marketing and graphic
design agency

One firework doesn’t make a display!

An impressive firework display over the city of London marked the beginning of the New Year. It apparently cost the UK taxpayer £500,000 and lasted eight minutes. Undoubtedly, the investment behind the scenes to design and plan the colour, speed, timing, sound and space, took several months.

Strategic marketing can be compared with a firework display. A sparkler here, a catherine wheel there and a rocket released into an empty sky are random efforts which all too often become damp squids. Such a sporadic approach is not strong enough to make an impact.

Do we expect the world to rush to our door following the release of a new product brand, the launch of a new website or even one direct marketing campaign? Success for most products and services is commensurate with ongoing persistence and continual hard work. A sparkler that ignites, is one that is held against another until the glow becomes an ignition. 

The marketing campaign by Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company has been consistently delivered with subsequent success. Local, public and current, the messages have been systematically released over a five year period. The GHURC initially appeared against a clouded sky and spread illumination and enthusiasm to benefit the whole city.

Launched in  2004 in Gloucester Cathedral and the House of Commons, the development of GHURC was strategically planned. Each year achievements were reviewed and all PR and advertising campaigns assessed. New information was released regularly to influence the appropriate audience, win hearts and minds, and to achieve set goals. The goals reached include £500m investment in the City, 1,000 new jobs and 700 new homes. 

The award winning marketing strategy is still lighting up the Gloucester sky-scape and has been described by industry professionals as the “best regeneration campaign ever” in the UK.