Interim Marketing Support & Strategy

Re-Form Heritage (‘Re-Form’) is a UK charity which specialises in supporting communities through the restoration and rejuvenation of heritage buildings at risk of decay or demolition. These buildings are largely located in communities impacted by multiple deprivation factors and wealth inequality. Re-Form also owns and manages the visitor attraction, Middleport Pottery, in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.

During a period of transition, Re-Form sought an interim marketing resource enabling immediate expertise to be available to them supporting the execution of all marketing and communication activities whilst they recruited an experienced marketing manager.

The role required retail and heritage sector experience as well as possessing the skills and flexibility to deliver the marketing and communications required for both Re-Form and the visitor destination, Middleport Pottery.

ATW met the Re-Form team virtually to discuss the project requirements.  This provided a clear understanding of activity required and enabled ATW to allocate the right resources to ensure a seamless transition through the recruitment, selection and induction process of appointing a new full-time resource.

Re-Form were also going through a period of change with a new Chief Executive having been recently appointed.  A key focus of this interim role was to actively support that individual with his key priorities.

ATW delivered across a range of marketing activities including:

• Strategic marketing including research and delivery of strategic board papers and the introduction of a new revenue stream through National Lottery Funding.
• Brand management including designing new brand assets under the Middleport Pottery brand.
• Events and Sponsorships management incorporating communications and engagement with traders for Christmas events and a food festival and liaising with local companies ensuring they maximised benefits and brand association through their sponsorship.
• Development of a Content Strategy including active Social Media management to promote activity and drive engagement across 6 channels for 2 businesses.

• Direct Marketing through an active email campaign programme to diverse audiences to create brand awareness of events, retail and activities on site.
• Public Relations and Communications to connect with local media and influencers in the region.
• Website updates via the Content Management System to ensure the website was current and relevant for all visitors. This included development of a new section to highlight and bring to life the archive cataloguing programme.
• Management of Pay Per Click campaigns and creating ad groups that were relevant to business priorities with a focus on commercial gains for the business whilst adhering to charity guidelines parameters. ATW increased performance across all ad groups and ensured the keywords were a match in a bid to drive impressions complemented by negative matching to maximise Click Through Rates.  For the period 1^st Sept to 31^st Oct traffic generated from the campaigns was up 50% year on year and up 30% compared to the two previous months.
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) which included an audit of the website to identify key gaps and start the process to remediate to ensure a level of SEO was in place site-wide.

A decision was taken by Re-Form to re-evaluate the new marketing position and ATW provided a key role in scoping out a resourcing strategy that was approved by the Board of Directors.  ATW further supported the business with the recruitment, selection and handover to the new appointee.

Acting as interim Marketing and Comms Manager, with all activity delivered remotely, ATW provided Re-Form with an independent, energised and effective solution to deliver a strategic and tactical resource over a 3-month period. ATW also supported Re-Form with the successful recruitment for a new full time Marketing Communications Manager.  ATW provided a seamless transition to the new resource and continues to support this resource and wider business with ad hoc marketing support and monthly management of their PPC campaigns.

“The ATW team provided a fresh pair of eyes and an independent perspective to our business which was really beneficial. Their broad experience across the heritage sector meant they quickly understood our strategic priorities and operational deliverables, got under the skin of our business and knew how to adapt and deliver best practice across all marketing and communication activity.   The team had the agility and flexibility to deal with all activity and remained unflappable, which is what you truly need from an interim resource.”

Dr. Alasdair Brooks, Chief Executive Officer, Re-Form Heritage  

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