Top accolade makes future bright for Orange Bus

Feb 4 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal

"CLEVER web stuff" and a year of phenomenal growth helped Orange Bus become the North East Digital Agency of the Year in a top industry magazine's New Year's honours list.

The Newcastle firm impressed judges of The Drum magazine after doubling in size in 2009 and took away the top accolade which recognises the best agencies across the regions as voted by industry peers.

The magazine said: “The agency, which promises to deliver ‘clever web stuff’, did not disappoint in 2009, producing consistently excellent work for a wide range of clients.

“It created a website for French movie channel Cinemoi in just six weeks; invited racing fans to see live behind-the-scenes action from a British Touring Car race; and devised a digital strategy for Newcastle Science City after a rigorous tender process.”

The company, which was named after founder Julian Leighton’s orange VW camper van, has gradually expanded its workforce from Julian and co-founder Mike Parker, to 14 staff in just three years.

Consistently beating off competition to win new projects across the UK, the digital firm has collected a mix of clients including such as eaga plc, Ringtons, Newcastle Science City, and London-based KOKO and Voxclever.

Director and co-founder of Orange Bus Julian Leighton said: “At Orange Bus, we specialise in blending user experience design with the visual elements required to create great looking websites. Our team are highly skilled to continuously integrate with existing platforms and systems to stay on the top of the game, so it is great that we have been acknowledged for it.”

The team also won Best Use of Online Film and Video at the 2008 North East Digital Awards.