Giving you the personal touch - North East Expo - THE business … · 2019-02-21 · Giving you the...

THE NORTH EAST’S PREMIER BUSINESS EXPO

Going down a Storm

Cookies anyone?

North East Chamber showcase

Spring 2018

Giving youthe personal touch

Support for local charity

0191 [email protected]

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VoIPHosted Telephony And SIP Trunking

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It’s time to get Sirius!Future-proof your business telecoms and see cost savings on your telephony and connectivity.

Drive your business forward and do more with digital technology.

Don’t miss out on 40% funding towards digital projects, technology and connectivity thatwill help grow your business.

Get in touch to find out more: Call 0191 419-8181 or email [email protected]

All support and funding is subject to eligibility criteria.

With United Carlton, the sale is the beginning, not the end.

We have a proud service record of 99% device uptime - and for the other 1%, a sub-four hour service response time. Visit us on Stand PN9 to find out more.

Exhibiting its classic British real ales this NEEXPO is Black Storm Brewery. Launched in December 2017, and brewed in the North East, Black Storm’s mission is to champion the classic British real ale.

Continuing the tradition set by our region’s famous breweries,

Black Storm Brewery was developed by North East

entrepreneur Paul Hughes.

Created in a range of flavour profiles from a light and

refreshing blonde to the company’s chocolatey and robust

porter, Black Storm is about bringing people together

whether in the pub or in the comfort of your own home.

This year’s pop-ups at its Bottle Shop and Tasting Rooms on

York Street Whitley Bay have been a great success, and plans

are in place to make this a permanent venue.

As well as exhibiting across the UK this year, Black Storm is

also delighted to be part of the highly-profile STACK shipping

container retail, food and leisure village, that from June will be

located on the site of the former Odeon Cinema on Pilgrim

Street.

Tasted the beer today and can’t wait until then?

Find local stockists and keep an eye on the Black Storm forecast:

Visit www.blackstormbrewery.com Follow @blackstormbrew

Going down a Storm

Cover image: Deal Direct Blinds


re:fresh | NEEXPO | 1

Of course you’d like a cookie – who wouldn’t? We all love cookies, right?

Of course, I’m not referring to the sweet variety, but to the

small text files that are placed in your browser by websites

to help them remember things about you (what language

you want your information displayed in, for example). Many

still believe that cookies are programs, but nope – they’re

just text files (as in, they don’t ‘do’ anything).

But anyway, why are we talking about cookies – and why did I ask you if you wanted one?

Because it’s the law. Yup, if you have visitors from within the

EU, you are required to tell them that if you’re using cookies

on your site. If you’ve been to the Hypestar site before, take

a look at the bottom of the page – you’ll see a message from

us letting you know that we’re ‘tracking’ you.

I would suggest that it’s nothing to be concerned about,

we’re just letting you know.

Services like Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel allow us

to understand more about what visitors are doing on the

site, where they go and for how long – that kind of stuff. We

track and analyse this information (because we’re nerds) to

see how we can improve our site, understand what content

is working for you folks and see if there’s anything we can do

to make it better.

This is especially pertinent in light of the GDPR fast heading

towards us.

How do I display a cookie warning on my website?As with most things on websites, there’s a whole bunch of solutions that you may want to look at. Many are completely free of charge, some may have a small cost.

I tend to use Shareaholic. It’s free and has some other cool stuff it does. For the cookie control, you can simply add the text you want to display, what you want the ‘ok’ button to read and where you want to send people who want more information (we have a ‘privacy’ page).

If you’re using a WordPress CMS, you’ll have a whole bunch of plugins that can do this for you (I chose Shareaholic because it also drives our sharing buttons and a ‘follow us’ call to action), but as with all things, shop around.

What does my cookie warning have to say/include?There are way too many variables to be able to reliably answer this, but ours reads –

“Hypestar uses cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information you’ve provided to them or they’ve collected from your use of their services.”

This could be a good fit for your website, but you may want to make changes to it. I mean, you’ll at least want to change the company name!

Can I offer you a cup of tea…coffee…cookie?

James Lane | Hypestar

WEDNESDAY 02 - 05 - 18



B.PART OF SOMETHING AMAZING

Registered Charity No. 1076251

Join BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art’s ever-growing family of corporate sponsors.

As a B.Partner you will receive free room hires, discounts for your employees, access to new audiences and VIP invitations to events and previews.

Find out more about working with BALTIC: www.baltic.art/bpartners

Say hola to your International Trade Adviser

Whether you’re a new or experienced exporter, Department for International Trade can provide you with the knowledge and expertise of highly experienced international trade specialists who will support your entry into new markets with confidence.

Call the Department for International Trade North East on 0345 136 0169 or email [email protected]


How often have you walked out of a meeting thinking: “What a total waste of time!” Often meetings drag on for way too long and have no clear purpose, yet we attend - for whatever reason – the boss told us to attend, we thought progress will be made on a project or the meeting was scheduled into our diary months ago but we can’t really remember why.

In my experience the average meeting has four main problems:

• Excessive duration

• No clear purpose

• Off-topic discussions

• No clear next steps

To combat these common issues, I have adopted three rules to make my meetings more productive.

Set an agendaA great deal of time is wasted, particularly at the start of meetings, figuring out what needs to be discussed and what the actual purpose of the meeting is – oh, and a lot of chit-chat takes place too! This is because the attendees’ attention is not focused. They are not prepared and are often unsure what contribution will be required of them.

Creating and circulating a clear agenda prior to the meeting resolves this issue. Each attendee can thus prepare their input prior to the meeting, so when the meeting commences, everyone is on the same page. This creates focus and purpose, which helps to create a productive meeting environment.

The agenda should also allow for a specified time period, towards the end of the meeting to outline clear action points for each attendee. This will ensure that things actually get done after the meeting!

Oh, and don’t forget, the agenda should also clearly state the end time of the meeting. This certainly helps to keep everyone on the track and ensure swift, productive meetings. And this leads to my second rule...

Set a timer As soon as the meeting starts, set a timer for the duration of the meeting (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour etc.) It is important that all attendees can see the timer ticking away. An egg timer visually illustrates the minutes ticking away which helps to keep everyone on track and conscious of time.

The psychological effect of the timer also creates a bit of “stress” – in a good way – which can help attendees be more creative and effective.

Create a “waiting room” One of the biggest time wasters during meeting are those off-topic discussions. One person will come up with an idea (which might very well be a significant idea) and another will pick up and expand on the idea. Before you know it, the entire group is talking about a topic not even close to what the original purpose of the meeting was!

However, those ideas might be really good, so we don’t want to ignore it. The only way to deal with this issue is to create a “waiting room”. A “waiting room” is simply a sheet of paper. This is where any off-agenda points and ideas can be stored. Whenever someone makes an off-topic point or voices an idea, the chair can write it down in the “waiting room” and add it to the next meeting’s agenda, if needed.

If all attendees understand how the “waiting room” works, they won’t feel that their ideas are being disregarded. They will understand that the idea is off-topic for this meeting, but can be added to the next agenda.

These three rules have already helped me have much more productive meetings. The thing is: we all have very limited time and we don’t want to waste it on non-productive or lesser-productive activities. Since meetings form such an immense part of our professional lives, it is imperative to make them as productive as possible.

Tiana Wilson-Buys is a Business Coach and Productivity Strategist. She offers a free 30-minute virtual meeting to help you get organised.

Book a slot via her website www.talkingbusiness.biz

3 ways to have more productive meetings

Tiana Wilson-Buys | www.talkingbusiness.biz




From the moment you walk into Deal Direct Blinds, you know you’re not in your average blinds showroom.

Mottos adorn the walls, a wood-burning stove keeps visitors warm, the customer loos dazzle with their sparkly paint finish – and there’s a giant teddy bear sitting in a deckchair.

This friendly, informal feel is definitely a reflection of the boss’s personality. Deal Direct’s new Gateshead base oozes that relaxed, gently self-deprecating Geordie approach to life.

Owner Ed Blackbird’s route to his current role is somewhat unconventional. By the mid-80s, Ed was working on the oil rigs off Britain’s east coast – but the arrival of his daughter Joanna changed all that.

“Because of family circumstances, I really had to find a job nearer to home. A pal of mine worked for Hillarys, and that’s how I got started in the industry, with a job there.”

Ed soon found that job very much to his taste and it wasn’t long before this Blackbird flew the Hillarys nest and began working for himself, establishing Clean-A-Blind which, as the name suggests, was a blind-cleaning outfit.

“We travelled the country with a machine in the back of the van and it became a very successful venture, eventually employing 12 staff. “If a customer had a dirty blind that was a bit knackered, we would just put a new one up, and it just progressed on that basis – we would sell a couple one week and ten the next week and so on.”

To say that beginnings in that respect were humble is

something of an understatement – the new venture began

with just a single Micro Pneumatics louvre cutter in the fourth

bedroom of the family home.

Deal Direct’s first shop was a very modest unit in Newcastle

city centre. The company eventually expanded to larger

premises but in the past five years or so, Ed found himself really

struggling for space. The current Blackbird HQ wasn’t easy to

track down, though. Joanna recalls: “It took us about four years

to find somewhere suitable – we just couldn’t find the right unit.”

So what’s trending at the moment? “Definitely plantation

shutters – our customers can’t get enough of them. Vision

products are also popular and we’re also doing well with the

remote control stuff too. ”

The showroom itself follows the contemporary trend of

concentrating on showing a limited range of products in

‘aspirational’ settings.

Deal Direct continues to grow and Ed shrugs off the

uncertainty surrounding Brexit. As already hinted, this

showroom is stuffed with quirkiness. There’s a coffee bar

in front of a picture window, through which customers can

actually watch their blinds being made.

Above the window are three clocks, showing the time in

Brisbane, Dubai and ‘Gatesheed’ itself.

You can visit their showroom on Saltmeadows Road, Gateshead or their site www.dealdirectblinds.co.uk

Personal touch has been the key to Ed’s success


www.irp.biz 0333 220 8910

Instore radio and background music for shops, bars, hotels, salons,

restaurants, gyms & more!

Does your brand sound as good as it looks?

Tolu’ Akinyemi is an exceptional talent endorsed by the Arts Council England as a Writer with Exceptional Promise. Tolu’ is also an out-of-the-box creative thinker, a change management agent and a leader par excellence.

Tolu’ is the Author of Dead Lions Don’t Roar (A Collection of Poetic Wisdom for the Discerning) and Unravel your Hidden Gems (A Collection of Inspirational and Motivational Essays). Through the sale of his books he supported AgeUK Northumberland’s loneliness campaign with a £1,000 donation in December 2017 and he is currently supporting Equal Arts and Chronicle Sunshine Fund.

Tolu’ has headlined and featured in various Open Slam, Poetry Slam, Spoken Word and Open Mic events in the north east United Kingdom. He also inspires large audiences through spoken word performances. He has appeared as a keynote speaker in major forums and events In the United Kingdom and facilitates creative writing masterclass to all types of audiences.

Tolu’s key message to everyone he meets on his life’s journey is that we all need to use our gifts and talents while we are alive and advises everyone to Unravel their Hidden Gems.

He is available for Corporate and private event bookings, Leadership retreats, speaking engagements, and Writing Masterclass facilitation.

e: [email protected] | w: www.tolutoludo.com

Dead Lions Don’t Roar


Having stood on this site for almost 1,000 years, Durham Cathedral has long been a place of community, celebration, commemoration and culture, but keeping the doors to the Cathedral open to all and maintaining such a unique place brings unique challenges.

Foundation 2020, aims to address this challenge by building an endowment of £10 million over the next three years. The income generated from this endowment will support the annual cycle of planned maintenance and repair of the Cathedral’s buildings by covering the cost of having an in-house stonemason team and property department. To kick start the campaign, the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £1 million which is available to match any donations we raise.

This is a unique opportunity for businesses to make their support go further, by joining our 2020 Club Membership.

Membership is £250 per annum for the duration of the campaign, which will become £1,500 by 2020 with match funding. Membership includes:

• 10% off Cathedral Shop

• 10% off Undercroft Restaurant

• Annual passes for all Open Treasure exhibitions

• Annual Magazine Dunholm

• Invitation to events throughout the year

• New and updates about Foundation 2020

If you have any questions please get in touch with Sophia Stovall at 0191 374 4055 or [email protected] or visit www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/foundation2020


Durham Cathedral 2020 Club



Chamber members, large and small will be offering a wide range of products and services, from all around the region at the Chamber Showcase on the 2nd floor of the North East Expo. There will also be fellow members throughout the exhibition, promoting their businesses to the 1,500 visitors.

As well as the exhibition stands there will also be an opportunity to hear Chamber chief executive and leading business figure James Ramsbotham speak about How to Power Up Your Business. He will be drawing on his many years’ experience of supporting regional companies.

There will be a wealth of information on all of the major business issues at present as well, including GDPR, both on stands and at the various seminars throughout the day. Among those providing advice and knowledge will be NGI, ACAS and Short Richardson Forth.

This Chamber Showcase is the fourth time North East England Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with Fresh Start Events to support its members promote themselves to the wider business community.

There will be a Power Up Zone on the Chamber Showcase floor offering free refreshments for member businesses visiting the companies who are exhibiting.

The diversity of Chamber membership is part of its strength and opportunities such as this expo, the largest business to business event in the region, are a real benefit.

Georgina Cox, head of development, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art said: “BALTIC is thrilled to be joining the North East Chamber of Commerce’s Expo for our first time this year. We look forward to introducing everyone to our corporate membership scheme - B.Partners - as well as launching details of our brand new CSR opportunity – B.Partners Together.

“We hope that the Showcase will bring us even closer to the North East business community with the opportunity to make new connections and showcase how BALTIC can support companies’ marketing plans and brand objectives in the UK as well as make a difference to our local community”.

Other Chamber members like United Carlton have exhibited at every year of exhibition. John Watson, managing director said: “At United Carlton we regard the Chamber showcase @ NE Expo a great antidote for a world increasingly dominated by e-mail and tele-based marketing, presenting an ideal opportunity for face-to-face contact and a platform to showcase our cost saving multi-functional print devices and print management software along with our visitor management and audio visual systems. The event is all about building lasting relationships as well as new clients and if previous years are anything to go by we’ll be back again next year.”

The Chamber has 3,000 members who are supported in their growth plans by opportunities to influence major decisions which impact on the region, expand their reach to new markets, increase business knowledge and grow their network.

Members of the Chamber team will be at the exhibition, standing out in bright orange t-shirts to help anyone who wants to find out more how the organisation can help businesses.

Here are some other great examples of Chamber members who will be there on the second floor as well.

5 Award-winning PR and Creative agency to exhibit at North East Expo

The CIPR’s outstanding small PR consultancy of the year, Fusion PR Creative, is set to exhibit at the Chamber Showcase at the North East Expo.

Established in 2013, Fusion is a full-service public relations and creative design agency, specialising in strategic communications for businesses operating across the North of England and beyond.

With a client list spanning multinational organisations to owner-managed businesses across a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, education, tourism, energy, healthcare, charitable and professional services, Fusion has enjoyed tremendous success in recent months, with notable new client wins including Nuffield Health, Y Pellets, Epic Social and The North East Fund Limited (TNEFL).

The business has also successfully grown its headcount, employing a team of experts at its office within the Blyth Workspace in Northumberland.

Joanne Hunter, head of client services at Fusion PR Creative, said:

“The last 18 months have been fantastic for Fusion. Not only was the business named CIPR outstanding small consultancy of the year, but we won some fantastic new business and have been able to expand as a result.

“Fusion has always been a big supporter of the North East England Chamber of Commerce and the work that it does to bring businesses in the region together, so we are delighted to be exhibiting at the Chamber Showcase at the North East Expo.”

This is the first time Fusion has exhibited at the Expo as the business looks to promote its new in-house design offering which includes branding, web design, merchandise and print materials and much more.

For more information on Fusion, visit www.fusionprcreative.com

The North East Growth Hub – championing business support and boosting productivityThe goal of the North East Growth Hub is simple – to provide streamlined, regional business support in a clear, accessible and valuable way.

For time-strapped business managers, the North East Growth Hub provides SMEs with 24/7 instant access to one central access point – a shop front to business support and financial products and services that can help them to grow, overcome challenges, capitalise on opportunities and raise finance.

Delivered by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the

Chamber showcase perfect place for businesses


www.nesma.co.uk | [email protected]

Chamber showcase perfect place for businesses

North East Growth Hub is about boosting economic growth and productivity in the economy through helping businesses become more productive and helping them grow and develop.

Also under the Growth Hub’s umbrella is the new Scaleup North East programme, which aims to increase the success of existing and potential high-growth businesses by removing barriers to growth. It is hoped it will increase the density of scaleup businesses in the North East by 50% by 2024, creating 6,000 additional jobs.

This forms a key part of the North East LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan, which aims to deliver 100,000 more and better jobs by 2024.

For more information, visit www.northeastgrowthhub.co.uk

Taste of Success

Department for International Trade North East helped NOVELTEA prepare to launch its range of tea-based alcoholic drinks in China less than a year after the company was established . In February 2018 its first consignment shipped to China following a successful Trade Mission.

Since launching its The Tale of Earl Grey and The Tale of Tangier beverages in the UK in April 2017 NOVELTEA has quickly established a presence in several high-end department stores including Fenwick, John Lewis and Harrods.

DIT’s Exporting is GREAT campaign aims to help more businesses explore new markets overseas. The campaign is currently showcasing a range of UK businesses to inspire and support firms to export.

Lukas Passia, Managing Director and Co-founder, commented “My advice to any company thinking about exporting for the first time is simple: seek out the expert support available at the earliest opportunity. All you need is a strong product, the right contacts and lots of determination, and if we can do it, others can too.”

Businesses looking for support should ring 0345 136 0169 or email: [email protected]

Learning something newMarketing is one of the most multi-skilled occupations there is. nesma has now worked with students and organisations for over eight years to help them develop their marketing and communication skills.

Additional skills are becoming more valued by employers, and there are lots of ways to develop new skills or build on your old ones. It’s all about finding the right approach for you!

Continuing professional development demonstrates a commitment to your profession, as well as your company, and there’s no doubt that marketers need a wide range of skills to navigate the ever-changing commercial landscape.

As an accredited teaching centre for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the Digital Marketing Institute, nesma is always looking at how we can adapt and respond to changing conditions, with the style and variety of courses we offer.

This is why we have recently added video marketing, marketing metrics and Microsoft skills, amongst others to our 1-day skill sessions, to reflect the modern marketers’ needs. As we know, the one thing that marketers are is both curious and busy! Therefore, these courses are aimed at increasing their know-how, in practical, short bursts in open learning sessions or taken in-house to teams.

These one-day workshops allow participants to share best practice and interact with experts in their field, with the topics being linked to every day on the job learning.

There has never been a more relevant time to ensure you have a plan for your continuing professional development, and we are looking forward to discussing some of the new courses we have introduced to help you to learn something new.

Whether it’s working on your current skill set or exploring a new area of expertise, nesma has all your marketing and communication know-how covered.

Veronica Swindale Director, Chartered Marketer, FCIM and CIM Ambassador of the North 2017


I have seen clients over-invest in both strategy (vision) and delivery (action) to the detriment of the other. This almost always ends without their real goal being achieved.

So how do you stop wasting energy - and investment?Wonderstuff has been working with medium and large scale

SME’s across the North East and beyond, implementing

change through their brand to create impact. Plus we’ve

seen the impact that this unbalanced approach can have. It

slows down progress, inhibits growth and causes a loss of

trust in whichever area the client has invested in.

Based on this experience we’re now developing a clear, and easy to understand methodology. This will enable both our clients and ourselves to define both the goals and the expected value of a solution quickly and openly, enabling them to invest – and deliver – more targeted solutions, and to move forward faster.

Black Storm Brewery is one such client. With a relentless drive to keep moving forward their investment in both ‘Vision’ and ‘Action’ allows for speed and accuracy in achieving their goals.

www.wonderstuff.co @_Wonderstuff_PA

Paul Alderson | Founder | Wonderstuff

I love the old Japanese proverb: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”.

Wonderstuff. Realising vision through brand for SME’s



FACT’s founder, Joanne Smith, received the devastating news that she had breast cancer on her daughters second birthday. Her son was seven. As usual with a cancer diagnosis she was devastated and naturally, so were her family and friends.

Joanne was looked after extremely well by local medical teams. However, once she stepped outside the hospital environment, she was surprised to find that there was no practical or emotional support for either herself, her friends or family.

She wanted to make sure that, unlike her, everyone affected by cancer in the North East, either as the person diagnosed, or their friends or family, could find the help they needed easily, in good time, free of charge.

FACT is now the only local charity offering support for cancer patients in a non-clinical setting outside the hospital environment in the North East. Offering vital advice, support and guidance about day-to-day practical issues people need to deal with, sometimes because of, and sometimes despite, cancer. These include finances; employment; child care; talking to children, family and friends about cancer; exercise; nutrition; affordable travel insurance; etc. A diagnosis of cancer affects the patient and everyone around them, so our support services are available to anyone who needs them.

Why not see for yourself what FACT has achieved www.fact-cancersupport.co.uk Facebook @FACTCancerSupport

It’s a matter of FACTFighting All Cancers Together


So said Stephen Carter previous Chief Executive of Ofcom. He didn’t elaborate but he’s definitely right. And making it count can make all the difference. In a noisy online market where everyone fights for attention nailing the face to face approach can be a game-changer.

You know your business, why your team are the best and why you are the industry leaders.

If you can share this face to face, seeing the whites of someone’s eyes, in your own unique way, you instantly stand yourself out from the crowds.

Here are 3 easy things to do that can make all the difference:

HandshakeObvious right? But so crucial in building trust. University of Chicago and Harvard Business School did an experiment which found that negotiators who shook hands were more open, honest and reached better outcomes. Touch builds trust. As we all know trust in any business relationship is priceless and building it can take time. Until someone invents the virtual physical handshake, doing it face to face gives you a massive headstart.

Eye ContactClearly you can’t have a face to face meeting without it. If you

struggle with this practice in more informal situations just chatting with friends. The more you do it the more comfortable it will feel.

ListenThe hardest but most important thing to do. Because listening isn’t simply the act of not speaking. To make a face to face meeting count the listening needs to be active and focused. Shut out the background noise and truly listen to what is being said. When we do this we not only connect but really understand what our client wants. When you do then speak, try asking a question before launching in with your response. It’s an easy but powerful way to show you have been listening.

And finally

The famous writer Anonymous said “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

Don’t forget your face to face ‘thank you’. It so easy to do this at the end (or sometimes even at the start) of a face to face meeting, yet so often forgotten. A potential client has given up their time to meet you. They may have sat in rubbish traffic to get there, juggled their day or moved a meeting. “Thankyous”, however small, make us feel appreciated and have the power to change our day, and the outcome of our meeting.

Why Face to Face mattersand how to make it count

Jo Darby | Founder | Voice in the Room

“We live in an almost 100% digital world but face to face matters”

• Absence Management

• Health Surveillance

• Safety Critical Medicals

• Offshore Medicals

• Driver Assessments

• Mobile Health Unit

www.oh3.co.uk 0191 653 1001 [email protected]

Come and find us on stand GS03 to see the light.

Converting cost to cash


John Antunes

With 3.8 billion internet users spanning the globe, it’s now more essential than ever for small businesses get themselves online. So whether you already have your own website or you’re just starting up, follow our 4 key principles for delivering an effective website.

1 Make it visual – websites have never been more visual. Like any developing advertising medium, the way customers

expect to engage with websites has changed over time. Make sure your website interacts with customers in an exciting way that makes them want to come back. Image quality is crucial, as is video, but it’s also about the little things that make a website easy to navigate and use, such as speed and page load times.

2 Give it structure – it’s important to have a well thought out page hierarchy as not all pages will carry

the same level of importance from a customer’s point of view and here is where

the experienced professionals can make a

world of difference. Think of the difference

between a novel written by an Author, and

your own best effort to tell the same story.

3 Keep your website content relevant and up to date; it engages your customer and gives them confidence

that they are working with a thriving

business who is ‘on the ball’.

4 Mobile first – In today’s world, most of us will find your website first and foremost on our mobile devices.

Therefore, it’s paramount to ensure that

your website is optimised for mobile. By

optimised, we mean can it change its

format so it works just as well on a laptop,

tablet and smartphone as it does on a

desktop computer.

Remember to always put yourself in the

mind of your customer, take pride in your

website and use the experts to maximise

your return on business investment.

4 principles for delivering an effective website


Experiential Marketing is a form of advertising that concentrates on connecting consumers to brands through live experiences. It is important to create that ‘feel good’ feeling at events, promotions and live marketing campaigns in order to be memorable.

Whether this is a road show, a product demonstration, sampling or exhibition its all about creating a positive association between the consumer and the brand.

The route to success

Target the right audience at the right time in the right way - this works for B2B to!

Make it valuable to the consumer, find a way to allow them to interact or engage with your brand, product or a service that benefits them.

It’s all about resultsExperiential marketing can be used to reach a whole load of objectives and goals; Brand awareness, sales uplift, brand loyalty, increasing knowledge, building relationships, guide preferences, creating a positive perception and more!

Uneek Staffing 0191 6911332 or [email protected]

“People remember how they feel rather than the actual experience”

Uneek Staffing | 0191 6911332 or [email protected]

Experiential Marketing is one for the best ways to create ‘feel good’ experiences and connect consumers and perspectives to brands.



To celebrate, Objective are offering North East Expo delegates the opportunity to apply for a complimentary marketing consultation.

Consultations will include:

Marketing strategy evaluation

Website technical report (highlighting required fixes)

SEO and PPC performance analysis and recommendations

A fresh perspective on your future marketing projects

Objective Creative Managing Director Dan Broadbent said “We are committed to supporting great North East businesses.We are offering complimentary consultations to provide businesses with useful advice on generating leads, and raising awareness, of their products and services.”

He added: “Our digital team are part of a global network of specialist agencies, with access to software, used to analyse digital activity.

We can offer detailed reports on websites, SEO and PPC campaigns.

Our recommendations are designed to make websites more effective, through a combination of technical and creative marketing techniques.

Consultations often help businesses receive more sales enquiries.”

You can apply for a complimentary marketing consultation by visiting the Objective Creative stand at the Expo, calling 0114 2536756 or emailing contact details to [email protected].

Objective Creative are a full service marketing agency. Services include marketing strategy, creative design, brand development, website design and development, search engine marketing and SEO, social media management, video and motion graphics production and pay per click management.

Members of the Objective team are Google accredited, and the agency has achieved Recommend Agency status, and Premium Partner recognition the Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, please visit www.objectivecreative.com.

Objective Creative have been recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing B2B marketing agencies.

Dan Broadbent | Managing Director | www.objectivecreative.com

Award winning marketing agency supports North East businesses

A North East homeless charity is celebrating successes with the star of I Daniel Blake, Dave Johns, agreeing to appear at its fundraising Gala Dinner and regional businesses rallying to give support.

North East Homeless which provides outreach support

including food and clothing for people in need in central

Newcastle, joined North East England Chamber of Commerce

to get business support for its work with great results.

Fresh Start Events was one of the first members to help the

charity and provided free artisan coffee for the Christmas meal

provided for people in need. It has also donated the North East

Homeless an exhibition stand at North East Expo Chamber

Showcase, one of the region’s largest business to business

events. This takes place on 2 May at Newcastle Falcons with

over 1,500 visitors expected.

Clare McCabe, Chamber relationship manager said: “We are really delighted the Chamber has been able to link these two organisations together. The Gala Dinner and the stand at the Chamber Showcase at the Expo are great opportunities to really raise awareness of the charity and help it to generate funding at the same time.”

The Gala Dinner will be held on 29 March at the Sage

Gateshead with comedy stars Simon Donald from Viz and

Gavin Webster joining Dave Johns on stage. At the black tie

event, there will be a four course meal and a silent auction. Tickets are £80 each.

Marc Gordon, Fresh Start Events said: “When I saw what North East Homeless were doing it made perfect sense to us to get on board and make a real difference to local people that need our support.”

Emma Burridge, a trustee for North East Homeless said: “We have had tremendous support from the Chamber and many of its members but Fresh Start Events in particular, have been brilliant. The HR and business advice from the Chamber has been a huge help to us as well as the networking opportunities.”

The charity has seen a huge increase in the need for its services so it is currently providing three hot meals a week in Newcastle and advice and signposting for people, who are not able to access support by more traditional routes.

Emma added: “We have been established for three years and now have the ambition to create a permanent hub in North Tyneside so people can come and see us more easily. We also have a further ambition to spread our outreach work to North Tyneside, Sunderland and, in time, Durham. There is an ever-increasing need from our street friends and we want to ensure they get the support they need.”

More information on Gala Dinner tickets is available by emailing [email protected].

Funding support through raising awareness

www.nehomeless.org.uk



Thank youNexus would like to thank the business community of the North East for backing our bid for the new fleet. We received great support from all the businesses who attended North East Expo in 2017.

Come and talk to us this year on stand no PF10 to find out about our exciting new plans.

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Gemma Neesham, previously head of SEO at an agency in Newcastle, is now working alongside Cameo Digital’s MD, Charlotte McMurray, to deliver outstanding search marketing strategies for clients.

The pair worked together for over four years delivering campaigns for national and regional brands including Warner Bros and Berghaus. After almost a decade under the agency, Gemma decided to go freelance last year.

The pair have recently secured substantial new business opportunities, including North East-based travel and cycling business, Saddle Skedaddle. With over 20 years’ worth of expertise in the field, the brand delivers over 200 cycling holidays across 34 countries.

Gemma said: “I was delighted we were given the opportunity to pitch for Saddle Skedaddle. The brand is a huge local success story and business has even more potential for huge success this year and beyond.

“We’re working with them on much more than just their digital campaigns, too, including consulting, helping to develop their existing marketing team and providing Wordpress training.

Charlotte and Gemma will be at Teesside Business Show at The Riverside Stadium on March 14 to share unparalleled insight into why the traditional agency-client relationship is supposedly broken, and what business owners can do about it.

Jarrow’s Cameo Digital has established an exclusive partnership with one of the region’s leading SEO talents.


Charlotte McMurray | www.cameodigital.co.uk


I often speak to people who aren’t generating enough opportunities to hit their targets, so here are my 5 top tips to start generating more opportunities, with the right people on a regular basis.

1 Where are our ideal customers hanging out? It might not be where you are! And if it’s not your making

your life very difficult! Yes, there are opportunities for referrals and building your network which might eventually get you to the right people – but how much could you fast track your success by working out where your ideal customers are already hanging out? Are they at industry or institute events? Are they networking at awards dinners? Wherever it is – get yourself there! You’ll get in front of more of the right people – quicker!

2 Hang out at events! Please don’t take this the wrong way – heading to events based around your

industry is super fab – BUT – you can’t go there to ‘sell’ – there is nothing more disrespectful than going round and trying to sell to people who have paid to have a stand at an event. What you CAN do however is take advantage of ‘the coffee queue’ – it’s a great place to catch up and

start to talk to people who have similar interests and may be a good match for you... And its also a great idea to spend some proper time walking the floor – any event is also a fantastic networking event – when else are you going to get so many people in one place, all ready to talk about their businesses?

3 Remember your competitors – every business has busy times, picking up overflow work from others in your field can be super helpful – it

can also give you the opportunity to build a network of people you can use when you find yourself in the same situation and also give you the opportunity to learn some new skills! Word of warning – remember this is a super professional environment – and you probably need a contract to make both parties feel comfortable no-one is going to ‘steal’ each other’s client.

4 Get back in touch with people you have worked with in the past – is there anything else you could help them with? What results have

they seen since you last worked together? This can be a great way of ‘reminding’ people you are around and shaking out a little extra business.

5 Referrals – yup really important! But rather than waiting for a referral to come to you, why not get in touch with your existing customer

base and pro-actively ask if there is anyone in their network that they feel would be a good match for you – it’s a great way to leverage your ‘fans’!

Five top tips for creating AWESOME opportunities!

Victoria Fleming | Buzztastic

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Through our range of fully installed renewable technologiers and funding options, Engenera are actively working to help local businesses drastically reduce energy costs and protect against future volatile energy price hikes. By providing energy efficient measures to businesses across the NE, we are delivering benefits and lifetime savings to those who need it most.

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Helping Businesses Save Money

Project FundingEngenera attracts investment capital and currently manages a substantial portfolio of rooftop and ground mounted solar and renewable heating projects across the UK & Ireland.

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DeliveryUtilising a highly trained management team and workforce with a customer focused manner, Engenera ensures a quality service that guarantees investment grade solutions.

Asset ManagementIn order to derive accurate investment returns, our bespoke life cycle monitoring platform captures full technical and financial realtime performance of all our installations.

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