Judges in this year’s Be Inspired Business Awards, the BIBAs, were struck by the creative ways in which the county’s businesses promote themselves and their clients
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses in Lancashire offering digital and marketing services.
These range from web development agencies, to PR consultants, SEO specialists, internet and social media advertising pros, creative agencies, content marketers and video marketing businesses, as well as some full-service agencies that bring all these disciplines together under one roof.
They may come in lots of different shapes and sizes, but their aims are the same: to help their clients stand out from the crowd.
However, clever communications and marketing isn’t just the preserve of agencies, some bigger businesses develop these capabilities with their own in-house marketing teams that can be just as inventive.
And that’s what the eight finalists in the Digital and Marketing Business of the Year category have all been doing in the past year: getting inventive in order to achieve bigger results. They are:
Complete.
EXP (EXPERIENCE EXP LTD)
GrowTraffic Ltd
ICG
Red-Fern Media Limited
Standfast & Barracks
StudioLWD
VisionsLive Ltd
This award is being sponsored again by video production company Studio RTR. Director Mark Oulson-Jenkins was among the judges and said: “Lancashire’s creative juices have definitely been flowing in the last year, we interviewed some amazing businesses doing really clever work to get results.
“Whatever sector you’re in, getting noticed is tougher than ever. Businesses are putting so much promotional content out there that getting yours seen is a real challenge. The finalists in this category were able to demonstrate the lengths they go to to produce and disseminate eye-catching and engaging marketing materials that deliver, whether that’s to promote a brand, a concept, a product or service, using all the channels available.”
Lancashire’s exporters have also had a good year.
More and more businesses are opening up or expanding overseas markets by exporting goods and services abroad.
Helping Lancashire to secure its place on the world stage for trade are eight finalists in the Global Business of the Year Award sponsored by Team Leyland International. They are:
HOOFCOUNT Ltd
Levity Crop Science
Melling Performance Springs Ltd.
Senator International Limited
Sovereign Beverage Company
Standfast & Barracks
VetPlus
VisionsLive Ltd
“Exporting not only helps businesses to grow their sales in new territories,” said Mick Mayor, who judged the award again this year, “it also increases resilience in times where domestic sales might fall.
“But it’s not without its challenges. Apart from obvious things like language barriers, there are trade tariffs to consider, regulatory hurdles and documentation to master, and the need to find reliable trading partners and distributors on the ground.
“The finalists in this category were able to show how they’d navigated these challenges and successfully exported to other countries, whether for the first time or as part of an overseas expansion strategy. It was very difficult to identify a winner because they were all so good.”
It’s just over six weeks to go now before the finalists in these two categories find out if they’ve won when the winners are announced in the opulent surroundings of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom on Friday 15th September 2023.