With exam results still fresh in the minds of the students currently recovering from their hangovers and the new Bondholders’ ‘where it begins’ campaign kicking off this month, we knew exactly who we wanted as our August feature blog.

The little sister of the renowned digital marketing company Strawberry – who sit proudly at C4DI, Strawberry Too is just as sweet.

As you know, I’m an accountant, not a writer and so I don’t think there is anything I could write that would do an organisation like Strawberry Too the justice they deserve.

When we think of that little red fruit we think of summer, right?! Fresh, juicy and good for you. This was the exact vibe I got when I went to go see the studio earlier this week.

 

Who are Strawberry Too?

To answer this, we need to rewind to summer 2014 when the directors of Strawberry started to notice a trend with interns and graduates joining the team. Coming from university into such a competitive field witch strict deadlines, it seemed many talented recruits were overwhelmed and became like rabbits in headlights.
Despite being raring to go, it became apparent that throwing creative individuals in at the deep end actually suppressed their development.
If you put Michael Phelps in open water and he slowed down it doesn’t mean he isn’t an Olympic athlete, it just means he has to do what it takes to adapt to a new environment.

Voila – the light bulb moment that lead to Strawberry Too being born.

Jade, a previous apprentice (and winner of a hull daily mail award for Apprentice of the year – as well as an old school friend of mine) was also at a fork in the road when it came to development.
Her talent, passion, loyalty and enthusiasm meant she was the ideal candidate to take the leap of faith with. So naturally, the next step was to improve on her managerial skills.
Jade now heads up a 7 strong team – the class of 2017 as they are formally know – (grown from just 4 in 3 years) made up of graduates and interns.

So you might be thinking ‘why would I want a load of trainees working on my business’. It’s actually exactly what I was thinking! Its an outward business model but just hear me out, it is win win for all involved.

Sure, your business is your baby, but doesn’t mean that you have to spend the same at Beyoncé spends on hers for yours to look just as good!!!
Have you ever thought that being surrounded by other interns means these designers are so much more creative? They bounce off each other. Their ideas are new. They are young. Everything they’ve learnt at college or Uni is still fresh in their minds. Let’s face it, they are exactly the right people to work on your brand. They have no fear, whilst still having that competitive edge of wanting their ideas, their designs and their projects to be the one!

Have you also thought that to top that, the price is going to be lower!? Yet you still get that premium quality from an amazing, reputable company.

 

But what about from the designers’ point of view?
You want to be a designer but working on established businesses with tens of thousands of pounds as their budget is too daunting.
You want to get some experience before applying to some bigger agencies.
How about the opportunity to work in an environment where you’re heard – and not just when you ask how many sugars people take in their tea?
All the bold bright and artistic arrows point directly to Strawberry Too.

Jade told me the inspiring story of David Beckham. When he first started out he just couldn’t seem to break the first team at Man United because he needed the experience. There was no doubt he was talented so they loaned him out for a year to get just that… And we all know where he is now (I don’t just mean the calendar on the side of my desk).

Warning: If you do want a job there, make sure you look your best. They take a Polaroid snap of you on their annual open day in Easter– very X Factor-esq.

I think it’s important to stress that although their locations are a 5 minute walk apart and clearly the teams are made up of different people, the sister companies get on really well. They feed clients between one another as well as picking those talented interns to sit on the prestigious top floor C4DI.
They have a central chat room (of course, just to add to their edgy ways) and socialise together on a regular basis. They even encourage some of the graduates to sit with the more experienced staff one day a week to ease them in gently.

So as you can probably tell – as business crushes go, Strawberry Too is definitely ours. Any and every business could learn a thing from Strawberry Too – Whether it be their awesome offices, their outside the box approach to recruitment or even to give those new starters a chance.