Freshfield takes Highly Commended award at Prolific North Awards

Freshfield has been Highly Commended at this year’s Prolific North Awards alongside client Lancashire County Council for a marketing campaign that helped Lancashire business owners access crucial support during the coronavirus pandemic.

The accolade was given in the B2B Integrated Campaign of the Year for work with Lancashire County Council’s £6m Business Growth Hub.

Freshfield devised and ran #AskForHelp campaign which transformed the Growth Hub into a support service dedicated to helping worried business owners impacted by coronavirus.

The campaign helped more than 6,000 people during lockdown. It included repositioning Boost’s website to include a business advice hub and a multi-channel marketing campaign to encourage people to ring Boost’s support helpline and ask for help on issues surrounding finance, continuity and health and safety.

Freshfield’s managing director Simon Turner said: “We’re hugely proud that the #AskForHelp campaign has gained recognition for its significant contribution to the Lancashire economy during the most challenging weeks of lockdown.

“We worked closely with Lancashire County Council and a range of partners and repositioned an entire Growth Hub from providing growth support to resilience support in a matter of days to give business owners a place to turn as quickly as possible.

“The huge success of #AskForHelp means it is continuing to provide help to Lancashire business owners as they recover from the coronavirus crisis.”

Andrew Leeming, programme manager, Boost, said; “It’s been an emotional journey for the entire business community. Our advice was simple: ask for help. Ring our helpline. Let us help and support your business through the unique challenges it is currently facing.

“This was a huge marketing challenge given the timescales and the Freshfield team delivered exceptional results.”

The Prolific North Awards celebrate outstanding campaigns and talent in the creative and media industries across the North. Since they were launched seven years ago, the awards have become a key date in the industry calendar for business leaders, marketers and creatives.