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Manchester Marketing Firm Knows How to Handle The Big Issue - 20th February 2009

Posted by Gareth Cutter

Big Issue in the North awarded year long free marketing campaign

• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Manchester e-commerce firm Doctor Net has awarded its first pro-bono account of 2009 to the Big Issue in the North. Worth approximately £6,000 over a period of 12 months, the city centre digital specialists will help the Big Issue launch its new Big Deal initiative and provide promotional support to the England Team in the Homeless Football World Cup.

Thirty Five North West charities applied for help from Doctor Net following an appeal in the Manchester Evening News in January. The Big Issue in the North was selected by staff members at Doctor Net.

Doctor Net's Managing Director, Chris Maule is excited about the prospect of working with the Big Issue. He said:- “It was very difficult to decide which charity should benefit from our support, we wish we could help all of the charities who applied. However, we picked the Big Issue in the North because we felt that they could get the most from working with us. It is a very worthy cause and this partnership will help us lead the way in promoting corporate responsibility amongst SME’s in the North West”.

Richard Brown, Advertising and Business Development Director for The Big Issue in the North said: "We're very pleased that Doctor Net has awarded The Big Issue in the North this pro-bono account and look forward to working with them in the coming months. We're currently developing our Big Deal initiative, which is a subscription package for organisations wanting to ensure they get The Big Issue in the North magazine on a regular basis, and we're also once again putting together England's Homeless World Cup team, who will be travelling to Italy in September to take part in an international street soccer tournament playing against around 40 other teams of homeless people. I'm confident Doctor Net will prove invaluable in promoting these projects and raising the profile of The Big Issue in the North."

• ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Doctor Net is a Manchester based full-service e-commerce company offering a variety of online services, including e-commerce, email marketing, website development, customer relationship management (CRM) and search engine management.

The Big Issue in the North is a business solution to a social problem. It’s a limited company employing staff to write, design and distribute the magazine.

The Big Issue in the North is sold by homeless people across the north of England. Alongside selling the magazine most of our vendors take part in The Big Life Plan, a tailored programme of support to help vendors achieve their goals and move away from the streets for good.

Selling The Big Issue in the North gives homeless people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income. It also gives homeless people motivation and self-esteem.

• 85%of vendors say that selling gives them the motivation to change their lives
• 79% say it has improved their self-confidence
• 95% say they want more from life than selling The Big Issue in the North
• 82% say that since selling the magazine they have committed less crime

A Healthy Glow for SprintEcommerce Following Xen-Tan Client Win - 3rd February 2009

Posted by Gareth Cutter

Manchester-based company celebrates 24 month UK contract with international tanning brand

• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Full-service e-commerce firm Doctor Net has landed a 24 month contract with the UK & Europe-wide distributors of Xen-Tan's international self-tanning brand. The 2 year long partnership will see Doctor Net providing Skin Solutions Limited with a full-service e-commerce solution, SprintEcommerce to ensure sales growth over the coming years.

Xen-Tan comes with a range of celebrity endorsements from the likes of Ali Bastian, Danielle Lloydd and Gok Wan, and has won the Women's Own 'Beauty Hero' award. It is already one of the USA's most popular self-tanning products and is now taking the UK by storm. It differs from other self-tanning products by being streak-free, naturally coloured and attractively scented.

To enhance their capacity following the new client win, Doctor Net has recruited two new software developers, James Tunstall (31) and James Jaber (38). The new arrivals will further support Doctor Net's ongoing expansion plans to increase turnover to £4m per annum by 2012.

Chris Maule, Managing Director of Doctor Net, is optimistic about the firm’s progress. He said: “Our new 24 month contract with Xen-Tan & Skin Solutions Limited is just one of several large client wins we've had over the past few months - which just goes to show how hungry businesses are for cost-effective, accountable forms of marketing in the current economic climate.”

He continued: “We're on target with our expansion plans and have taken on two new developers to keep pace with the growing demand for web based marketing. We think encouraging growth is important and with a forward-thinking attitude, businesses can help counter the effects of the recession. We aren't going to let anything dissuade us from achieving the best for our clients.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Xen-Tan is the first self-tanning spray to be streak-free and naturally coloured, making it the most popular, natural-looking and celebrity endorsed self-tan product on the market. For more information, please visit the Xen-Tan website.

Skin Solutions Limited is the exclusive UK & Europe-wide distributor for Xen-Tan. Set up by Salford Unversity graduate, Natalie Roche, Skin Solutions Limited employs three full-time members of staff and is expected to break the £1m turnover barrier in its third year of trading.