As we close the chapter on financial year two at Rebel Lion, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the journey we’ve been on. It’s no secret – it’s been epic. It’s been made up of impressive partnerships, reaching key financial milestones, witnessing remarkable team growth, diving into innovative ventures, and celebrating strategic wins.
Despite the hurdles, our team has shown up every day, ready to tackle whatever comes our way. Their relentless dedication and hard work have been the cornerstone of our success.
The Power of Partnership
Collaboration lies at the heart of our ethos, and in year two we’ve had the privilege of working alongside 64 incredible brands, helping to amplify their messages and achieve their goals. These partnerships not only reflect our commitment to excellence but also serve as a testament to the trust bestowed upon us by our esteemed clients.
Our ability to connect and engage with audiences has been unparalleled, with over 75,000 tickets sold for our entertainment and sporting clients. From P!NKS iconic Summer Carnival, we orchestrated a far-reaching out-of-home campaign across 6 major UK cities, generating 45 million impacts through 47 out-of-home platforms, creating an unforgettable experience for her fans and setting a new benchmark in entertainment advertising.
“I’m immensely proud of the collaborations Rebel Lion has forged with 64 remarkable brands during our second year of trading. Each partnership has uniquely showcased our full-service advertising capabilities, driving innovative campaigns that resonate deeply with audiences. It’s a privilege to contribute to such transformative projects.
A huge highlight for me was winning the Wales Marketing, Advertising & PR Start-Up of the Year award and receiving recognition for all the hard work.”
Another highlight for some of our Creative Team was working on the T1ger Fuel brand-building project.
Vikki David, Hybrid Creative: “It was the first project I got my teeth stuck into when I joined RL in January. From the branding, and the look and feel of the product compared to the others on the market, It opened my eyes fully to how different and creatively free Rebel Lion really is.“
Dan Jones, Senior Content Producer: “It gave me creative freedom, it involved filming, photography and design. Multiple different locations, great client to work with. It was also the first client I was involved with from start to finish.”
A standout moment from the year for our Art Director, Nick Hutchinson, was the Cardiff City FC promotional videos for their key home fixtures at the start of the 2023/24 season.
“The process from initial discussions to final output were open, honest, and productive. The brief was to drive more sales to the 3 key fixtures against rivals Swansea City FC, Bristol City FC and Millwall FC.
The video visuals worked amazingly well with the overarching message and CTA. Which resulted in 10% growth of ticket sales in the 2023/24 season compared to the previous 2022/23 season.”
Financial Milestones & Strategic Wins
Achieving a seven-figure milestone in year two is a significant landmark for us. It highlights our financial strength and stability but also underscores the effectiveness of our strategies and the trust our clients place in us.
As our Chief Strategy Officer, Jamie Hibbard, explains:
“Our strategic roadmap has been significantly impactful on the success of hitting seven figures by the end of FY2. It’s kept us honest in achieving each milestone and ultimately the goal for year-end. We have planned every step of our route on the road to being the biggest advertising agency in Wales, and then the largest outside of London. This helps us to focus on those goals, and aides in our strategic decision making.”
Additionally, securing a six-figure investment from the Development Bank of Wales and winning the advertising contract for one of the UK’s leading motor brands are pivotal moments in our journey. These strategic victories not only affirm our abilities but also set the stage for further growth and expansion in the future.
Matt Jones, CEO: “Our rapid ascent to seven-figure revenues within two years is a clear indication of our team’s talent and drive. As one of the UK’s emerging agencies, we’re energised by significant wins with Norton Motorcycles and The Sogno Group.
The Development Bank of Wales’ investment is a vote of confidence that will fuel our plans to expand our Cardiff agency. It will also spur the development of our new venture, Islandr.TV, opening the TV advertising gateway for challenger brands.”
Team Growth
It’s been thrilling to witness the growth and evolution of our team. We’ve expanded to a vibrant group of 15 exceptional individuals, each bringing a unique blend of skills, perspectives, and experiences. Their collective contributions have not only enriched our culture but have been pivotal in driving innovation at every turn.
This year, we’re excited to announce that our growth will not only be in numbers but also in geography. We are setting our sights beyond our current horizons and expanding into new locations. This expansion represents a significant step for us, offering new opportunities not just for business growth, but for our team to tap into a diverse range of talents and ideas from different parts of the region.
Furthermore, we’re thrilled to create 10 new roles in our Cardiff office this year. By the end of financial year 3, we’re aiming to increase our headcount by a further 20. These new positions will support our ongoing projects and new ventures alike, as we continue to push the boundaries of what we can achieve. If you’re seeking to advance your career or to make a significant impact in the creative industry, now is the perfect time to become part of our story. You can view our current live vacancies here.
Aaron Corria, Director of People & Culture “The growth of the Rebel Lion team has been exceptional. We pride ourselves on sourcing and nurturing local talent in the creative industries and I’m very excited for the future.”
Looking Ahead to FY3
Daniel Banard, Digital Marketing Manager: ” I am looking forward to being part of an expanding digital team and agency as a whole. There are many exciting clients and projects coming up that I am excited to get stuck into. Our industry is constantly shifting and changing, and it’s also exciting to see how this will impact our campaigns and approach to client work going forward.”
Rachael Crooke, Digital Account Executive, “Seeing the team grow and develop forward, the team are all so talented so to see them progress makes me super proud. In terms of digital, it will be great to see how ads develop and new trends come into play. I am looking forward to driving more results with campaigns and helping clients get the best out of their business. Seeing clients happy with the work be put in is really rewarding.”
As we gear up for year three, our ambitions are sky-high, matched only by our confidence. We’re ready to push boundaries and set new benchmarks for success. Expect big things – we’re just getting started.
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
