Creative Direction Looks to Concept to Increase Financial Visibility and Improve Performance

UK Top 50 Design & Marketing Consultancy Select Concept's Integrated Agency Management Solution

Chessington, UK – May 3rd, 2005 – Enterprise Solutions Group, (ESG), a leader in integrated agency management systems, today announced that Creative Direction Consultants, an expanding UK design & marketing consultancy, with a turnover of £5M has taken the decision to implement Concept across the agency to underpin its accounting function and to automate its front office/studio workflow.

Formed in 1980, Creative Direction has for 25 years combined fresh creative ideas with strong strategic direction to give its national and international clients more from their marketing budget. Creative Direction's clients enjoy a comprehensive, through-the-line range of creative and marketing services, with design studio, production, client services teams and consultancy services in-house with closely managed external resources. The agency delivers everything from a single design concept and print project to an integrated cross-media global campaign. "We have earned an enthusiastic reputation for getting clients results!," comments Richard Stephens, founder and Managing Director of Creative Direction Consultants. "We came to a point where we could see we needed to find a reliable, expandable system that would integrate and automate our key functions and deliver increased efficiencies, control and visibility across our business now... and as we expand further."

"We are a fast moving, expanding agency with a dynamic team of people that delivers hard hitting, high impact campaigns for many leading IT and technical clients including HP, Microsoft, Symantec, 3M and PC World. It's one of my roles as MD to make sure that I enable this team with an integrated agency system that is intuitive, robust and reliable and one that helps us automate the business 'workflow' while allowing us to get on with the business of delivering the best services possible to our clients," he adds.

The Creative Direction team carried out a detailed review of the agency management and finance systems available including verbal discussions with some of Concepts customers before selecting Concept from ESG. Concept was selected because of its strong foundations and impressive reputation in agency systems management and the functionality and performance that it will deliver to the front of house studio teams whilst also managing a tight control on end to end financial accounting.

Concept is expected to substantially increase the accounting team's efficiency and speed of performance whilst improving business control, analysis and reporting. The automated workflow enables faster and easier access to data, both current and archived, and this increased visibility will improve agency and account manager's decision-making, access to live data and increase profitability.

"Creative Direction, like other clients, expects its business partner to offer a great deal of system flexibility and show a strong understanding of the workings of an agency when choosing a system to underpin their business," said Keith Bates, Managing Director of ESG Concept. "We are delighted that Creative Direction's market search led them to select Concept and our goal is to work closely with the team to help them get the most out of the system to support their future growth."

About Creative Direction

Creative Direction is a full service, straight-talking design and marketing consultancy with a great reputation for getting results.

Our commitment is to understand clients' businesses and providing close, fast, supportive service to marketers and this has earned us an enviable reputation which we are proud of. From new brand name to international advertising campaign... we take a creative view to business problems and position strategy before spend.

Founded in 1980, we've 25 years of cross-industry marketing experience to draw on and our near-seamless supplier relationships allow clients a wide choice of integrated marketing support services available from one, single source. It's a whole new direction... we think you'll like the experience. For more information, please visit www.creativedirection.co.uk