Black & Banton was founded in 2008 following a collaboration between David Black (Registered Osteopath/Occupational Health Specialist Advisor  [formerly Industrial health Solutions]) and Mandy Banton (Registered Osteopath) to provide Occupational Health and Physical Health services to corporate clients in North East England.  The company is now in its fourth year of trading and has clients all over the UK, who increasingly value Occupational Health as part of a competitive strategy, either to recruit and retain the best employees or to manage and reduce absence and other health related issues.  Black & Banton are looking to consolidate and promote existing services in a consistent and professional way to attract new clients and grow their business, offering a wide range of Occupational Health, Health Surveillance, Absence Management and Vocational Health Assessment services.’

Our brief was to conduct a Marketing & Communications Audit of all marketing materials, communications, presentations, documentation, website and any press/media coverage to plan a solid basis for future communications.

Black & Banton Occupational and Physical Health Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne, NE16 5TL

Northern Experience Wildlife Tours offer a wide range of guided walks, day trips, evening trips and excursions to people who are interested in birdwatching, nature and photography.  They offer a calendar of scheduled trips throughout the season and offer bespoke day trips to premium customers.  The business has grown steadily since its launch in 2008 and Martin and Sarah would like to make it a year-round business, with a portfolio of products and services for sale.

Our brief was to design a Marketing & Communications plan for bespoke and scheduled Group Holidays, including direct marketing and sourcing contact data for target markets; and develop copy for print and web to promote 2012 group departures; copywriting for the 2012 Groups Brochure working closely with their designer.

Northern Experience Wildlife Tours, Choppington, Northumberland, NE62 5ST

BlinkCollective.com is an online marketplace and community for anyone to list and buy local experiences.  Badged as ‘an emporium for the curious mind’, the site offers a variety of unique paid and free experiences, that can be purchased and enjoyed by the customer or gifted to another. BlinkCollective.com’s founder, Peter Kindness, was given seed funding to develop the beta site as part of the Ignite100 programme, prior to pursuing proof of concept funding to develop a viable and profitable business model. For Blink to identify their customers and how to reach them was vital for the business plan.

Our brief was to research relevant UK Customer Segmentation models and select Target Markets most effectively in line with overall objectives and design a Marketing Strategy to reach chosen UK market segments, prior to launch.

BlinkCollective.com

John Faulkner is a fine art photographer, specialising in portraiture, landscapes and wedding photography, covering Newcastle and the North East of England. John has a style that is highly original, with a painters eye for composition and light.  As it is a fairly young business, John needed to raise awareness in the most effective way.

Our brief was to conduct Competitor Benchmarking, design a Marketing Strategy to grow awareness and sales; and review and complete website, including copywriting; and delivery of marketing & communications plan for 12 – 18 month period to support business growth and expansion.

John Faulkner Photography, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4RS

Travel Bureau’s Corporate Travel Management Services enjoys long-standing relationships, but wanted to expand and bring the services and benefits of a comprehensive Corporate Travel Management Service to new audiences.  

Our brief was to clarify the selling messages via a customer satisfaction survey of all corporate contacts to establish values, priorities and role in the booking cycle; managing the segmentation and targeting of key messages to key audience sectors; database marketing – e-communications and regular newsletters and e-blasts; complete overhaul of the corporate website and producing a range of print to support business development and clinching the deal; press and media campaign to celebrate 50th anniversary.

Travel Bureau, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4AT

The Kenilworth Hotel, established in 1991, is a friendly, popular small hotel with business and leisure visitors alike on Jesmond’s busy Osborne Road. Home to El Castano restaurant since 2001, The Kenilworth Hotel has recently relaunched its eaterie: Ru Bar:Lounge:Kitchen offering a new venue for eating and drinking aimed at affluent 20 – 50 year olds.

Our brief was to interpret the new brand expression, look and feel for marketing and promotions; segmentation and targeting of databases for e-communications, public relations, advertising, social media and launch events.

Ru Bar:Lounge:Kitchen @ The Kenilworth Hotel, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 2AL

Stepney Bank Stables is an inner city equestrian centre established in 1999.  As well as providing first class riding lessons at all levels, Stepney Bank offers an opportunity for volunteers of all ages to gain hands on experience of horse husbandry. Stepney Bank is a registered charity yet relies on income from regular riders so customer retention is essential to survival.  Having noticed a change in customer loyalty to riding lessons in recent years, they wanted was to explore riders reasons for leaving.

Our brief a lapsed rider survey, has paved the way for a regular cycle of customer satisfaction surveys – managed in-house – to review and improve customer satisfaction levels and overall service offering.

Stepney Bank Stables, Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PN

Travel Bureau Leisure Travel Division was established in 1961, needed to interpret it’s traditional values to reach the next generation of luxury travel clients. 

Our brief was to interpret Travel Bureau’s strong brand values of quality, luxury and exceptional personal service into a clear set of customer-facing messages and bring the team’s extensive expertise and knowledge to the fore; promote Travel Bureau across a range of media, update the web presence and incorporate social media into the mix; establish the brand as the leading independent travel agency in North East England – web, print & promotions, e-communications strategy, database segmentation and targeting, customer events with some of the leading brands in independent travel, high quality travel supplements with leading lifestyle magazines; database marketing – print, regular newsletters and e-blasts.

Travel Bureau, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4AT