Advance Northumberland

Background

Owned by Northumberland County Council, Advance Northumberland is the Council’s primary regeneration delivery vehicle. It employs a wide range of investment, development and regeneration capabilities to shape places and promote economic growth and prosperity in Northumberland. It has a portfolio of assets and land worth £250 million and in 2019, commissioned Horizon Works to deliver a PR and marketing campaign to promote Ashwood Business Park.

Approach

Ashwood Business Park holds Enterprise Zone status and is set to be a centre for advanced manufacturing – and a fulcrum for economic growth in the region. Advance Northumberland required a PR and marketing campaign to raise awareness of the 62 acre-site nationally and internationally, and attract investors and large-scale manufacturing, process and engineering companies.

Solution

• A PR campaign which was built around engaging with key trade press titles and journalists
• A campaign to promote the benefits of the site as well as highlighting the overall vision for the Ashwood Business Park and Northumberland’s position as a hub for advanced manufacturing and engineering
• We launched the vision for Ashwood Business Park at the Advanced Engineering 2019 event at Birmingham NEC, by generating and managing press engagement before, during and after the event
• We created a press pack for Ashwood Business Park which acted as a comprehensive resource point for journalists
• We complemented this activity by generating case studies and news on existing tenants, such as AkzoNobel, and designing promotional graphics for use on Advance Northumberland’s social media channels

Results

• Substantial press coverage was achieved for Ashwood Business Park in numerous target media outlets, which has helped to build the profile of the site among property investors and manufacturing and engineering companies
• During the PR campaign, Ashwood Business Park was featured in titles including PBC Today, Automation Magazine, Machinery Market, Property Magazine International, Production Engineering Solutions, Property Funds World and Design and Build UK
• Press releases on the site were disseminated via regional networks such as the North East of England Process Industry Cluster, The North East Automotive Alliance, The Advanced Manufacturing Forum and NOF. News on Ashwood Business Park therefore reached decision makers among their member companies
• Press and network coverage on Ashwood Business Park was further amplified by outlets’ social media channels, including Twitter and LinkedIn