Connecting local brands

West Coast Business Park Feature

AS the brand behind local brands, Gruff Design has connected and grown more than 250 local businesses.

Established by Andrew Ferrie, the Torquay-based marketing agency provides businesses with brand work, marketing, web development and social media management.

The team of five takes on up to 50 brands a year and runs up to 35 social media accounts for clients.

“We definitely seem to keep clients for a lot longer which is pretty rare in the social media space,” Mr Ferrie said.

“A lot of our clients start with us when they are building up their business and we do their brand work, their marketing and their socials so we have a long journey with them. Most of our social media clients have been with us for around two to three years.”

Up to 90 per cent of Gruff Design clients are Torquay-based and, despite attracting attention from Melbourne companies, Mr Ferrie said remaining a local brand was important to the business.

“We are the brand behind local brands,” he said.

“We work and live in a space with a lot of creative and entrepreneurial people.

“Being local and knowing the people and knowing all the businesses is where our true value comes in.”

Mr Ferrie said clients often approach him with good ideas but lack the knowledge to get the product up and running.

“The biggest benefit of the business is that we are so involved in their day-to-day work,” he said.

“We don’t really set up a business and let them go, we do so much work, so seeing that growth from business owners is pretty cool.

“Someone will come in here and they have got this idea but they’re not 100 per cent sure about themselves and we pull the idea apart and give them an angle and build a business or a brand around that.

“Then they go out to the market and surprise themselves with how well it does and that is the most rewarding thing.”

In the current climate, Mr Ferrie said it is now more important than ever to be visible across relevant channels.”

It used to be you just put a sign in front of a building and that was how you traded but now you might have a YouTube account, as well as Facebook and Instagram,” he said.

“A lot of people start with thinking everyone is their client so understanding who they will be selling to can save a lot of money and be a really good direction.