Chris Wright
Founder
A time before Fifty Five and Five…
I worked for my first Microsoft Partner in 2004 as a tech consultant (EDS, now DXC), right out of university 🎓. I spent the next four years working for Microsoft Partners large and small 🤝. But my true passion has always been writing ✏️ , so I pivoted my career to copywriting for these same companies. This became my first business, The Scribble Agency 📝 . I grew this business to a team of six writers, and it was around this time I attended my first Microsoft Inspire conference, held in Houston, TX.
I worked for my first Microsoft Partner in 2004 as a tech consultant (EDS, now DXC), right out of university 🎓. I spent the next four years working for Microsoft Partners large and small 🤝. But my true passion has always been writing ✏️ , so I pivoted my career to copywriting for these same companies. This became my first business, The Scribble Agency 📝 . I grew this business to a team of six writers, and it was around this time I attended my first Microsoft Inspire conference, held in Houston, TX.
I worked for my first Microsoft Partner in 2004 as a tech consultant (EDS, now DXC), right out of university 🎓. I spent the next four years working for Microsoft Partners large and small 🤝. But my true passion has always been writing ✏️ , so I pivoted my career to copywriting for these same companies. This became my first business, The Scribble Agency 📝 . I grew this business to a team of six writers, and it was around this time I attended my first Microsoft Inspire conference, held in Houston, TX.
A time before Fifty Five and Five…
I worked for my first Microsoft Partner in 2004 as a tech consultant (EDS, now DXC), right out of university 🎓. I spent the next four years working for Microsoft Partners large and small 🤝. But my true passion has always been writing ✏️ , so I pivoted my career to copywriting for these same companies. This became my first business, The Scribble Agency 📝 . I grew this business to a team of six writers, and it was around this time I attended my first Microsoft Inspire conference, held in Houston, TX.
2014
I founded Fifty Five and Five in the August of 2014 💫 . At this point it was me and a team of freelancers I brought from The Scribble Agency 🖌. But I quickly started to add several full-time staff. Fifty Five and Five was focused on the Microsoft UK channel, but we broadened our scope to cover the whole of the partner ecosystem, and provided in-depth, quality content marketing - copywriting, SEO and social media services📱.
01
Our first client was modern workplace specialist Content and Code - we worked with them for the next five years as they grew in size, got bought by IT Lab and rebranded to Content and Cloud, and later Advania. We created short and long form content, were responsible for their SEO, and ran their social channels. Later we built websites, and ran paid media campaigns for them too.
Our second client was Nintex, our first ISV. Now a huge player in the automation and workflow space, we are still working with them today and have helped them grow into a multi-billion dollar giant. Content has always been our focus with Nintex. They perfectly matched our concentration on content marketing, and we have written thousands of pieces for them in the last 10 years.
02
“I’ve known Chris for a long time, and when I heard he setup Fifty Five and Five I wanted to work with him. The team 100% knew how to grow our managed service business, and built a winning content marketing strategy.”
Tim Wallis
Founder (now exited) of Content and Code
Take your company to new heights with our content marketing expertise.
2014
I founded Fifty Five and Five in the August of 2014 💫 . At this point it was me and a team of freelancers I brought from The Scribble Agency 🖌. But I quickly started to add several full-time staff. Fifty Five and Five was focused on the Microsoft UK channel 🇬🇧 , but we broadened our scope to cover the whole of the partner ecosystem, and provided in-depth, quality content marketing - copywriting, SEO and social media services📱.
01
Our first client was modern workplace specialist Content and Code, and we worked with them for the next five years as they grew in size, got bought by IT Lab and rebranded to Content and Cloud, and later Advania. We created short and long form content, were responsible for their SEO, and ran their social channels, and later we built websites, and ran paid media campaigns for them too.
Our second client was Nintex, our first ISV. Now a huge player in the automation and workflow space, we are still working with them today and have helped them grow into a multi-billion dollar giant. Content has always been our focus with Nintex. They perfectly matched our concentration on content marketing, and we have written thousands of pieces for them in the last 10 years.
02
“I’ve known Chris for a long time, and when I heard he setup Fifty Five and Five I wanted to work with him. Even back then it was clear Fifty Five and Five understood the Microsoft channel. At the time we wanted to grow our managed services business. The team 100% knew how to do that, and built a winning content marketing strategy for us.”
Tim Wallis
Founder (now exited) of Content and Code
Take your company to new heights with our content marketing expertise.
2015
This was a real growth year for Fifty Five and Five 📈. We found our feet in the channel 🏃🏻♀️, and our own SEO efforts saw us attract a wide range of new Microsoft Partners organically.
2015
This was a real growth year for Fifty Five and Five 📈. We found our feet in the channel 🏃🏻♀️, and our own SEO efforts saw us attract a wide range of new Microsoft Partners organically.
We’ve worked with hundreds of Microsoft partners in the UK and further afield. Looking back, names include… ACTS, Altriva, Arkadin, Automated Intelligence, Auxilion, AvePoint, Axon-IT, Bauen, Beezy, BinaryStream, Bindtuning, Blue Prism, bluesource, Bridewell Consulting, BPA, Brightstar, Centrality, Chorus, ClearPeople, Cloud2, CloudScale, Cobweb, Coeo, COINS, Collaboris, Content and Code, CPS… I’m stopping at C!
03
In September we made our first official contact with Microsoft UK. They had heard our name from partners across the UK and reached out. We headed out to Building 2 at Thames Valley Park in Reading for the first of what was to be many visits.
We took with us a bold marketing idea to promote our agency - rank all the UK partners based on our expert assessment of their marketing! Microsoft UK was nervous, but liked our disruptive angle. They quietly encouraged us.
We launched ‘The Microsoft Top 50’ at Microsoft Future Decoded to 10,000 people in London’s ExCeL exhibition centre in November.
05
Most of our work focused on what is now the modern workplace. We wrote about SharePoint, document management, and the power of a good Intranet. We highlighted the benefits of cloud software, cloud working, a little unified comms and the digital workplace. It was mainly Office 365. Not yet Teams. But a lot of Yammer and later Delve and the Microsoft Graph.
04
We’ve worked with hundreds of Microsoft partners in the UK and further afield. Looking back, names include… ACTS, Altriva, Arkadin, Automated Intelligence, Auxilion, AvePoint, Axon-IT, Bauen, Beezy, BinaryStream, Bindtuning, Blue Prism, bluesource, Bridewell Consulting, BPA, Brightstar, Centrality, Chorus, ClearPeople, Cloud2, CloudScale, Cobweb, Coeo, COINS, Collaboris, Content and Code, CPS… I’m stopping at C!
03
It wasn't until September that we made our first official contact with Microsoft UK. They had heard our name from partners across the UK and reached out. We headed out to Building 2 at Thames Valley Park in Reading for the first of what was to be many visits.
We took with us an idea for an internal marketing campaign. We wanted to rank all the UK partners based on our assessment of their marketing. Microsoft UK was nervous, but liked our disruptive angle. They quietly encouraged us.
November 10th we launched ‘The Microsoft Top 50’ at Microsoft Future Decoded to 10,000 people in London’s ExCeL exhibition centre.
05
Most of our work focused on what is now the modern workplace. We wrote about SharePoint, document management, and the power of a good Intranet. We highlighted the benefits of cloud software, cloud working, a little unified comms and the digital workplace. It was mainly Office 365. Not yet Teams. But a lot of Yammer and later Delve and the Microsoft Graph.
04
“Fifty Five and Five really took the initiative, both with their Top 50 report and going to Future Decoded. We had never had a marketing agency at this type of Microsoft event before. They were a breath of fresh air in the partner marketing space.”
“Fifty Five and Five really took the initiative, both with their Top 50 report and going to Future Decoded. We had never had a marketing agency at this type of Microsoft event before. They were a breath of fresh air in the partner marketing space.”
Mark Johnston
(Then) Director of Partner Programmes at Microsoft UK
2016
Heading into 2016 our Top 50 report continued to bring in new clients 🔥, demonstrating to them we had a real understanding 💎 of the Microsoft marketing landscape.
2016
Heading into 2016 our Top 50 report continued to bring in new clients 🔥, demonstrating to them we had a real understanding 💎 of the Microsoft marketing landscape.
We made the report bigger, better, and global, and took it to our first Microsoft Inspire event in Toronto. We launched to 16,000 people from a booth on the expo floor.
We made the report bigger, better, and global, and took it to our first Microsoft Inspire event in Toronto. We launched to 16,000 people from a booth on the expo floor.
06
We made our first connections with Microsoft’s corporate partner team at Inspire, working with Microsoft Canada, Microsoft APAC, and partners like ProServe IT. We also helped design the official Partner Concierge marketing materials.
We made our first connections with Microsoft’s corporate partner team at Inspire, working with Microsoft Canada, Microsoft APAC, and partners like ProServe IT. We also helped design the official Partner Concierge marketing materials.
07
We attended Inspire again in 2017 (during the launch of Microsoft 365), 2018 (when Inspire was held with Microsoft Ready), and 2019 (when Microsoft began discussing changes to the partner program), continuing every year since as the event moved online.
We attended Inspire again in 2017 (during the launch of Microsoft 365), 2018 (when Inspire was held with Microsoft Ready), and 2019 (when Microsoft began discussing changes to the partner program), continuing every year since as the event moved online.
08
“I first met Chris at Inspire in Toronto in 2016, and he has been a trusted colleague ever since. At the time I introduced Chris and Fifty Five and Five to a number of US partners I thought they could help. The feedback was always awesome.”
“I first met Chris at Inspire in Toronto in 2016, and he has been a trusted colleague ever since. At the time I introduced Chris and Fifty Five and Five to a number of US partners I thought they could help. The feedback was always awesome.”
Jennifer Tomlinson
(Then) Global Channel Marketing Leader at Microsoft Corp
2017
We received our first invite 💌 to Microsoft’s corporate headquarters and campus in Redmond, WA. Not only did we get to establish more connections, but we also got a spot on their Microsoft Partner Network Podcast.
We built the Microsoft Partner Benchmarking Tool, piloted with UK, US and Canadian Microsoft teams. Our bespoke web platform allowed Microsoft to scan, analyse and score Partner marketing efforts at scale.
The Microsoft Partner Benchmarking tool analysed data from thousands of companies and tens of thousands of channels by running over 40 tests across all types of content e.g. spelling and grammar, complexity of language and tone, technical errors and bugs in page code.
09
Ultimately our tool was able to answer the following question for Microsoft:
10
'Did giving marketing funds to this company result in better outcomes for us?'
Our success with the benchmarking tool led us to MSFT partner, Worksighted. Since then, we have remained a reliable and creative partner for Worksighted, helping them to rebrand and design a new website that aligned with their long-term aspirations and core values.
11
Microsoft partners like Catapult Systems (now Quisitive) also became long-standing clients thanks to the success of our benchmarking tool.
12
“Fifty Five and Five have developed a marketing platform that totally changes the game when it comes to understanding our financial investment in partners.”
Jennifer Tomlinson
(Then) Global Channel Marketing Leader at Microsoft
2017
We received our first invite 💌 to Microsoft’s corporate headquarters and campus in Redmond, WA. Not only did we get to establish more connections, but we also got a spot on their Microsoft Partner Network Podcast.
We built the Microsoft Partner Benchmarking Tool, piloted with UK, US and Canadian Microsoft teams. Our bespoke web platform allowed Microsoft to scan, analyse and score Partner marketing efforts at scale.
The Microsoft Partner Benchmarking tool analysed data from thousands of companies and tens of thousands of channels by running over 40 tests across all types of content e.g. spelling and grammar, complexity of language and tone, technical errors and bugs in page code.
09
Ultimately our tool was able to answer the following question for Microsoft:
10
'Did giving marketing funds to this company result in better outcomes for us?'
Our success with the benchmarking tool led us to MSFT partner, Worksighted. Since then, we have remained a reliable and creative partner for Worksighted, helping them to rebrand and design a new website that aligned with their long-term aspirations and core values.
11
Microsoft partners like Catapult Systems (now Quisitive) also became long-standing clients thanks to the success of our benchmarking tool.
12
“Fifty Five and Five have developed a marketing platform that totally changes the game when it comes to understanding our financial investment in partners.”
Jennifer Tomlinson
(Then) Global Channel Marketing Leader at Microsoft
2018
We started the year by winning NTT as a client 🥇 based on our relationship with Microsoft, as well as Inspire 2017 and our Top 50 report. Once more, our proven expertise 🧠 was a critical factor in being selected.
2018
We started the year by winning NTT as a client 🥇 based on our relationship with Microsoft, as well as Inspire 2017 and our Top 50 report. Once more, our proven expertise 🧠 was a critical factor in being selected.
Our deep understanding of Microsoft Azure and cloud services played a pivotal role in creating dynamic content that showcased NTT’s leadership in the cloud migration journey. This marked the beginning of crafting innovative Azure content for diverse clients, breaking down complex cloud technology and highlighting its game-changing benefits.
Our deep understanding of Microsoft Azure and cloud services played a pivotal role in creating dynamic content that showcased NTT’s leadership in the cloud migration journey. This marked the beginning of crafting innovative Azure content for diverse clients, breaking down complex cloud technology and highlighting its game-changing benefits.
13
“We selected Fifty Five and Five as an agency specifically because of their Microsoft domain knowledge. Our work together over the years was varied, but their depth of knowledge in Cloud/Azure space always stood out. They were the only vendor I have worked with who truly got the detail”
“We selected Fifty Five and Five as an agency specifically because of their Microsoft domain knowledge. Our work together over the years was varied, but their depth of knowledge in Cloud/Azure space always stood out. They were the only vendor I have worked with who truly got the detail”
Ross Chaplin
(Then) Digital Marketing Manager at NTT
2019
We landed new clients from the APAC region: Provoke from New Zealand and Ideagen OnePlace Solutions from Australia. Our work included crafting content and design strategies that utilised email distribution 📤 and paid media execution 📲.
2019
We landed new clients from the APAC region: Provoke from New Zealand and Ideagen OnePlace Solutions from Australia. Our work included crafting content and design strategies that utilised email distribution 📤 and paid media execution 📲.
Our work in the APAC region reinforced the global reach of our services. It has proved that our capabilities span across the world.
14
This work in yet another region demonstrated that our services, as well as our knowledge of Microsoft, were truly global.
This work in yet another region demonstrated that our services, as well as our knowledge of Microsoft, were truly global.
14
“We have worked with Fifty Five and Five a long time. Their Microsoft expertise never fails to amaze us.”
“We have worked with Fifty Five and Five a long time. Their Microsoft expertise never fails to amaze us.”
Kristin Treat
(Then) VP Corporate Marketing, Nintex
2020
As the Covid pandemic escalated 🦠, the nature of work and the Modern Workplace changed with it. WFH 🏡 became the norm and teams across the world expected flexibility and the technology to make this happen. Microsoft Teams became the go-to tool 💻, and we changed our approach too.
2020
As the Covid pandemic escalated 🦠, the nature of work and the Modern Workplace changed with it. WFH 🏡 became the norm and teams across the world expected flexibility and the technology to make this happen. Microsoft Teams became the go-to tool 💻, and we changed our approach too.
We developed deep expertise in the concept of the modern workplace, collaborating with Microsoft partners like Symity, specialists in hybrid working and Microsoft Teams. This period marked a significant expansion in the adoption of collaboration tools that, prior to the Covid pandemic, were far less prominent.
15
Our work focused on refining Symity’s value proposition and brand to create a bold, modern identity that reflected their vision for the new workplace.
16
This success led us to Arrow ECS, a Fortune 500 company with strong ties to Microsoft. Leveraging our Microsoft expertise, we created a diverse range of content highlighting solutions like Azure, Defender for Cloud, and more.
17
We became experts in the concept of the new modern workplace, working with Microsoft partners like Symitry who were hybrid working and Microsoft Teams focused. We saw the expansion of collaboration tools that, pre-Covid, weren’t as prominent.
We became experts in the concept of the new modern workplace, working with Microsoft partners like Symity who were hybrid working and Microsoft Teams focused. We saw the expansion of collaboration tools that, pre-Covid, weren’t as prominent.
We became experts in the concept of the new modern workplace, working with Microsoft partners like Symity who were hybrid working and Microsoft Teams focused. We saw the expansion of collaboration tools that, pre-Covid, weren’t as prominent.
We became experts in the concept of the new modern workplace, working with Microsoft partners like Symity who were hybrid working and Microsoft Teams focused. We saw the expansion of collaboration tools that, pre-Covid, weren’t as prominent.
15
Our work involved value proposition and branding to give the new modern workplace that Symitry represented a bold new look and feel.
Our work involved value proposition and branding to give the new modern workplace that Symity represented a bold new look and feel.
Our work involved value proposition and branding to give the new modern workplace that Symity represented a bold new look and feel.
16
Such success led us to Arrow ECS, a Fortune 500 company with close ties to Microsoft. Our Microsoft expertise became a valued asset in creating a range of content that focused on Azure, Defender for Cloud and more.
Such success led us to Arrow ECS, a Fortune 500 company with close ties to Microsoft. Our Microsoft expertise became a valued asset in creating a range of content that focused on Azure, Defender for Cloud and more.
17
2021
We welcomed Gavriella Schuster, (Then) Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner at Microsoft onto our podcast 🎙. Gavriella gave us her thoughts 💭 on the future of work, the challenges we face today and the solutions we have available to us. She also highlighted the role Microsoft partners have in shaping what that future looks like 🔮, and the power of marketing during such turbulent times.
Gavriella also gave a shout out to our Top 50 report, commending its production and content. Having a high-profile Microsoft leader take the time to connect and share their insights shows our strong contacts within the organisation.
18
Our great work with high calibre clients like Microsoft opened up the door to another industry leader, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Our partnership is still going strong and has brought great successes, in the realm of social media and artificial intelligence.
19
“Always a pleasure to sit down with partners like Fifty Five and Five who are fully immersed in the Microsoft ecosystem. I loved their Top 50 report and look forward to meeting them again.”
Gavriella Schuster
(Then) Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner at Microsoft
2021
We welcomed Gavriella Schuster, (Then) Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner at Microsoft onto our podcast 🎙. Gavriella gave us her thoughts 💭 on the future of work, the challenges we face today and the solutions we have available to us. She also highlighted the role Microsoft partners have in shaping what that future looks like 🔮, and the power of marketing during such turbulent times.
Gavriella also gave a shout out to our Top 50 report, commending its production and content. Having a high-profile Microsoft leader take the time to connect and share their insights shows our strong contacts within the organisation.
18
Our great work with high calibre clients like Microsoft opened up the door to another industry leader, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Our partnership is still going strong and has brought great successes, in the realm of social media and artificial intelligence.
19
“Always a pleasure to sit down with partners like Fifty Five and Five who are fully immersed in the Microsoft ecosystem. I loved their Top 50 report and look forward to meeting them again.”
Gavriella Schuster
(Then) Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner at Microsoft
2022
A big highlight was starting our partnership 🤝 with the UK’s largest Microsoft Partner, Avanade. Our expertise with driving campaigns for Microsoft solutions led them to appointing us as their global paid media agency🎖.
2022
A big highlight was starting our partnership 🤝 with the UK’s largest Microsoft Partner, Avanade. Our expertise with driving campaigns for Microsoft solutions led them to appointing us as their global paid media agency🎖.
We were responsible for creating paid campaigns that generated top leads for Avanade, and positioning them as the innovative Microsoft partner to integrate tools into their client’s operations.
We were responsible for creating paid campaigns that generated top leads for Avanade, and positioning them as the innovative Microsoft partner to integrate tools into their client’s operations.
20
Our project with Avanade brought out the very best in our team: our proficiency to get to the heart of each campaign, to make data-driven insights that improve our work, and to demonstrate our thorough understanding of Microsoft.
Our project with Avanade brought out the very best in our team: our proficiency to get to the heart of each campaign, to make data-driven insights that improve our work, and to demonstrate our thorough understanding of Microsoft.
21
“Partnering with Fifty Five and Five empowered us to leverage their unparalleled expertise in the Microsoft ecosystem, enhancing our ability to drive innovative, sustainable digital transformations for our clients.“
“Partnering with Fifty Five and Five empowered us to leverage their unparalleled expertise in the Microsoft ecosystem, enhancing our ability to drive innovative, sustainable digital transformations for our clients.“
Noelani Wilson
(Then) Global Marketing Director, Avanade
Use our deep Microsoft expertise to create impactful marketing campaigns.
2023
In 2023 our focus was primarily on helping ✅ Microsoft product teams and partners.
2023
In 2023 our focus was primarily on helping ✅ Microsoft product teams and partners.
One of the biggest and most creative projects was the launch of our bespoke Microsoft Surface microsite. The end-result was unique. It was informative, and provided prospective leads with in-depth content that featured playful and engaging elements.
One of the biggest and most creative projects was the launch of our bespoke Microsoft Surface microsite. The end-result was unique. It was informative, and provided prospective leads with in-depth content that featured playful and engaging elements.
22
The interactive content is still being used as both a sales tool – with a wealth of information to support the sales lifecycle – and a showcase piece for new leads. It was well received by Microsoft, and its partners, generating a significant amount of engagement in three months.
The interactive content is still being used as both a sales tool – with a wealth of information to support the sales lifecycle – and a showcase piece for new leads. It was well received by Microsoft, and its partners, generating a significant amount of engagement in three months.
23
We became one of only six agencies recommended by the Microsoft and were added to the Partner Marketing Hub! This was a huge milestone for us and demonstrated our Microsoft expertise and the trust we earned from Microsoft and partners.
We became one of only six agencies recommended by the Microsoft and were added to the Partner Marketing Hub! This was a huge milestone for us and demonstrated our Microsoft expertise and the trust we earned from Microsoft and partners.
24
“The promo site really raised the bar in terms of the quality of content we have provided to Partners. The copy is beautifully written, and the interactive elements are keeping prospective buyers engaged.”
“The promo site really raised the bar in terms of the quality of content we have provided to Partners. The copy is beautifully written, and the interactive elements are keeping prospective buyers engaged.”
Rob Stacey
Partner Marketing Lead at Microsoft
2024
The introduction of Microsoft Copilot transformed workplace productivity, integrating AI into Microsoft 365 to enhance collaboration and efficiency. We’re helping Microsoft partners market these services, showcasing their ability to drive innovation for their customers.
We collaborated with Nasstar to position them as a thought leader in AI and automation. Our marketing materials were key in driving lead generation and showcasing their expertise in transformative workplace solutions.
The advances in AI have also transformed our agency. While we still offer everything you’d expect from a full-service marketing agency, but our AI-first approach makes us faster, more creative, and innovative—unlocking exciting marketing opportunities for Microsoft partners.
Hope you’ve enjoyed looking over the last ten years of our agency. I hope it shows how much we value our relationship with Microsoft and their Partners, and hope proud we are of the work we've done together.
Here's to the next ten 🎈!
Chris Wright
CEO and Founder at Fifty Five and Five
Revolutionise the relationship with your customers.
Revolutionise the relationship with your customers.
We deliver innovative marketing services, and expert consultancy and advanced AI tools that empower you and your team.
We deliver innovative marketing services, and expert consultancy and advanced AI tools that empower you and your team.
Get in touch today!
2024
The introduction of Microsoft Copilot transformed workplace productivity, integrating AI into Microsoft 365 to enhance collaboration and efficiency. We’re helping Microsoft partners market these services, showcasing their ability to drive innovation for their customers.
We collaborated with Nasstar to position them as a thought leader in AI and automation. Our marketing materials were key in driving lead generation and showcasing their expertise in transformative workplace solutions.
The advances in AI have also transformed our agency. While we still offer everything you’d expect from a full-service marketing agency, but our AI-first approach makes us faster, more creative, and innovative—unlocking exciting marketing opportunities for Microsoft partners.
Hope you’ve enjoyed looking over the last ten years of our agency. I hope it shows how much we value our relationship with Microsoft and their Partners, and hope proud we are of the work we've done together.
Here's to the next ten 🎈!
Chris Wright
CEO and Founder at Fifty Five and Five
Revolutionise the relationship with your customers.
We deliver innovative marketing services, and expert consultancy and advanced AI tools that empower you and your team.