Brand and marketing for sell-out regional business support programme 

Key achievements:

• Creation of a clear and recognisable brand identity and key messaging
• Marketing activity resulted in 25% of events being sold out, with waitlists in three districts
• The programme delivered 96 workshops with a total of 2,646 attendees over its six month run.
• 102 mentoring sessions with 800 hours of support were provided by local digital experts (including our Founder)

The brief:

Grow Digital was an initiative funded by the West Sussex County and District Councils. The business support programme was designed by Freedom Works inclusive of free to attend workshops, networking and mentoring opportunities for businesses in West Sussex. The aim of the 8 month long programme was to improve digital understanding and capabilities for local SMEs while providing a space for growth, connection and support.

Before the programme launched in the summer of 2023, our team at Shake It Up Creative were tasked with developing Grow Digital’s brand identity and key messaging. Our job was also to create a programme marketing plan to ensure the right target audience was being attracted and then those businesses would be encouraged to register for the events. For this project, we worked in collaboration with another local marketing agency, Creative Bloom.

The work:

First and foremost, we had to develop a brand identity for the programme – which included its name, logo design, colour palette, typography and tone of voice – creating a recognisable and consistent brand identity that stood out. At first sight, the programme could seem complicated so we also had to consider the language and the way in which we communicated.

After a feedback round we finalised the Grow Digital logo, which incorporated upward arrow icons to signify growth with an eye-catching yet professional colour palette of orange and blues. Throughout the programme the tone of voice was professional, using semi-formal vocabulary with the inclusion of approachable and welcoming language. Grow Digital adopted our tag line of ‘Be Efficient, Be Productive, Grow’ and a four point structure for the workshops of ‘Make Money, Reduce Costs, Save Time, Be Visible’ to segment the workshop topics. The final brand identity and messaging was then used across all marketing materials for consistency.

We devised and executed a marketing plan that spanned social media, in-person promotion, email marketing and PR. To build an initial direct marketing list we set up an expression of interest registration. Our team designed marketing materials and assets regularly during the programme which included social media content, email signatures, venue and event listing graphics. We also designed print materials; an A5 advert, an A3 poster and a roller banner.  Whilst all of the events were popular, 25% of the events sold out, with waitlists in three districts: Adur & Worthing, Chichester & Arun.

Rachael Dines, Founder and Director of Shake It Up Creative was also selected as a business mentor and workshop presenter, delivering a talk on social media during series 3.

The results:

The programme ran for 4 series from September 2023 to March 2024 and during this time welcomed 721 individual attendees from 460 businesses across West Sussex. Out of all attendees, 83% said they’d recommend Grow Digital to a friend or colleague, with 75% rating the experience 5 out of 5 in feedback surveys. Overall, it was a fantastic programme that engaged the local business community and we were proud to have been a fundamental part of it.

With Creative Bloom, we successfully achieved the marketing objectives for the Grow Digital Business Support Programme. The executive team’s feedback noted that our ‘efforts in amplifying the programme’s visibility across the county has been key to its success. Through innovative strategies, we significantly increased engagement, driving engagement participation. Our contributions have enhanced reach and fostered community support, playing a key role in our programme’s growth.’