George
1284 was founded with a laptop and a phone. Four years later, we were employing five people, moving into bigger office space, and shortlisted for UK Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year.
1284's speciality is using B2B and G2B strategic communications to promote East Midlands small business innovation. We are also interested in regional economic development. We provide purposeful corporate communications, public and media relations, and effective copywriting.
The company grew out of a Loughborough incubator and remains rooted in the town. We sponsor our village football club and our borough council's annual Community Heroes Awards. We have a wide and supportive professional network in the town, and its location is central (literally and metaphorically) to 1284's work across Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
1284 is a values-led business. I'd long read Julian Richer's Sunday Times column about ethical capitalism. As such, it was a big moment for us when 1284 was accredited under his national Good Business Charter. We pay our people in excess of the real living wage, provide them with high quality training opportunities, and pay our suppliers promptly.
People often think that our company name contains some sort of coded reference. It does - but they are unlikely to guess it. It's not about something obscure that happened in the Year 1284. It's not a nod to George Orwell because we used to be journalists.
Rather, it's because my father died shortly before the Pandemic. Five months later, and looking for ideas for a company name, I was reflecting on his values. Sgt Bruce Oliver was a police sergeant on Teesside for more than 30 years. His collar number was 1284.
The growth of 1284 has presented a range of opportunities to do things we care about. We have some wonderful clients and I am now proud to be a Board Member at East Midlands Chamber and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Leicester. I'm even more proud to have been entrusted with the Chair of Charity Link, the Leicester- based charity which each year supports thousands of local families through hardship.
Fours after launch, 1284 has grown but our purpose remains the same. We're curious about the world around us, and authentic in how we treat ourselves, our clients, and our partners. Fundamentally, we provide trusted professional consultancy which is agile, diligent, and responsive.