Celebrating a decade of Dragonfly!

Happy business birthday to us! On 1 April 2011 The Dragonfly Agency doors opened for the very first time!

Founded by Vicky Grant and Anthony Bagshaw as a direct marketing agency, Dragonfly has grown to be an international business. We help our clients from the charity, retail, insurance and financial services sectors to develop their own business growth through our creative and meaningful direct mail campaigns.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic and in lieu of a typical Dragonfly party where we’d pop the champers and celebrate in person with our nearest and dearest, we thought we could share our 10 biggest achievements in the last ten years right here in this blog. So get comfy, pop the fizz if you so fancy and have a read!

1. Our office – It all began back in one small room in a shared business hub in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. Fast forward 10 years and we’re now proud to call 4 Stafford Street in Edinburgh, and 21 Dreyer Street in Cape Town our homes. Decked out in very comfortable and modern furnishings, we love welcoming clients and suppliers into our offices to hatch new ideas and discuss ways we can make our direct marketing stand out above the rest.
2. Our people –  From a team of two to now an international crew of 16, we have seen the Dragonfly team grow and develop over the last ten years. Our people are some of the most creative and astute marketing professionals in the business. Words we use a lot around here are diligent, persistent and tenacious – they will always go the extra mile to service our clients and have fun along the way!
3. Our clients – Helping our clients grow is at the heart of everything we do. We have worked with some of the biggest names from People’s Postcode Lottery to Barnardo’s and from Corgi to Denplan. Every client has their own objectives and spending time with them to understand what makes them tick is all part of the journey for us.
4. Our suppliers – The people who we share the journey with, our extended network of colleagues we call our suppliers. Our dedicated resource base in the UK and South Africa has helped us deliver everything from branded dog bandanas to intricate direct mail packs. The idea sharing and celebration of the craft is something we love to discuss not just in person, but also through our Print Item of the Month blogs like this one from last year.
5. Surviving our hangovers – For those who know, know! We love nothing more than a party and celebration, whether that’s Valentine’s Day, Easter or Christmas, or a new client win! We can’t wait to return to the office and resume the socials with you!
6. Our growth – Over the last ten years we have proudly printed, profiled and mailed over 2.5 BILLION items through our Royal Mail wholesale account and through our international mail network. And it doesn’t stop there, our passion lies in helping our clients grow, which in turn helps us grow. The forecast for 2021 looks very bright, especially as more people continue to be at home and are interacting with their mail more.
7. Our ideas – We love turning over every stone to question the who, what, why or when. We have been instrumental in working with Royal Mail to develop technologies to adapt our mailings to their machinery. We’re proud to have developed a circular window on an envelope for one client. It had never been done before and is now wildly used by other brands regularly.
8. Our charitable giving – It’s nice to be nice, and our big hearted Dragonflies love to support a charitable cause at any excuse. We gave our first charitable donation in 2014 to Children of the North East, and since then we continue to give back whether that’s through our 12 days of giving, supporting charitable events or participating in fun runs and marathons! Oh and then there was THAT walk our amazing CEO Vicky did last year across the Arctic!
9. Our credibility – We are forever honoured when a new client comes to us from a recommendation or when we are asked to speak at a webinar or sponsor an event. It’s no coincidence our success goes hand in hand with the credibility we have earned over the years. We are insanely proud to be ISO27001 accredited, proud to hold Cyber Essentials certification, proud to be one of a small number of clients of Royal Mail Wholesale, proud to have our MD on the Royal Mail SMP board, proud to be one of the first adaptors of JICMAIL, proud to have members of the team on various DMA working groups and proud be members of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and Two Sides to name a few.
10. Our future – We have come a long way in the last ten years and we can’t wait to see what the next ten have in offer. We’re committed to continuing to offer our clients the very best in direct marketing services, advice and creativity. If you’d like to speak to us about how we can help your business, please drop us a line here.