The marketing agency run by Newsquest - owners of The Northern Echo - has won  a major award from Microsoft.

Newsquest Media Group’s digital marketing agency LOCALiQ UK has been named Europe’s Rising Star of the Year at the Microsoft Partner Awards.

The Microsoft awards recognise digital marketing partners who go above and beyond to uncover new opportunities and strategies for their clients.

LOCALiQ works with thousands of SMEs throughout the UK helping them get the best out of their marketing, and provides a broad range of digital solutions including SEO, online display, video, social, digital PR, as well as paid search.

Through training, content creation, and technology adoption, LOCALiQ substantially increased awareness, feature adoption, and revenues for its clients using the Microsoft Advertising Network.

LOCALiQ UK Managing Director Nick Ashwood said: “We are thrilled to be recognised for our dedication to helping UK businesses leverage the power of Microsoft advertising.

"We identified a clear need for a deeper education around Microsoft and Bing advertising among UK businesses in our LOCALiQ State of Digital Marketing Survey. They are a key part of a rapidly evolving search marketing ecosystem and utilising them in the right way is essential to the success of our clients.

"The Microsoft Rising Star award is testament to our ongoing commitment to help UK SMEs in local markets throughout the UK unlock their full digital marketing potential.”

LOCALiQ is part of Newsquest Media Group, the leading local media business in the UK. In addition to its digital marketing services, Newsquest publishes over 200 titles across the UK and has a monthly digital audience of over 50 million users. Many of its titles are read, online and in print, by over 75% of the local population.