A recent team photo shoot saw the Youbee Team wandering around the streets of Leeds looking for interesting and creative locations to take some new images for our website, social media and PR. While out and about with John Steel Commercial, we came across a fantastic building near the waterfront, just off Call Lane.
Determined not to let the opportunity for a great photo pass, I didn’t hesitate to climb onto a BT cabinet (with a bit of help from Olivia while Emma and Dena giggled from the sidelines) and got ready for what I hoped would be a great photo. What I didn’t realise at the time – was that this photo helps to tell a really important story about the creation of the name ‘Youbee Media’.
Our wonderful Head of Creative, Dena took John’s photo and turned this into a unique and symbolic image which allows me to share that story with you.
Becoming Youbee Media
If you’ve listened to Michelle Cowan chatting to me on the Yorkshire Businesswoman podcast, you may have heard this story already (and if so, I hope you don’t mind hearing it again!). If you missed it, you could still listen online here.
For those of you that don’t know, let me take you through the development of our company name.
My name is Rebecca or Becky – but I also have several other names. For example, my dad calls me Bel or B (for short), and my mum has always called me Bumble – as she says I’m always buzzing around doing something! When I was at a crossroads considering whether I should start a business and what it would look like, I always knew that I needed to start with a name. The name would spark the idea for me and I was sure I had to get this right. I knew that whatever it would be, it needed to have ‘bee’ in there somewhere. This would symbolise me – but without using my name. At this stage - I'll remind you that I hadn't actually thought as far along as having a team! Crikey.
The way I like to work is in true collaboration and by building strong relationships. Whether it’s with people internally, with our external consultants and freelancers, or with our clients. So at these early planning stages, that was something which was really important to me. It was all about you & me - us.
Youbee Media don’t just work with one form of marketing and I was confident that I wanted to find solutions for businesses during the pandemic. I would offer all medias to clients in order to get the best results. So, I wanted to try and convey that in our company name too.
When publishing content on a client’s social media, website or in a press release – we encapsulate their voice. That's something that great marketing agencies do really well. Our clients trust us to become them and share their company voice. It’s about ‘you being me’ (and not necessarily letting anyone know that you’re not always you).
Then, the penny dropped!
It’s about you and me
When I started the business, it was just me – Bee
I would offer all media
And I can ‘be’ you!
Youbee Media came together as a consultancy like a lightbulb moment and displayed itself clear as day in my mind. I could suddenly visualise the honey yellow of sweet results, a bee – buzzing around doing lots of tasks and a honeycomb to show a tight knit unit that comes together to build something amazing and strong. This business idea was no longer something that I could ignore – I HAD TO start a marketing agency. It had to be collaborative, creative and full of ideas. This idea was now so fixed in my mind, it would form the foundations of a dream I’ve had for years.
And just look at us now… walking around Leeds as a team of four and coming across a wall which screams – Me & You, You & Me – it had to be Youbee!
For social media management advice, work with Youbee Media or join one of Becky’s marketing workshops for expert consultancy support.
