STREETEZEE started as a local map company producing maps for parts of Wales ignored by the established brands but has swiftly expanded across Wales and parts of England, taking on the big boys with help from Newport & Gwent Enterprise. What started as a joke at a board meeting has turned into a serious academic research project.

Philip and Rosemary Corcoran, managing directors of Streetezee maps, were discussing ways to promote their town maps with Bob Griffin, business adviser from Newport & Gwent Enterprise.

Philip, who is convinced his maps are better than the competition, said: "Once people pick up the maps and look at them, they see the difference. The problem is with heavyweight brand names alongside our maps people don't even pick up our product." Bob's response was to suggest some point of sale advertising and jokingly said: "We need a cat-food statement like 'eight our of ten owners said they preferred Streetezee maps'."

Joke or not, Philip saw the value of the idea, but wanted to make sure that any marketing slogan was fully backed by independent academic research. As a result, Streetezee Town Plans Ltd has commissioned an extensive research project to discover how popular Streetezee maps are, and why. Established in 1999, Streetezee is the brainchild of experienced Cartographers, Philip and Rosemary.

After years of teaching cartography and working for various London publishers, the two decided to create a map business for themselves. Starting life in the attic of their Monmouth home, Streetezee took its first steps tackling the smaller Welsh towns not traditionally mapped in street form, such as Philip's home town of Port Talbot.

Now Streetezee covers the whole of Wales and a further proportion of England. Updates and new editions are continually released to increase UK coverage and maintain the accuracy of existing titles.

In 2003, fuelled by a growing team and the need to produce more maps, Streetezee moved from its attic home to new premises in Blaenavon town centre. Today the team consists of five, including the Corcorans, two experienced graphic designers and a field-sales rep.

As an established business, Streetezee qualified for assistance from Newport & Gwent Enterprise through a WDA-funded business support programme.

Bob was introduced to the company by Business Eye, initially to advise on staff restructure. "After initial discussion I realised that assistance with marketing and sales was needed," he said. "Streetezee maps are a premier product. What I have done is to persuade the Corcoran's of various marketing techniques, and to make them aware of different ways of getting in touch with people." New developments including corporate maps and bespoke wall maps are allowing Streetezee to broaden their market.

Bob has continued to support the company as they test and launch these new projects, as well as introducing new invoicing systems to boost productivity. "Bob has been a very good sounding board for us. We work together every day and sometimes it's not easy to get a fresh perspective," admits Philip. "NGE has brought a breath of fresh air into what we do. It's easy to run around the same track but this support certainly helps you to think of things in a different light. That is true of everyone within the business that Bob has come into contact with. He has shown us that there are better ways of doing things." For more information about Streetezee, please contact Philip and Rosemary Corcoran on 01495 792224.