Growth 100 alumnus wins big in European awards

Nottingham University Business School alumnus Aaron Dicks led his digital marketing agency - Impression - to the prestigious title of Best Small PPC Agency in Europe at a recent awards ceremony in Krakow, Poland.

Aaron, who was part of the Business School’s 'Growth 100' programme which helped him grow his agency, picked up the award alongside his colleagues, including business partner Tom Craig and PPC Manager Liam Wade.

The award was entered by hundreds of agencies from across Europe and is designed to recognise the highest standard of digital advertising management. Impression, which offers paid advertising services on Google, Bing, Facebook among others, was found to be the best agency by a panel of 42 external and independent marketing experts.

Speaking about the award, Aaron said: “Winning the European Search Award is a great accolade for our business. The digital marketing industry is maturing all the time but there are still companies out there using outdated techniques and not producing the results that clients deserve. While we’re not in it for the awards, we also recognise that winning provides proof of credibility to our clients and potential clients, and we look forward to continuing to drive best practice well into the future.

“As a relatively young, relatively small Nottingham based agency, it was very humbling to be recognised alongside some of the UK and Europe’s best known digital brands. That said, we’re very passionate as an agency about the potential growth of the digital industry in the East Midlands and we work closely with a number of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire organisation to promote that message and encourage more businesses into the area. Our hope is that this award will further support that, too.”

Impression’s search marketing team has grown significantly in recent months in response to growing demand for their search engine optimisation and paid advertising services. As a Google Premier Partner agency, Impression is a leading figure in digital marketing in the East Midlands and beyond. They employed their first member of staff in July 2014 and today, they employ more than 25 digital professionals.

Last month Nottingham University Business School partnered with Impression to deliver a free half day workshop  on digital marketing in the modern age. The workshop took place in the heart of London and attracted alumni and business associates of The University of Nottingham. A range of business owners, managers, marketers and strategists were provided with tips and practical advice to apply in their own businesses.

Impression is currently on track to deliver on some very ambitious growth targets. They work closely with a number of Nottinghamshire organisations and support networks to provide digital marketing services to businesses across our region and beyond. They also invest in graduate retention for the area, through their prestigious digital marketing graduate scheme and through various work experience initiatives. Impression is currently hiring for a range of roles at their Nottingham HQ.

About Impression

Impression is an award winning digital marketing agency based in Nottingham and with an office in London. They specialise in data-driven, results focused search marketing, primarily focused on search engine optimisation (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC) and performance web design. Their clients include some of Nottingham’s best known and biggest brands, as well as growing and larger businesses from across the UK and beyond.

Impression was founded in November 2012 by Tom Craig and Aaron Dicks. They hired their first member of staff in July 2014. In January 2015, they moved into a 2,500 square foot space in the heart of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter, complete with table tennis, beer fridge and Chesterfield sofas, encouraging a culture of creativity and collaboration.

In 2016 Impression won the New Business of the Year award at the Nottingham Post Business Awards and are shortlisted in the upcoming UK Biddable Media Awards, to be judged in May 2017.

Visit the Impression website