Advedia announces launch of “Hull in a can”
4th July 2017
A marketing specialist who set up her own company to help businesses promote themselves online has launched a spin-off project as one of her own first clients.
Hannah Blackman founded Advedia to offer digital marketing and web development solutions. After sealing a deal with one client to develop an online community for the over-50s, and in the process detecting a general lack of communication between businesses and consumers, she launched Hull Direct.
She said: “It’s Hull in a can. We have created an online version of the city and the HU area. Looking around, I felt that Hull needed to connect its parts better. Residents don’t communicate with visitors, businesses don’t communicate with residents and residents don’t communicate with businesses. Hull Direct is designed to unite people and organisations, in new and exciting ways.”
Hannah and her team of six, including three apprentices, have moved into an office at The Deep Business Centre as a start-up with attitude.
She said: “We want to work with businesses and with consumers and that’s why we came to The Deep. People need to remember that businesses are also consumers. We hope they also remember that Hull Direct is more than a directory.
“We spent 10 months developing the idea, being as innovative as we can and looking at how we can improve the online experience of our users as much as possible. It’s about giving people a choice and helping them find out what people in their community think of their business.”
Freya Cross, Business and Corporate Manager at The Deep, said: “We have a strong track record in supporting start-up businesses and enabling them to concentrate on what they do best. With Advedia that’s demonstrating the dynamism and innovation which can transform the online profiles of their clients.”