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| Village hall project is a PR coup |
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CUMBRIA and Lancashire Community Renewables (CLAREN), Voluntary Action Cumbria and Cumbria County Council have been working with village halls across South Lakeland to reduce running costs and improve their sustainability by using renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. For such a scheme, CLAREN identified that PR would be an important part of the marketing mix and they employed the services of a PR agency. An initial project was completed last year in Gamblesby. Here, the hall underwent a renovation project valued at £40,000, which included the installation of a ground source heat pump; collecting the ground’s natural stored heat for use as under-floor heating. The energy efficiency of the building was vastly improved using locally sourced natural wool insulation from Second Nature and the hall is now a shining example of what can be achieved through the use of renewable and other sustainable energy techniques. By promoting the success of this project, CLAREN wanted to demonstrate what could be achieved by the other 13 village halls signed up to the “Eco Village Halls” project. Cumbrian marketing consultants Showing Off were appointed to promote this particular success and secured radio interviews with BBC Radio Cumbria and Lakeland Radio, as well as a two-page feature in the North West Evening Mail and an article in the Westmorland Gazette. CLAREN had previously employed the services of a large PR agency in Manchester and were thrilled with the level of promotion achieved by a smaller, Cumbrian company. Local representative Elizabeth Bruce, commented: “We have never achieved this level of success with our promotions and were under the impression that the local media were not interested in renewable issues. The success of this press release proves that using local suppliers is often a better business decision than using larger, city-based agencies. Local companies know the area and the local media and can advise on the most appropriate marketing methods to promote your organisation.” The Eco-Village Hall project is supported by CLAREN, Voluntary Action Cumbria and Cumbria County Council’s Neighbourhood Development Officers. Funding is from Cumbria County Council and the Lake District National Park Authority. For more information, contact Elizabeth Bruce on 0845 601 8874 or visit www.claren.org.uk . If you need an effective marketing mix to grow your business, contact Joanne Allday from Showing Off on 01229 580220 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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