In 2014 in Cowbridge, South Wales, Katie Bullon embarked on a franchise journey with activ Digital Marketing, seeking the need to have more flexible working hours following the birth of her first child. Katie quickly established her own brand working as a franchisee and created Bull Solutions where she built a strong portfolio of over 50 loyal marketing clients. Today, she’s bought out the Singapore-based franchisor who has been running activ for the past decade.
Established in 2008, activ operates one of the most exciting digital marketing franchising opportunities in the marketplace. It offers franchisees the opportunity to be their own boss in a market sector experiencing unprecedented growth despite the pandemic of the last 2 years. It also offers direct to consumer website solutions among other services and maintains a portfolio of over 1000 clients.
At a time where business has been tough for many companies across the globe with additional challenges brought on by Covid-19, activ’s story is a positive one. The original franchisor is based in Asia and found themselves with the opportunity to focus on other business interests based on their own continent; this is where the prospect for Katie to takeover was born.
Katie says: “I come from a family of self-employed business people. It is very much the norm for me to put myself out there and make things happen. Since I bought into activ in 2014 with my own franchise, Bull Solutions, I have not looked back. I have created a business which has financially been more lucrative than my previous full-time role and I have increased flexibility that works around my three children.
The beauty of activ is that I get to combine two of my greatest passions – marketing and being self-employed. It’s my ideal scenario to be able to take the business forward, work on marketing projects and to help others realise their dreams of owning their own business.
Anyone can set up a business, but how many businesses fail in the first 12 months alone? By setting up a business with a franchise such as activ you are joining a network of franchisees who were all in your shoes once – including myself! Some are 12 years down the line which shows just how successful you can be. 2020 and 2021 have been tough years for many people personally and professionally. More than ever before I feel fortunate and privileged to work in an industry that can help people keep their business afloat, and turn them around for longer term success.”
Given Katie’s extensive marketing experience prior to becoming a Franchisee with over 15 years in the field and success with her own franchise, the plans for activ continue to soar beyond 2022. The teams have expanded with skills in both technical and marketing and a combined experience of over 50 years, all driving forward with the business mission to support more businesses with exploring digital marketing opportunities.
Bull Solutions is now getting a makeover as part of the takeover and officially becoming part of the activ Marketing Group. Bull Solutions will become activ Strategic Marketing, a more strategic arm of the business compared with activ Digital Marketing, focusing on providing larger businesses with a plugin marketing function or providing a marketing team externally for businesses who don’t have headcount internally.
Katie says of the rebrand: “It’s time to make it more official and rebrand my beloved Bull Solutions to activ Strategic Marketing. It has the same mission at heart: to support businesses with their ongoing marketing strategy with long-term business growth as the end goal. It just has a lovely new face and a brand new website to go with it.”
The takeover couldn’t have come at a better time with Covid-19 accelerating the need for digital deployments. In a time where so many high street businesses, large and small, were forced to close, moving online and embracing digital solutions and long-term marketing strategies could be transformational in helping them thrive again.
A positive news story for 2022. With a business rebrand just gone live, it seems that there has never been a better time to become an activ franchisee or client.
About the full business as a whole: www.activmarketinggroup.com
Now the three divisions of the business:
- activ Strategic Marketing: www.activstrategic.marketing
- activ Franchise: www.activfranchise.com
- activ Digital Marketing: www.activdigital.marketing
