PPG

Reading RoomManchester

An Introduction

A little about us

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Digital agencyIndependently owned and managed since 1996

Offices familiesEach office feels like a small agency family

Passionate individualsLarge independent agency, small passionate culture

Social

DigitalStrategy

Mobile

Video Production

e-commer

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Research

Branding

Social Curation

e-CRM

Campaigns

Tablet design

Analytics

Full service Agency

What we doWhat we do

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Best Companies Award “One to Watch”Reading Room featured in the Sunday Times ‘Best Companies One to Watch” list in 2010 demonstrating high levels of employee engagement

Forrester Wave UK top 10 interactive Agency (No.1 in UX)Central focus on measurable effectiveness from digital platforms

Over 150 awards in digitalRanked 3rd: B2B Marketing UK Agency League Table 2011Number 2: Marketing Week YouGov Agency Reputation Survey 2011Winner: European Seal of E-Excellence 2010

Our work as judged by our peers

Recent Awards

The Drum Design 100Number 4: Reading Room

Best in ClassFairtrade on the RoadNES Global TalentCommonwealth War Graves Commission

The Drum Digital 100Number 29 overall : Reading RoomNumber 9 for Design and Build: Reading Room

Why Manchester?

Manchester: A Digital City

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“Manchester will sit at the centre of a network of

innovative, knowledge-based industries,

employing 80,000 new residents, by 2027”

HSBC

“Growing British Business”

Manchester: Reading Room

• We’ve been here since 2005, based in the Northern Quarter

• Currently 20 staff in the Manchester office

• Our ethos is “no-nonsense digital” – pragmatic, cost effective and technology agnostic

• We work across a range of sectors, including enterprise, higher education, arts, culture & heritage and local government

• Our portfolio is a microcosm of Manchester (and the North West’s) diverse economy

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Manchester: A Digital City

• A very healthy agency scene

• Start-ups: The Sharp Project, Techcelerate, TechHub

• Manchester Science Park: 500 companies

• The universities: Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Manchester, Salford University

• MediaCityUK: £950 million development

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Manchester: A Digital City

• 4G and ultrafast broadband pioneer

• £12m government funding to get ultrafast broadband to 6,200 businesses by 2015

• £650m Enterprise Zone at Manchester Airport to create 10,000 full-time jobs by 2027

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Manchester: Our Perspective & Experience

• A good supply of highly competent staff at all levels

• Particularly strong in certain areas such as UX and front-end

• A very strong higher education presence and a vibrant digital scene suggests a promising future

• Also a plentiful supply of office space, particularly of the kind sought by digital agencies/start-ups

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Manchester: A perfect storm of opportunity, community and technology

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Some Of Our Work

MMU InternationalReading Room worked with the MMU International team to design and prototype a striking and finger friendly website that works seamlessly across desktop and tablet. Aimed at both prospective and current international students, the website informs and engages them through rich interactive content, including the animated How to Apply and Applying for a Visa tools and Take a Tour carousel and pop up gallery.

Salvaged : Restoring the Sirens & UlyssesManchester City Galleries came to Reading Room wanting a way to bring a specific piece of restored art to life in an online environment. We proposed and created a microsite which promote interaction with the work for users at home as well as in the actual exhibition itself where we placed an iPad in front of the physical painting so users can scroll through the timeline of how the painting came to be in front of them.

John Rylands : First ImpressionsThe John Rylands embarked on a hugely exciting project to tell our nations readers and lovers of literature, the fascinating story of the printed word. To deliver this message online, Reading Room built a highly interactive site with a moving graphical map and timeline, ‘make your own printers mark’ and see ‘text through time’ features, to allow people of ages to engage with the story benefits from the hugely significant cultural story being told through the site.

AskMalawi.TVAn innovative solution to ensure that the work done by Faritrade, and its underlying message, is disseminated to the wider world in an engaging and compellnig manner.

We have 3 pigs

Eureka! The National Children’s MuseumEureka! wanted a site that emulated the offline sensory explosion the museum offers to its visitors. Reading Room created a fully responsive WordPress site that reflects the values of learning through play by creating a flexible and fun site, packed with engagement tools, that offers adults what they need and children what they want.

Peoples History MuseumWe brought this new brand to life online - a dramatic shift away from tradition whilst staying true to the essence of the museum.