Mason Williams

John Williams
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Rita Rowe
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Back in 1986 Rita Rowe and John Williams decided to set up in business together – and over 25 years later it, and they, are still here! In small offices in Peter Street, Manchester armed only with the “new-fangled” Apple Mac computers they watched their first client – Noel Edmonds – depart public life following an accident on the Late, Late Breakfast Show leaving them with – nothing to do.

Help arrived with the British Monopoly Championship, which started a client relationship with Waddingtons’ then Parker Brothers and then Hasbro, which survives to this day. That snapshot paints a picture of the agency as it is now, Rita and John hands on and hard at work, long client relationships with household names – and Apple Macs!

By 1996 increasing work “down South” prompted the opening of the London office – initially (surprise, surprise) above a bar in Soho. Growth meant a long stint next to Zilli Fish still in Soho. The company’s Southern base is now a penthouse suite on Rivington Street in Shoreditch. In Manchester the team spent 18 years in Ardwick Green before moving two years ago to today’s lovely offices in Universal Square.

The agency now works quite extensively in mainland Europe a trend started by the 9 years and counting relationship with Polaris World.

“We are proud of the roll call of people who have passed through each of our offices and, of course, those that have decided to stay with us,” comments Rita Rowe. “The agency has had many formats but one thing has been constant – we work hard, get great results and stunning ROI for fantastic clients with great brands. A lot of our ‘old boys and girls’ have gone on to great things in the UK, America and throughout the world. And, of course, some haven’t.”

“Like our clients, our staff past and future tend to have strong views about Mason Williams both for and against! We’ve never tried to follow the crowd. In 2011, we indulged ourselves with a few celebrations, a few good deeds and a little nostalgia. This section records the activities we accomplished, and profiles some of the people we’ve been important to and who have been important to us.”

Consumer lifestyle specialist agency Mason Williams turned twenty-five in 2011 and in celebration of its quarter century introduced 25 initiatives that were actioned in the following 12 months. Most appealing to clients was the 25% reduction on fees being offered to new clients and 2.5% of profits to charity.

Employees revelled in the chance for one of the team to enjoy an extra 25 days holiday, while the total workforce gave 25 days to community projects and supported 25 students in their efforts to break into communications.

Joint managing directors John Williams and Rita Rowe said that the initiatives came from an agency wide desire to mark the silver anniversary with some heavy commitments to staff, clients and their local community.

“Mason Williams has been a successful part of Manchester since 1986 so this was one way to give back to everyone who has helped grow the company from a start up to the biggest in the north-west,” said Rowe.