Since its inception in 2009, NE1 has been set up to serve the needs of Newcastle's business community and was deliberately designed and structured to be fleet of foot.
Employing a small, tight-knit and highly skilled team allows us to be agile and truly responsive to the needs of our 1,400 business members, which was always our intention. Keeping close to our businesses means that we are in a great position to listen and be poised, ready to respond and deliver exactly what is needed to support individual companies and different industry sectors across the city, and all in a timely fashion. It is what keeps us relevant and delivers a return on investment for our levy payers, now more than ever.
During Covid we worked extremely hard, and closely with businesses, to help navigate lockdown, the various constraints placed upon businesses and the wider public and the opportunities that it created for many. In this time, we saw a huge surge in demand for digital content, as businesses turned to online platforms. It was clear that this digital shift was not a temporary phenomenon and so we’ve used our time wisely ever since, to plan a new focus for our own marketing activities and shifted NE1 resources to capitalise on these new, limitless digital opportunities.
As we emerged from the pandemic, we freed up resource to allow us to change focus and direction. We adjusted our marketing programme and decided to stop producing our muchloved printed magazine. After publishing over 200 successful issues, the last edition went to print in March, knowing that the resource, budget, and effort the magazine required would be better channelled into digital and online media.
Freeing up this resource was quickly followed by the next major adjustment, the appointment of a talented new team. We wanted to bring people on board who have the skills and experience to cater for the changing needs and priorities of the city’s business community.
The team has been hand-picked for their skills, specifically for their digital marketing capabilities. Covid accelerated this major shift and we emerged from lockdown with a newly recruited, reformed team capable of delivering a strong digital marketing resource and with a clear focus on the way ahead.
All of this has been made possible, by the appointment in the last few months, of an exceptionally strong 4-person team, soon to be five, when our new Digital Marketing Executive is recruited later this month. We have identified and recruited local talent, keeping these people and skills in the North East and putting them to work for the good of Newcastle’s business community. Rachel Barlow joined NE1 earlier this year as Marketing and Events Manager with oveLater in the year, we will also be launching a revamped Get into Newcastle website which will expand our digital capacity and we have already started moving the magazine’s previous editorial focus online, increasing the content and frequency of web articles, social media posts and video content. Events, venue launches, things to do and see in the city and stories of new business openings are all being produced quickly and more flexibly for these online platforms. Businesses are already using these additional resources and are approaching us with ideas and requests for feature articles and news stories. With our new team in place, we can respond to these requests and will also be able to reach out to audiences more frequently and directly through email and custom content, as well as adding video content to our arsenal.
r 10 years’ experience in events management and place-making companies elsewhere in the UK; Northumbria University graduate, Lily Morris has joined as Marketing and Events Executive after gaining a 1st class honours degree in Marketing Management, and spending almost a year with leading local digital agency, MediaWorks. Finally, Daniela Silva moves into the newly created role of Social Media Executive, bringing experience in social media management and a 1st in Journalism from Sunderland University. We are currently recruiting to fill the role of Digital Marketing Executive to add even more digital resource and experience to the team.
In the midst of this recruitment drive, I was promoted to the position of Director of Communications after several years as Head of Marketing and Events. With our team now in place, we are fully equipped and ready to make the most of these growing digital opportunities and it is full steam ahead for NE1 events and marketing campaigns.
We emerged from the pandemic with a strong mandate to deliver this newly re-formed and strengthened team, equipped with the skills and experience to provide a responsive and hardworking marketing resource that reflects the quality and diversity of the city’s business community. I am excited about my new role and working with such a talented group of people, and together we are looking forward to the future and being able to shout about all that’s great within Newcastle’s business community and what is happening in the city centre
