SCOTTISH SME PROVES THAT SIZE DOESN’T MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT

A marketing communications company which is helping a school once dubbed "Scotland’s worst" get back on track won a top Scottish Business in the Community (SBC) award last night (Thursday 5th June).

Leith based Design Links, which employs 10 staff, collected the Small Company of the Year award at SBC’s annual Awards for Excellence ceremony. The Awards for Excellence reward companies for the positive impact their responsible business activities have in the marketplace, the workplace, the environment or in the community. They are the most rigorous awards in corporate social responsibility (CSR). 

Samantha Barber, CEO of Scottish Business in the Community said: “SBC is delighted to announce Design Links as their new Small Company of the Year. Design Links have had a remarkable impact in their local community of North Edinburgh, turning the fortunes of a local High School around in the space of only a few years. They have shown outstanding achievement in their positive impact on society and this is why they have been chosen as our Small Company of the Year. We very much look forward to working with Design Links over the coming year to set an example for other SME’s in Scotland to follow.”

Design Links formed a partnership with Craigroyston Community High School three years ago offering free strategic and creative marketing skills to the then new Head Teacher Margaret Russell, her staff and pupils to help them reverse the school’s fortunes. Since then it has been involved in a number of activities at the school including helping prepare video pod casts, showcasing school activities and achievements and forging a partnership between Craigroyston and top performing independent school St George’s school for Girls. It has helped pupils grow in confidence and consequently have a higher propensity to learn. The school’s ability to attract other business support and sponsorship has also improved significantly.

Design Links have made a measurable and enduring impact on school performance. Head Teacher Margaret Russell said:  “Parents’ evening attendances have jumped from 33% to almost 60% and we have a great parents’ council.  Our children wear uniform, have a spring in their step and are willing to step up to the mark in ways they would never have dreamed of before.  People in and out of school have seen and heard the talents of our children. We have a long way to go but Design Links have shown, by their investment of time and skill, what a positive effect professional marketing can have on a school’s fortunes.”

Design Links, which is headed by founder Mike Stevenson, has provided its services free but says that its involvement with the school has had benefits for the business in attracting new recruits, developing new skills and contacts in event management and attracting positive media coverage. In addition it has won a number of contracts because of its community involvement.

Asked what the win means for him and his staff, Mike said: “This is the best boost imaginable for the team at Design Links which has given so much in ideas, time and effort to activities way beyond the normal call of duty. It also recognises our community partners, who have been bold enough to step into unfamiliar territory and run with some big ideas during the past year. This should serve as a clarion call to all business leaders in Scotland, who like me, want our young people to walk that bit taller in this brave new world. As businesses, we can do a great deal to enhance their learning experience, reward their creativity and instil in them greater levels of self-confidence. When we do so, our young people can go on and do for Scotland what Design Links does so consistently for its clients and community partners – punch above its weight.”

 A full list of 2008 Award winners is available here.