BIG Partnership meets growing online demand with major digital expansion

Scottish PR and digital marketing agency The BIG Partnership has boosted its digital headcount by almost 50 per cent in the past 12 months s in response to growing demand for online services.

Four recent recruits have taken BIG’s digital complement to 22 staff, up from 15 a year ago, encompassing digital marketing, pay-per-click (PPC), search engine optimisation (SEO), design, social media and a wide range of website services.

Raymond MacHugh joins the firm, which is the largest PR and digital marketing agency outside London, as digital business development director from Red Amber Green, the design firm he founded in 2011. Raymond will spearhead BIG’s push to grow its digital arm in new markets and enhance its design team.

Jennifer Watson has also been recruited from Red Amber Green as a designer. Jennifer brings with her 18 years’ experience in the design industry, with extensive expertise in InDesign, Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

Raymond and Jennifer are joined by Craig Edwardson and Kirsty Kirkhope, who have both been appointed as digital account managers. Craig has been recruited from Glasgow-based tictoc and specialises in PPC advertising, while Aberdeen-based Kirsty arrives from Tesco Bank and will look to expand BIG’s digital presence in the oil and gas market.

Allan Barr, head of digital at The BIG Partnership, said: “Demand for digital communications continues apace and these latest appointments significantly strengthen our leading position in the marketplace. We have a very strong pipeline of work across all digital disciplines and are still in the market for new recruits to join the team.”

The four new recruits follow hot on the heels of other recent digital appointments. In the last 12 months, BIG has made two senior hires with the recruitment of Euan Blair, formerly head of marketing at Peach Digital, and Jessica McAndrew, previously head of online marketing at Frame.

Alice Ritchie also joined the firm as an account manager in September from DigitasLBi (formerly Big Mouth Media).

Mr Barr added: “The last 12 months have seen us make significant strides with our digital offering, including substantial investment and a range of experienced hires. We’re also identifying the best new digital talent with our digital marketing graduate scheme, which is well underway.

“Our investment has been underpinned by our custom-made design studio in Dunfermline, which provides extra capacity to build on the momentum of the last 12 months.”