Great changes are afoot at Hartlebury Castle in Worcestershire! Made by Marketing was appointed (by BlueSail.com) to develop the marketing strategy and action plan for Hartlebury ‘s submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The bid was successful and Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust, with partners Worcestershire County Council and Museums Worcestershire, is now working to transform the visitor experience.
Gunnersbury Park Museum documents the life of this exciting part of West London. Housed in a Grade II* Regency mansion once owned by the Rothschild family, the museum is currently working on a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable it to refurbish the building and modernise its offer.
With a view to preparing for a positive funding decision, the museum commissioned Made by Marketing to develop a marketing strategy for this development phase and for the three-year transformation period. A key objective was to ensure current visitors received clear messaging about the refurbishment in order to retain their engagement with the museum and its outreach activities, whilst at the same time building interest in the project amongst new audiences.
One Historic Garden is a collection of seven special parks, woodlands and gardens in South and West Wales. Each partner has received significant funding to undertake capital works to increase their appeal. I was commissioned by Blue Sail to deliver the marketing campaign designed to raise the profile of the gardens and attract more visitors.
My role focused on developing a brand identity; creating a visitor leaflet and managing its distribution; managing the advertising campaign; setting up a new web site; and raising awareness of the gardens amongst the travel trade.
NYMAZ is a youth music development charity which champions the transformative potential of music for children and young people. Working with partners, such as Harrogate Festivals, it delivers high-quality music-making activities across North Yorkshire. In parallel, it runs professional networks to enable musicians and practitioners to develop their skills and learn one another.
Made by Marketing was appointed to manage the marketing for the charity, which was going through a period of change brought about by changes to its funding conditions. Having drafted a detailed communications strategy, hand-on activity has included: refreshing the brand to broaden its appeal; setting up a brand new web site and suite of stationery; updating its social media presences and other digital communications; creating new print promotional materials; drafting press releases and setting up journalist briefings.
The £300 million Northgate leisure and retail redevelopment scheme is proposed to transform the economic future of the historic city of Chester, creating some 1600 jobs as well as significantly increasing annual spend.
Made by Marketing was commissioned by Blue Sail to lead on the creation of public consultation materials, notably an information leaflet to be distributed across the region and exhibition panels, working closely with the Council team and ACME architects.
Set in 500 acres of glorious Shropshire countryside, Eaton Manor Country Estate offers award-winning luxury 4 and 5-star self-catering holiday cottages.
Over the past ten years the business has grown substantially and the team recognised that it was now time to review its customer communications. Made by Marketing was drafted in to help the business address this challenge. Workshops were used to better understand their key target audiences and their individual communication needs, as well as to identify their brand values and agree a visual direction for the company. The project was wrapped up with a series of recommendations to be taken forward in-house.
“Our workshops with Elizabeth were crucial to help us define our brand values and identify our target markets so that we could be confident in tackling the task of re-branding and developing a new web site and printed brochure. We have now finished this project and are reaping the rewards as a result of a clear direction gained by our initial work with Elizabeth.”
Phillipa Hillier | Eaton Manor Country Estate
Churncote Farm Shop & Butchery is a thriving family business based on the outskirts of Shrewsbury which prides itself on quality home-grown and locally produced food as well as a welcoming shopping environment. The owners, Sue and David Clarke, were keen to undertake marketing activity to attract new customers. Their previous leaflet was a simple text-only affair and didn’t communicate the real appeal of the shop: the beauty of the building (a converted cowshed), the friendliness of the team and the freshness of the produce. Since opening, Churncote has also grown its butchery counter which is now hugely popular and needed to be part of the business name.
The project focused on creating a new brand, visitor signage and a leaflet.
We now have a stronger profile and have enjoyed a direct increase in shoppers. Elizabeth understood our business and day-to-day challenges and she responded with practical support which has made a real difference.
Sue Clarke | Churncote Farm Shop & Butchery
Bexley Heritage Trust manages two historic houses in Kent, Danson House and Hall Place. Following the appointment of a new chief executive, I was brought in to cast a fresh pair of eyes over the marketing and help the Trust overcome specific challenges.
The strategic phase of the project included auditing competitors; running a staff workshop and developing the brand values; as well as drafting the communications strategy and budget. Next up was the implementation: creating a new brand as well as visitor leaflets, a travel trade planner, advertising and promotional materials to support temporary exhibitions.
This four-day mentoring project with the heritage services department at Barking & Dagenham Council focused on improving the marketing knowledge and skills of a key team member. The coaching was designed to help them achieve their marketing aims whilst acknowledging the budget and resource restrictions.
Here’s what the client had to say:
The training received was excellent and was tailored specifically to the service need, being practical, focused and relevant. The trainer was extremely helpful to our Events and Promotion Officer, enabling her to focus on specific needs and be realistic. The PR sessions were particularly useful and have equipped her with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make a real difference to the marketing and promotion of Heritage Services.
Chris Foord | Group Manager, Heritage Services | Barking & Dagenham Council
My role at South Bank Employers’ Group included ensuring local residents and employees had the opportunity to stay informed about local issues, express their views and influence decision-making.
Activity included:
* Relaunching and editing the magazine South Bank News which was delivered to every household and also to local community venues
* Running the South Bank Forum, a quarterly public meeting, chaired by Kate Hoey MP and Simon Hughes MP and attended by local ward Councillors
