Turn Key Blog. Things we've done and the things we love.

We just keep adding to the team here at TK. The latest addition is the very beautiful and very small (for now!) Archie Amos.

Congratulations to our lovely head of PR, Claire Davis, and her partner Ryan. The trio came in last week for the official first hugs session and the combined ‘oooooohhhhh’ from the girls in the office was probably audible three floors down in reception.

So welcome Archie –  show those parents of yours who’s boss!

A big congratulations must go to the companies we’ve worked with who have this month been listed in the Yorkshire Business Insider’s prestigious ‘Top 500 Companies’

Billed as the ‘definitive guide’ to the firms which have made fantastic strides in the region despite the continued tough economic conditions – Insider’s list of Yorkshire’s elite examines criteria ranging from turnover to number of employees.

At Turn Key we’re extremely proud of those clients which have featured in the league table.

We certainly wouldn’t want to steal the limelight though (as if we would!), but instead reveal the position those clients achieved in the Top 500 and provide a brief summary of the work that we’ve done that has hopefully played some part in their success:

Crossroads Truck and Bus – No. 131

Our automotive experience and integrated approach was pivotal in helping us promote both the company’s dealerships and individual vehicles. We achieved fantastic results by combining PR and online strategy with the creation of a new website and e-marketing platform, SEO and PPC management.

Ramsden International – No. 184

We’ve recently worked with Ramsden International on some eye-catching press adverts, two company newsletters and some exhibition branding. We can’t wait to get our teeth into some more exciting projects in the near future!

Humdinger – No. 276

We’ve worked for Humdinger for around three years, and helped it launch some of its biggest brand name product ranges. Highlights include major PR campaigns we’ve delivered for household names such as Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae and Branston .   

Strata Homes – No. 277

We’re currently developing a brand, look and feel to help Strata Homes market what makes the company different in the home building sector and showcase its unique proposition.

PPG Coatings (Johnstone’s) – No. 331

Turn Key has just been appointed to deliver marketing projects for Johnstone’s Paint . We’re promoting the new Stormshield range via a dedicated marketing campaign of advertising and POS material for the firm’s decorator centres nationwide.

Our Creative Director, Rich, had a surprising personal triumph last weekend at the Fueled Society Car Show at Nostell Priory in Wakefield:

I’ve always had an obsession for Porsche and have searched for over a year to find the right project car. When I found a rare Amethyst purple model in a sorry state, I had to buy it and make it my mission to renew it. I knew this one had potential so I vowed to spend time (and money!) restoring it to its former supercar glory so that one day it could be a car show winner.

Over the past 12 months I’ve spent days, weeks and months perfecting the derelict Porsche. Stripping, tuning and custom building it exactly to my taste. I’ve added a snippet of the mods to the bottom of the slide along with gold magnesium rare race wheels, gold seatbelts (even extended to fit in my little one’s car seat!) along with colour coordinated leather seating and carbon fibre components. There’s still some work to be done and although my dream of entering my refurbished motor into a car show wasn’t in sight yet, we went along to the Fueled Society show in Wakefield to scope out the standard and admire some other beautiful cars.

On arrival, I was asked to enter her into the Society’s ‘Show & Shine’ awards! I agreed, of course, flattered that they even rated my car worthy to be part of the competition. The team positioned my Porsche in prime position, surrounded by the other models, which was awesome. As the day went on, the judges assessed all cars and at 3pm announced that all winning models, now at the front of the arena, had a special sticker on the windscreen. As I approached my car, I was disappointed to find no sign of one, even if it had been a long shot. This was until I saw one of the judges walking over, sticker in hand which he applied with pride to the screen!

I received an awesome glass Fueled Society trophy, the first of many I hope! To have been entered in the first place was an honour, especially as I hadn’t polished the car to show standard. Good times!

The office was buzzing yesterday as everyone was talking about the UK’s biggest name coming to town, non-other than HRH the Queen.

It was obvious that we wouldn’t see the Queen from the window of TK Towers so we were all very excited when Nik gave us the green light to go along to join the crowds and catch a glimpse.

Armed with our Union Jack flags, we had a mad dash to try and find a good position before her arrival. Worried that we were going to miss her, given the flyers said to be there no later than 11am, we found a spot next to Greggs on a road just off Briggate where we waited, and then we waited some more. Twitter informed us the Queen was already running behind so we lost a few members of the team who had to get back to the office.

And then just after midday (more than an hour after our arrival) we heard some cheers coming from the bottom of Briggate. After singing the national anthem and the choir had sang a few songs the Queen got into her car. We then got our chance to cheer and take pictures as the Queen and Prince Phillip drove past us waving.

It was a long wait of not knowing what was going on and whether we would actually see the Queen on the street we were on, but it was totally worth it!!

Here at Turn Key our marketing campaigns incorporate design collateral of all shapes and forms. From digital creative such as website designs, e-newsletters and direct mailers to printed collateral like leaflets, brochures, point of sale, posters, menus and much more, you name it, we create it!

With our aim to ensure all our clients receive high quality designs printed to perfection, we work with a team of dedicated suppliers to turn our creative designs into professionally produced materials.

This week TK Executives, Olivia Thew and Olivia Nicholson headed to one of our Leeds-based printers, Pressision Printing . As new members of our marketing and digital teams, both Olivias took a tour of the studio to enhance their knowledge of the printing process. Here’s a sneak peak of their trip to Pressision and an insight into the journey our designs go through, from concept to completion:

As we are both new members to the Turn Key team, we felt it would be beneficial for us to brush up on the terminology and different technological processes involved in print and production.

After a few minor detours courtesy of Google Maps, we arrived at Pressision to be greeted by Ian Cavanagh, the company’s Sales Executive. Ian introduced us to the team and talked us through everything from digital accounts to the mechanics behind each printer. What originally seemed like a different language at the beginning of the day started to make sense by the end of our trip!

We were taught the basics of how to quote accurately, the four colour print process (CYMK), die cutting, how the plates of the litho press work, and shown examples of Turn Key work being produced. Ian talked us through many samples of different stock showing the different weights, examples of what each can be used for and products at different stages of print.

The afternoon was a great success and gave us a sneak peak of some of our work in progress. We’d like to say a massive thank you to Ian for taking the time to show us around and explaining the different elements of print!

Last week saw the unveiling of Chaophraya Glasgow – Europe’s largest Thai restaurant.

Following a 14-week renovation project and set over four floors on Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow’s shopping district, the stunning multimillion pound eatery offers fine dining, a luxurious Palm Sugar bar and much more.

Having worked hard to ensure all marketing collateral such as menus, leaflets and karma cards were ready in time for the launch, team TK packed their bags and hopped on a train to bonnie Scotland to join in the launch celebrations. The TK PR team have also been building a buzz online via and to ensure no stone was left unturned on making it a night to remember.

Glammed-up and excited to see the venue in all its glory, a red carpet led the way to the entrance, complete with Paparazzi-style photographers and videographers and an authentically dressed Thai lady meditating above the doorway. From here on in ‘wow’ was the buzzword of the night!

As we entered the restaurant we were each offered a choice of champagne, wine, beer or Mango Martini to enjoy as we marvelled at the spectacular interior.

Downstairs to the right was Chaophraya’s famous Palm Sugar bar lounge , which lived up to our expectations. The granite bar and bottomless list of cocktails, accompanied by cool and funky music called for another ‘wow’ moment.

On to the first floor, the Ballroom. This breath-taking room is the main dining area, complete with a state of the art open kitchen and mini booths to enjoy a meal any night of the week. And, no event would be complete without an abundance of canapés so, Chaophraya did what Chaophraya does best and put on a feast fit for a king. There was everything from Thai fish cakes and spicy beef salad, to more quirky Scottish-Thai fusion dishes including scallops and black pudding and for dessert, chilli chocolate brownies!

And, if dining with the masses doesn’t do it for you, the next floor takes you to a private balcony for two that overlooks the Ballroom – yes, you’ve guessed it, another ‘wow’ moment.

We then moved onto the top and final floor – the private dining area and whiskey bar. Each private area is unique and caters for different tastes. There is a sunken seating area, where a Buddhist monk was blessing guests, an authentic Thai room, complete with wooden furnishings including large backed chairs imported from Thailand and a luxury dining room with hand-painted plates and gold plated furniture.

Once we had completed the tour we enjoyed the vast array of entertainment, which included belly dancers, air acrobatics, a snake called Bob and not forgetting the Pretty Boys of Bangkok who took quite a shining to our designer, Paul.

The whole night was amazing and we really enjoyed seeing all of our hard work come together in what was an incredibly successful opening night.

You can view the full gallery of images on the and more information about Chaophraya Glasgow is available on its stunning new website , designed by Turn Key who else?

The TK team took to the streets of Leeds on Sunday to take part in the Jane Tomlinson Leeds 10k. The sun was shining, you couldn’t miss us in our charity’s lime green t-shirts and we were ready to run on behalf of Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal.

After having our picture taken with Leeds Children’s mascot, Mr Teddy, we were ready to go. We had runners of all levels giving it a go in the aid of charity. It was a big turnout not only with the amount of people running, but also the number of supporters who got up early to come and cheer us on. It was also great to see some of our lovely clients taking part; Michael Richmond, the Blacks’ team and Armstrong Watson to name a few.

As the race began many groups of runners stuck together to complete the race, however, in true TK style we instantly saw it as a friendly competition and wanted to win! While the winner of the entire 10K finished in an outstanding 30 minutes, our MD Nik came first place in the TK 10K league table at 54 minutes, shortly followed by Designer Paul at 57 and hot on his heels was Marketing’s Leanne at 59 minutes. With the rest of the team not far behind the top three.

The runners all received a medal and t-shirt to mark the occasion and then it was time for a nice big breakfast courtesy of Nik – we had, after all, worked up a good appetite!

A big well done to all our runners; Nik, Melissa, Vikki, Leanne, Derrick, Christian, Oliver, Carl, Paul and Tom who all did fantastic and were also a little sore on Monday morning!

This week at Turn Key we’re celebrating #CreativeWeekUK , a national awareness initiative sponsored by Adobe that celebrates all things creative.

We like to think of ourselves as creative experts here at TK Towers! Whether at home or at work, we express our creativity in multiple ways across hundreds of channels; from writing blogs to designing websites, taking photos to baking cakes. In honour of Adobe’s week-long campaign , some of the TK team from our creative, marketing, digital, PR and operations departments are giving you a little insight into their creative thought processes and how they interpret and express creativity!

Paul Hainsworth, Designer

Creativity for me is being imaginative and original and applying that into something visual or tangible. I feel there is no structure, form or process to creativity; it’s not something you do – anyone just can’t sit down and ‘be creative’ – it’s something you are born with and nurture over time, it’s about paying attention to every detail around you, from the moment you wake up to getting into bed at night.

I get inspired by pretty much everything; if I see a piece of advertising that I really like it pushes me to want to do something better or if I see work I feel is poor, I remember the mistakes other people have made and try not to make them in my own design. My ultimate creative hero is Steve Jobs; his vision has given the world some of the most beautiful and amazing never-seen-before products.

Samara Bott, PR Account Manager

I think creativity is anything which evokes some kind of emotion. I can look at a piece of design, a headline or just a passer-by wearing an interesting coat and think how creative he/she has been to grab my attention and subsequently evoke an emotion or response of some kind. Marmite is a brand I’ve always admired for pushing creative boundaries in marketing and PR, the recent Marmarati campaign was fantastic and inspired me to try more new things with social media moving forward.

Other peoples’ creativity inspires me to be creative. My best friend took an incredible photograph whilst travelling in Mongolia and it is still my favourite photograph ever taken! You can learn a lot from the people you associate yourself with; my colleagues inspire my creativity daily, along with a sugary tea to get myself in the zone!

Tess Eaton, Marketing Account Manager

Creativity for me is looking at the world in different ways and noticing interesting things, then passing these onto other people through things that you do. Creativity is about not accepting the ordinary or the usual, but digging around to find something special, more colourful or unusual and looking at life from a different view.

I get inspired by everything; the world around me, other people, things that I see in magazines such as Oh Comely! or sites such as Pinterest , nature, my friends, books, visiting new cities, great independent cafés, restaurants and art galleries.

James Wray, Digital Account Director

I think creativity is the ability to learn, soaking up knowledge from many different sources and across different aspects of life, and then applying this knowledge to the task at hand. It is creating freedom of thought and expression, within a disciplined environment that is your work. As a digital marketing specialist, I express creativity through developing digital marketing strategies, search engine optimisation, exploring web development techniques and delivering marketing campaigns that work. There are so many websites and designs that I feel are rich in creativity, recently I’ve admired http://www.newzealand.com and http://goodsie.com/ .

Music has to be the best form of creativity in my opinion, although I do love Malcolm Gladwell !

Nik Entwistle, Managing Director

I think, no matter what channel in which it is being expressed, creativity is something that makes you go wow! Turn Key is a hub of creativity and we all express it in countless ways. A good environment is key to this process, having the freedom to express your thoughts and opinions without preconceptions or limitations. The team inspires me everyday to be more creative!

Carl Holderness, Junior Designer

For me the studio environment is very important; whether at work or university. Interaction with fellow designers at TK is one of the main aspects of this environment that provides a boost to think conceptually and not stagnate. This social interaction is extended especially as a young designer through the internet, as vast and broad as it is, it is a constantly updated visual reference for what is going on in the world of design. Sites such as the Behance network and showcase a fresh and broad range of creative work by inspiring designers, providing a good talking point in studio.

The recent really caught my attention. It’s an incredible idea in terms of visual and online engagement and leverages Superga’s customer base of creative, technological and social people. As a creative and an avid user of Instagram, I couldn’t wait to get involved in the concept. Needless to say, there were hundreds of entries submitted internationally.

Our Junior Designer Carl went back to his roots when he visited Leeds College of Art’s ‘End of Year Show’…

Having been part of the show last year showcasing my own work, I knew how exciting and well-thought of this annual event is. Attracting a number of visitors, including professional designers, studios and potential employers seeking new talent, the event really lived up to my expectations.

The exhibition took place in the Blenheim Walk Building and each student had a dedicated space to display their portfolios from the past two years, all accompanied by some beautifully printed business cards.

With a passion for all things creative, I’m always keen to find new inspiration and love discovering the next generation of designers. In particular, the Graphic Design course provided some really inspiring fresh designs from brand identity to illustration. The work presented was of such a high-quality that some of it could’ve easily been mistaken as a professional’s.

Rosalind Stoughton really stood out. I loved the typeface she created called ‘Fonecian’ and the rest of her work showed a strong approach to print and finishes.

Richard Robinson was another striking creative. His 3D type work and illustrations particularly impressed me, especially the awesome ‘Marvel’ designs which were not only attention-grabbing but demonstrated strong technical skills.

Naomi Farrar ’s branding work across a range of print was also exceptionally well delivered and photographed.

I managed to get some lovely photographs of the students’ work including one student who gives Turn Key a run for its money with a new menu and takeaway box design for our client, Chaophraya!