N E WS
W
hen Dave Allan and Martin
Walker decided to launch Tees
Business, they were met with
more than a few quizzical looks.
“You want to launch a print product? In
this day and age?” and “Nobody wants
that kind of thing anymore, it’s all online
these days,” were just some of the
comments thrown at them.
But they pressed ahead, confident
they had identified a gap in the market
and a business model to fill it.
And the fact that you are reading this
feature – either in print or online - in the
fifth anniversary edition of Tees Business
magazine right now is proof that their
conviction and commitment was justified.
Five years on, the publication has
steadily grown into one that has the
ear of some of the Tees Valley’s most
influential business people.
It sits on the coffee tables and in
the boardrooms and business hubs of
everybody who is anybody everywhere
across the region – and it’s the
same story for Wear Business, their
newly launched title designed for the
Sunderland area.
The networking events associated
with the brand are in the diaries of
business leaders and industry champions
and the awards ceremonies devised,
hosted and promoted through the likes
of Tees Business are sell outs.
A high-end glossy sister title, Tees Life,
champions all that is great about the life
and style of the Tees Valley too.
Getting this far hasn’t been without its
challenges but looking back on the past
five years evokes a great deal of pride
for both men.
“The issue that kept coming up was
that our part of the North-East, the Tees
Valley area, was often overlooked in
favour of the bigger commercial centres
of Tyneside, for example. That’s what
businesses were telling us,” said Dave.
“We could see there was a gap in
the market and we could see there
was a positive appetite out there for a
publication.
“The driving force was the market
research we did before launching the
publication, we went out and spoke to
companies and asked for their views
and the responses we got back were
overwhelmingly positive. Of course, it’s
one thing for someone to say they like
the idea and another for them to actually
put their hand in their pocket and back
it.”
The pair already knew each other
before they set out on the Resolution
Media journey, having worked
together in the media department
at Middlesbrough Football Club and
collaborated on the writing of several
books. They went on to run their own
successful PR businesses – and still do.
Martin developed a magazine
in the Aycliffe area concentrating
on positive news, with most of the
content supported by advertisers.
He approached Dave with the idea
of launching a similar model in
Middlesbrough.
“We eventually settled on the whole
of the Tees Valley area,” said Martin.
“The model for Tees Business was
based on the same model at Aycliffe,
concentrating on business news with
most of the content supported by
advertisers, which by nature is going to
be positive.
“We already had our own separate PR
businesses and could see the gap but
we didn’t know what the real potential
would be.
“It took a little bit of time to gain that
credibility but we believed we could
make a success of it – at the start we
took all of the pictures and wrote all of
the features ourselves, we even had to
teach ourselves sales.”
A website was launched alongside the
print product so all bases were covered
– people who preferred the look and
feel of a magazine had it to hand, others
could read it online.
E-news shots, social media and
networking events when each new
edition is launched quickly followed.
Tees Life also soon followed – again
from a recognition there was a gap in
the market where other high-end glossy
publications overlooked the Tees Valley
area.
The successful Tees Businesswomen
Awards were launched in 2018 and
have sold out two years in a row. A new
venture, the Tees Tech Awards, was
due to be held in April to celebrate the
burgeoning creative and digital sector in
the Tees Valley and although it will now
be rescheduled, it will provide another
opportunity to showcase some of our
great companies.
The business and brand creation is
made all the more remarkable given that
Resolution is staffed by just four full-
timers – co-directors Dave and Martin,
events manager and Tees Life editor
Julie Burniston, who joined the team
last summer, and recent recruit, sales
manager Chris Garbutt.
The company takes pride in
supporting a network of freelance
designers, writers and photographers as
well as print and distribution companies.
But just why has it been such a
success?
“Tees Valley has a really strong
business community and we have been
able to tap into that. There are some
really intuitive companies that go under
the radar and we have ended up being
a conduit to allow them to shout about
themselves,” said Dave.
“As a region, we have a tendency to
hide our light under a bushel and we
talk ourselves down, which is why we
launched a campaign to ‘Talk Up the
Tees Valley.’
“I’d say it took around two years
to build up a reputation and respect.
Now, when people think, ‘How am I
going to promote my business?’, they
automatically think of Tees Business.
We are a key part of the business
community and we’ve built that up
through the publication, our networking
events, the awards events we have
launched and e-news, social and our
website.”
One of the proudest moments for
Martin came with the launch of the
“Talking Up” campaign, which quickly
attracted a buzz.
For Dave, it is the positive feedback
that comes in. Standout moments
for both have been the Tees
Businesswomen Awards.
“We’ve started to see the positive
impact on the region of initiatives such
as the Tees Businesswomen Awards,”
says Dave. “We must be the one of the
most well-known businesses on Teesside
as far as brand names go and that’s
not bad with a team of four full-time
employees.”
“The combined authority was formed
around the time we launched Tees
Business and to have that first devolved
authority in the North-East is a big
bonus,” added Martin. “The mayor, Ben
Houchen, can see what we are trying to
do and he can see the potential for this
region.
“We have ambitions, we’ve recently
launched Wear Business and we believe
there are markets in other areas, but we
remain passionate about our home area.
“In the past five years Tees Business
has become a part of us and we feel
proud of what it has become, what
it represents and the strong brand
message it offers about our region.”
And there’s more to come. Once the
coronavirus crisis is over, Tees Valley
businesses are going to need strong
champions for the goods and services
they can offer the world more than they
ever have before.
Resolution’s directors are determined
to be there when they are needed and
play and vital role in the recovery.
“We are looking to host another
awards event later in the year and we
have plans to launch another into 2021
taking it to four. We also plan to extend
the magazine publication reach into
other regions and areas of the country,”
said Martin.
“And we’re now launching a wide
range of digital packages to support
businesses in communicating and
marketing through the coronavirus
pandemic. We’ve always had a strong
online and digital presence and now that
is likely to come to the fore.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 25