Preston-based marketing communications firm Freshfield has won a £300,000 three-year contract with Lancashire County Council to support the delivery of its £6m business growth hub.
After a nationwide competitive tender process, Freshfield was appointed to help the hub, called Boost, target ambitious Lancashire business owners.
Freshfield delivered marketing services for the previous two phases of Boost between 2013 and 2018, in which time it created more than 2,200 new jobs and helped more than 600 new businesses get started. This was assessed to have added £74m of new economic activity to the Lancashire economy.
The next phase aims to help an additional 1,450 businesses in the county, creating over 1,350 new jobs as well as helping to establish a further 200 business start-ups in the region.
Simon Turner, managing director of Freshfield, said: “After what’s been a rigorous tender process, we’re thrilled to be appointed a third time by Lancashire County Council to deliver marketing services for Boost.
“It’s enormously satisfying to know the great work we’re doing is helping connect ambitious businesses with the high-quality business support that helps them grow and create jobs. Some of the success stories we help to tell are truly inspirational.
“Our role in this third phase of Boost will be to build on the phenomenal success to date by targeting ‘new to Boost’ businesses.”
As part of the contract Freshfield will provide strategic marketing and planning, PR and content support, social media planning and management, and digital marketing services.
Boost is led by the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) and Lancashire County Council and supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). £3.65m of the funding comes for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the rest coming from Lancashire County Council, as well as the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Growth Deal.
