Over 350 DRPG team members from across the company’s global offices came together for its annual summer conference on 25 July at ACC Liverpool.
Dale Parmenter, CEO of DRPG, opened the conference by recognising the agency’s “significant growth”:
- The return to pre-Covid-19 sales. Some already sitting at 89% of the £45m target for 2023 and expecting to break that target
- The growth of USA business – from “virtually zero” to £7m ($9M) sales in 2023
- The opening of a new office in the Northern Quarter in Manchester
- A range of new investments – AI technology, new facilities and infrastructure improvements. DRPG are in the process of re-developing its Covent Garden media centre
- Investment in training and educational partnerships to promote the industry and commit to 10 apprentices by 2024
Goals and future plans
Among other business updates, Parmenter outlined a ‘five-year forecast’ which included more brand acquisitions, global expansion and additional employee benefits. The spotlighted theme was high performance and the optimal communication needed to achieve the brand’s goal of being ‘the agency of choice’.
Parmenter commented: “We delve deeper than most when it comes to communication tactics and methods for our clients, and it’s no different for our own business. Bringing everyone together at this point in the year is crucial to ensure our culture is where it needs to be for the year’s remaining objectives, and beyond.
“We set ‘growth for the future’ as the over-arching theme for this year’s conference, with the main aim to guarantee the team have everything they need to be driving high performance in an environment they love.”
Stephanie Davies, CEO at Laughology, also shared a keynote on professional communication. Davies and the DRPG board then hosted breakout sessions crafted by DRPG’s learning and development Academy. The team covered ‘EPIC’ (Encouraging, Perceptive, Influential and Collaborative) behaviours and learnt how to incorporate them into their everyday.
