Graduates set up digital marketing consultancy during pandemic

Matt and Chris Bell-Watson have joined forces to launch Priestley, an insight-led digital marketing consultancy

Set up in May 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Priestley helps businesses to drive growth with a more strategic approach to digital marketing and communications that’s grounded in data and insights.

"It’s early days, but so far, so good. We’ve got our first few projects under our belt and we’re starting to see more leads come in through recommendation, which is a very positive sign. We’ve also partnered with Clarity PR to offer research and insight services to their clients and partners globally," said Matt.

“I saw an opportunity to help businesses take a more strategic approach to digital marketing and communications. By making clever use of data and insights to understand, engage and convert buyers, we believe we can help businesses to communicate smarter and grow faster. Using our experience in agency and in-house, we’ve created several insight-led services for brands focused on research, strategy and content.”

Matt Bell-Watson, Founder of Priestley

“We also had personal reasons for starting the business. Almost 18 months ago we started a family through adoption. Working together means we can spend more time with our son and less time commuting into London. We hadn’t anticipated a global pandemic when we decided to quit our jobs, but if anything, it’s confirmed our belief that brands are looking to data to give them greater certainty.”

Chris Bell-Watson, Senior Consultant at Priestley

Matt has more than 12 years of experience in PR and digital marketing. Before founding Priestley, he was Head of Insights and Analytics at global communications agency Hotwire. During his eight-year tenure, he was named as one of the UK’s top young PR professionals by PR Week and won a bronze award while representing the UK in the global Young Cannes Lions PR competition. Matt has also previously worked at tech PR agency Speed Communications and with high profile brands such as Facebook, Virgin Media, Google and Visa.

Chris has more than 10 years of experience working in-house and at agencies including Brands2Life, Four Engage and Immediate Future. Before joining Priestley, he worked at Cisco as the Social Analytics Lead for the EMEAR region. He has worked with brands including LinkedIn, Vodafone and Soho House.

Matt and Chris attended the University of Huddersfield from 2005 to 2008, Matt studied Public Relations with Media, while Chris studied Media and TV Production. They met through friends during freshers’ week and married in 2017. They live in Essex with their son.