Shrewsbury BID has taken a significant step to raise Shrewsbury’s profile and help boost trading for the 500 town centre businesses it represents, with the appointment of two dynamic creative agencies, Seal and Source.
Shrewsbury based communications consultancy Seal will be lead brand ambassadors for the BID, responsible for brand positioning with a full on-and-offline marketing and PR plan, whilst full service creative agency, Source, also based in Shrewsbury, will be responsible for taking a fresh creative approach to energise the town’s website, www.visitshrewsbury.com.
“We attracted a wide range of national and regional agencies with our thorough tendering process to ensure we found the very best talent to undertake the vital marketing elements of our Business Plan” commented Shrewsbury BID manager, Kirsten Henly.
“We were particularly impressed by the strategic thinking, creativity and professionalism of both these agencies. Not only are they leaders in their respective fields but we are delighted to be working with home-grown talent. We are confident they will help us deliver the ambitious programme of activity we have planned ahead” Kirsten added.
The BID’s plan for the first year includes marketing initiatives aimed at driving footfall and raising the town’s profile. Seal will be delivering a 12-month integrated PR and marketing campaign, which will see the agency working closely with businesses to bring to life Shrewsbury’s unique appeal to a wider audience.
Seal CEO Katie Morris said: “We have devised a targeted campaign which builds awareness of the town’s originality through its people, places, personality and businesses. Our experience and track record in destination marketing together with over eight years of working with other successful BIDs provides the ideal foundations for us to spring into action and deliver exciting results for our home town.”
In a second round of competitive pitches, Source won the tender to redevelop the town’s website, visitshrewsbury.com. Improving the town’s profile online was high on the list of priorities outlined by businesses and the BID will be working closely with Shrewsbury Tourism Association and Shrewsbury Town Council to ensure the site fully represents and promotes the town.
The new site will benefit from a fresh user-friendly design and will incorporate new features such as an itinerary builder, news sharing, events and offers through social media feeds.
Teresa Heath-Wareing Head of Marketing at Source added: “This is a significant win for the agency and we’re delighted to be working with Shrewsbury BID at such an exciting time in its development. We’re looking forward to creating a site that reflects the quality of Shrewsbury’s offer, whilst demonstrating the value the BID can add to the business community.”