A creative and digital business is helping to reinvent Newcastle’s St. Peters Marina area as a focal point for enterprise with the launch of a co-operative service, ‘The Brand Society’.
Precept, the brand performance specialist, has unveiled The Brand Society – a new service located in a recently renovated space alongside its office and design studio. It is located at St. Peter’s Wharf, overlooking St. Peter’s Marina and just a few minutes from Newcastle Quayside and city centre.
The Brand Society is open to both Precept clients and non-clients and offers its members co-working, events facilities and kit hire to support marketing activities as well as hosting regular events to share knowledge and insight.
Precept has worked closely and voluntarily over recent years with St. Peter’s Neighbourhood Association, which represents businesses and residents in the area, to establish its own identity and website to support its work to enhance and promote the riverside neighbourhood.
Robert Mee, local businessman and secretary of the St Peter’s Neighbourhood Association, said: “For centuries St. Peter’s was the hub of commerce and ship-building on Tyneside and today is still home to successful engineering and professional services firms.
“Precept is an enterprising and ethical business and their typically unique Brand Society initiative will help put St. Peter’s on the Newcastle business map.”
Precept has also created five new roles that will take the team to 18; including one at director level with the appointment of high-profile marketeer James Ealey the former head of NGI Consulting – the commercial marketing agency spun out of Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, the public private partnership charged with delivering economic growth for the area.
Nick Johnson, founder of Precept, which also has a London office, said: “With projects like the £100m Whey Eye development planned nearby and the city coming top as the best place in the UK to work in a recent survey, it’s an incredibly exciting time to live and work in Newcastle.
“We love working on St. Peter’s Marina and are proud to show our continued commitment to the area by launching The Brand Society – a co-working and event space designed for a community of brand owners and marketeers whether they are our clients or not.”
He added: “We want to give professionals, entrepreneurs and businesses access to a creative workspace and marketing facilities as well as connecting organisations to enable collaborative working, inspiring new ideas and innovation for their brands.
“Members can also benefit from break out space away from their own offices for workshops, brainstorming and other off-site meetings.”
The Brand Society environment located next door to Precept main office ranges from the top specification multi-functional shared space including bar and kitchen area to the more outlandish and fun ‘Speakeasy’ room for more informal discussion or recreation.
Newcastle-headquartered Forfusion is among existing Precept clients that will be participating in the activities of The Brand Society. The IT firm’s marketing manager, Fran Jonas, said: “Brand Society is a great idea from Precept and typically forward-thinking, offering additional facilities and support to its client base and beyond. It is a significant opportunity to network and collaborate with other like-minded businesses.”
Precept began trading eight years ago and has grown significantly in that time with clients such as the local burger joint chain The Fat Hippo to international brands including Decathlon and SoftBank.