Barefruit is born
Barefruit Marketing was started from the kitchen table of Claire and Evan Harding. The duo had packed up their lives in London, left established careers at top advertising firms Ogilvy and Leo Burnett and moved to sunnier shores. Looking for a place to call home, they picked up a small car and headed north – a journey which led them to fall in love with the Ballina Shire. Whilst initially planning to try different career paths, their passion for sharing stories and creating content saw these Lennox locals joining forces to create their own unique business. Coming into contact with many owner / operator business owners, Claire and Evan quickly realised there was a need for a full service agency to help take these companies beyond their current reach. Claire explains, ‘We found ourselves surrounded by amazing brands, built by incredibly talented people. These people are so good at what they do but don’t have the time or energy to put into the marketing of their business to spread the word and grow their brand. We wanted to help them flourish and prosper.’ So in 2012, from the kitchen table of Claire and Evan’s home, Barefruit Marketing was born. ‘We appreciate people are busy,’ says Evan. ‘So we tell it how it is, no jargon, no waffle and no round-about explanations. From this, came the ‘Bare’ part of the Barefruit name.’ ‘As marketers, our ultimate goal is to grow business for our clients. We work hard to see them increase sales and be successful and self-sufficient. As such, we are helping businesses bear the fruits of success and this is how the word ‘fruit’ came into the mix.’ With that, Claire and Evan named the agency Barefruit Marketing. What’s more, the word play in ‘helping businesses to bare fruit’ was too perfect to ignore.
Business Growth
As the pair’s client list grew, so did their team. Today they employ approximately 14 locally-based individuals, who are able to attend to a client’s full marketing journey – from account handlers to web designers and everything in between. This is what makes them full service. ‘We are able to offer clients a local agency which is full of talent from the city,’ says Evan. ‘And as a team we find it so rewarding to see the results of our work roll out and our clients do well.’ ‘Each day we get to work with clients that excite and inspire us,’ adds Claire. ‘We are also fortunate to work on campaigns that align with our values – to be curious, real, brave and fun.’ It is this ethos that has since seen Barefruit Marketing receive many industry awards, the most recent of which was at the 2021 Ballina Shire Business Awards. Here, they won the Business Excellence in Business and Professional Services award and were Highly Commended in the category Excellence in Small Business. From councils to cattle stations, schools to solicitors keep an eye out for the work of the local Barefruit team as you move throughout your day.
Business philosophy
According to Barefruit, ‘Brands today know the importance of powerful and effective advertising campaigns. If they want to make an impact in an already saturated marketplace what they choose to advertise, how they choose to do it and why are all important considerations. Yet having a skilled and engaged team to help design and execute an impactful marketing campaign is key.’
A huge thank you to our clients, our suppliers, our community and especially our team for all the support over the last 10 years. We really ap-peach-iate it!
Here’s to another 10 years ?
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