A Derbyshire creative agency founded and run by two sisters will represent the Midlands at a national awards ceremony where it hopes to be named the Best Small Rural Business in the UK.
MacMartin, a full-service marketing agency based in Church Broughton, has been crowned a regional winner in the Rural Business Awards (RBAs) run in partnership with Amazon.
Now the company, which is based in The Bartonfields Centre, a collection of beautifully converted farm buildings, will represent the Midlands at the national ceremony in February. MacMartin was founded by sisters Claire MacDonald and Anna Hutton, who both have professional marketing backgrounds with complementary skills.
Nearly five years later, MacMartin is going strong and employs eight members of staff. It offers a wide range of services including website and graphic design, social media marketing strategies, copywriting and email marketing.
Anna said: “We are so grateful to the Rural Business Awards for recognising our work and providing a platform for rural businesses like ours to showcase their services, and for their achievements to be celebrated.
“It has been an incredibly exciting year for MacMartin and we are looking forward to the national finals next year. Wish us luck!”
Claire said: “Since the pandemic more businesses have realised that you don’t have to be based in the city centre anymore, but we have been committed to a rural location for nearly five years.
“It’s perfect for wellbeing, blue sky thinking, creativity, commuting and so much more. We were in a very tough category, against some very worthy nominees, so we were thrilled when our name was announced as the winner. It’s absolutely brilliant to be representing the Midlands, so we have everything crossed for next year.”
Now in their seventh year, the Rural Business Awards are run in partnership with Amazon and celebrate the success of businesses across the UK’s rural economy. The Rural Business Awards aim to celebrate the best rural businesses in the UK, recognising a range of businesses, including farmers, food producers, manufacturers, business services and destinations.
The brainchild of Leicestershire businesswomen Anna Price and Jemma Clifford, the pair wanted to showcase the wealth of entrepreneurial talent in the great British countryside.
Jemma Clifford said: “We are very proud to be hosting the seventh annual Rural Business Awards in partnership with Amazon, especially after the past 18 months. On behalf of the Rural Business Awards team, I would like to say congratulations to MacMartin for this very well-deserved win and wish them all the best ahead of the national final.”
The Rural Business Awards were set up in 2014. Along with their headline partner, Amazon, other organisations to lend their support have been Openreach, HSBC, DEFRA and Fisher German. There are also categories for start-ups, diversification projects, professional services, social enterprises, tourism, food and drink, and outdoor pursuits.
