moments away from Buckingham Palace.

You can register here for your free tickets http://www.northernbusinessexpo.com/tickets/

See you there!

24/03/2016

Wow…what a journey

Wow...what a journey! 2 years ago we started to bank ideas, and bring together inspiration for the new 22 site.

As the company has evolved and matured, technology has moved forward also and it has been fascinating to see how our own vision of the ultimate agency website has evolved during that time.

It might sound textbook and a little cliche but also it’s entirely true to say that we have been so busy creating incredible websites, branding and marketing for clients we literally haven’t had time to progress with our own. It’s often the case, that many highly respected agencies will outsource the build of their own site as in short, it gets ‘the job done quicker’. For obvious reasons, a commercial project for a client will almost always progress at a different speed to an internal project.

In the business world, they say perfection is paralysis, but try telling that to a Creative Director working on an internal project.

That’s me, and I am not ashamed to admit that I have become completely obsessed with the creating the 22 site. The project is a minefield of emotional triggers. 20 new projects to present to the world, many of which have never been seen. I have felt the same concoction of creative juices flowing through my veins working on this site, as I did putting together my University portfolio 15 years ago. Only absolute perfection will do. But to be fair, I have loved it, and haven’t minded spending countless evenings and weekends working on it.

Though before I get into trouble for taking all the credit, this has been a team effort like no other. It has brought together the Creative, Digital, and Marketing departments at 22 Group like no cheesy paint-balling, or go karting session could ever do. The passion and dedication of every single person has been quite moving. A beautiful assimilation of different skills and ideas and the hardest one of all, picking one look and feel that encompasses a team with so much creativity.

24/03/2016

Icons from the past

Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Coco Chanel… just some of the icons from the past that have become ingrained in popular culture. Their pictures are still seen on posters, billboards, TV and the web, decades after their death. What was it that has meant their image has stood the test of time so they are ingrained in popular culture? Was Marilyn Monroe the best singer, or the best actress of her generation, probably not, but her personality, her reputation, her glamour, her beauty and ultimately her brand is timeless? I do wonder if current day celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus will become such enduring symbols for decades to come.

Attention to detail, glamour, always making an effort to look and be your best. There is a lot to be said for this way of thinking in branding and marketing. Whether we like it or not, humans can be fickle. We are judged on the way we look, and the things we say and do and this can determine whether a customer would buy into our products and services. They need to buy into our brand before making a decision.

At 22 we believe that a company's brand is it’s reputation. It is the perception that others have. A reputation is formed, from a number of factors including: personality, customer service, value, style in the form of your corporate identity, and voice, as within your marketing.

This is why we have chosen the launch theme of the 22 website to be ‘icons from the past’. Relating back to a time when glamour, attention to detail, and reputation was everything. Going above and beyond to stand out from the crowd made these icons timeless.

Not only do they look cool but, this ethos mirrors our own company approach to branding, digital and marketing. Following a fashion helps you fit in. Setting the trends gets you noticed. As Coco Chanel eloquently puts it, “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

We treat each branding, digital and marketing project as a blank canvas and aim to help our clients convey their key messages, their personalities, in the most original and creative way possible. With the aim to get them noticed for today and tomorrow.

Manchester

0333 242 0647
enquiries@22group.co.uk

26 Dale Street, Manchester, M1 1FY
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