ZEMPLIN was founded in May 2023 by Pete Gaffney in the aftermath of The King's Coronation. Pete had just concluded working as Campaigns Manager on the Coronation's official volunteering campaign, The Big Help Out, where he worked with hundreds of charities and businesses to help mobilise more than 7million people to celebrate the Coronation.

His experience working with so many organisations drove home something he'd observed in a 15 year career in Marketing & Communications: that there was a serious lack of dedicated agency and consulting support for small businesses, charities and non-governmental organisations.

Tired of seeing both charities and small businesses paying enterprise prices often just to be their agency's lowest priority customers, Pete decided to be the change he wanted to see in the world - and so ZEMPLIN was born as a boutique marketing and communications agency.

Today, we're confident in saying that we're the only agency in the world that can bring the specific blend of the unique experience and impressive expertise that our team has to charities and small businesses at a genuinely competitive price point. We help good people to do great things without breaking the bank.

FAIRNESS. It's at the centre of everything we do. Our whole reason for existing is to make the Marketing & PR world a little bit fairer, and we like to work with businesses and charities that are seeking to make the world a better place.

DIGNITY. We believe in treating everyone with respect, decency and a basic level of compassion. Pete sometimes jokes that we're all about "using the powers of evil for good". We believe in ethical, people-centred marketing that truly resonates with audiences.

CREATIVITY. Frankly, we've had enough of boring marketing. We believe in building strategies and campaigns that tell the authentic story about who your organisation is and what you do, and finding compelling ways to tell that story to make you stand out.

AUTHENTICITY. Formal has never been our thing. We build genuine connections with our clients and help them to do the same with their customers or users. We work in flexible and dynamic ways that let our people shine and deliver their best.

Putting our money where our mouth is.

It's important to us that we live out our values. That's why we're proud to be a corporate partner and sponsor of CharityComms, the membership organisation for marketing & communications staff in UK non-profits.

WHY "ZEMPLIN"?

Most of Pete's family were murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War. Zemplin was the name of the region in Slovakia they considered home. He chose the name in honour of his family and as a reminder that ZEMPLIN's mission would always be about trying to make the world a better place.

PETE GAFFNEY

PETE GAFFNEY is a national award-winning expert in strategic communications, public relations, building behaviour change campaigns and developing effective message-based marketing, with more than 15 years of experience in the industry.

He's worked with major names and organisations like M&C Saatchi, the Labour Party, the Football Association, Sport England, Doit, Warm Welcome, the NHS and countless more.

He currently spends the bulk of his time working with global health organisations on campaigns and programmes that seek to transform health outcomes in low-income countries across Africa and Asia.

At ZEMPLIN, he leads on our strategic consulting and public relations work, and manages our small team to five to ensure we always deliver the best quality service to our clients at an affordable price.

JAYNE MCGILL-HARRIS

Jayne is the former Development Director for Marketing, Communications, Strategy and Business Development at ACT Training. She brings a unique blend of strategic communications expertise and practical business experience to ZEMPLIN.

Over the years, she has honed her skills in content creation, brand messaging, and project management, with a focus on amplifying the voices of clients and creating lasting impact.

In addition to her professional work, Jayne spent recent years managing a successful holiday let business in the Welsh countryside, where she developed a keen understanding of entrepreneurship and the importance of clear, engaging communication.

SAM WATKINS

Sam is a forward-thinking marketer with a blend of entrepreneurial flair, creative strategy, and visual prowess, fuelled by a passion for storytelling and strategic insight.

He has a deep passion for the creative use of visuals and words that drives him to consistently think outside the box, resulting in imaginative and engaging work that resonates with target audiences.

Before joining the ZEMPLIN family, he worked as a design and brand consultant across a variety of diverse sectors including social care, music and men's fashion. In the 2024 General Election, he dipped his toes into political campaigning for the first time as Campaign Manager for The IndependenT Platform, a coalition of parliamentary non-partisan candidates.

OLIVIA WILLIAMS

Olivia is an experienced campaign manager with a history of leading and supporting successful campaigns in and out of the charity sector. She has worked on campaigns from The Big Help Out, and Thank You Day 2023, and contracted with major names like with Vice Media.

Olivia holds a BSc with Honours in Marketing and Business and I'm currently studying an MSc in Psychology in the hopes to specialise in philanthropic and consumer psychology. She has the passion, experience, and knowledge to support any client in building effective marketing, and communication campaigns.

TOM BERRINGTON

Tom is a specialist in end-to-end digital marketing for small to medium businesses. Since 2021, he's worked with dozens of small businesses to enhance and strengthen their digital presence through designing impactful websites, managing winning Google Ads campaigns and supporting them to make data-driven decisions about investment.

He's worked with SME leaders and marketing teams in the fitness, beauty, construction, finance, SaaS, healthcare and leisure industries, as well as higher education institutions and global development charities.

He's also an accomplished content writer and social media management expert, ready to help you take your organic or paid lead generation efforts - whether they're for customers or donors - to the next level.

JOANNA TSAKOU

Joanna is an experienced hospitality professional interning with the ZEMPLIN team as she takes her first steps into the world of digital marketing. With a natural talent for social media, content creation and visual identity, she's quickly becoming a valuable asset and proving that she has a natural talent for all things digital and brand related.

Let's chat.

Fill in the form (or use the contact details below) to enquire about how we can help, or use the button below to setup a free discovery call.

Whatever your needs, we're happy to go back and forth with you for as long as it takes to figure out if we're the right partner for your marketing and comms needs.

CONTACT@ZEMPLIN.CO.UK

0330 043 5501

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