Media mix: The Market Creative; Mason Williams; Worship Digital;

A ROCHDALE-based bakery development and distribution company has appointed The Market Creative for strategic marketing consultancy services.

The brand and retail agency based in Trafford Park, Manchester, will help Baker Bennett consolidate its place and create differentiation in the market to make a greater impact with retailers.

The Market Creative has been tasked with reviewing the whole brand portfolio, including supermarket favourites Bakers Delight and Trymline. Activity also includes analysis of competitors and the shopper journey.

Managing director at The Market Creative Sue Benson said: “The ambient bakery category has become stagnant with little differentiation between brands. We will be looking at both products that come under the Baker Bennett umbrella as well as those of competitors to develop a way forward that enables them to stand out and be more competitive.”  

Julie Bowmer at Baker Bennett said: “We hope to capitalise on The Market Creative’s knowledge and expertise in our category, finding a new way to market our brands that sets them apart from the competition. We will be looking to bring our proposition up to date and leverage our position with retailers.”

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LUXURY hotel Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross in London has appointed Manchester based Mason Williams, the PR agency behind the rebirth of the iconic May Fair Hotel and Accor hotels, to handle it’s launch in late 2015.
 
Previously known as The Bellhouse Hotel, the Cairn Group owned property is undergoing a £20m refurbishment and inauguration into the Crowne Plaza portfolio.
 
Mason Williams, who already represents over 250 hotels in the UK and internationally, will work closely with Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross to support the rebranding within UK media and also position the new restaurant, spa and events concepts as stand-alone destinations.
 
David Jones, General Manager for Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross, said: “We are impressed with Mason Williams’ experience in the hotel and hospitality sector, and felt that they fully understand our vision of the hotels future. 

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MANCHESTER agency Worship Digital has designed and built a new online hub for silver surfers on behalf of Skipton Building Society.

Skipton’s desire to engage with the new generation of over 50s planning and enjoying long and active retirements led them to develop the concept of ‘Retire Savvy’ – a portal to help this community plan, prepare and enjoy their well-earned free time.

Packed with news, blogs, articles and real-life stories about retirement from more than 50 contributors, the site retiresavvy.skipton.co.uk is designed to be a virtual community for its members.

Covering topics such as financial planning, health, divorce, depression and travel, membership is free and grants users access to all content on the site. A limited amount of content will also be available to non-members.

Northern Quarter based Worship Digital triumphed after a competitive pitch and built the Drupal site in a challenging timescale.

Nina Mack, managing director of Worship Digital, said: “The mindset around retirement is totally different now and Skipton wanted to reflect that and engage with its audience by providing lots of relevant content.

“Our plans were not only for how we’d build the site, but how it could be made a success. The strategy had to include detail about how to build and engage a community.”