programmes, education and skills curriculum delivery with the needs of business.
The county council will continue working with authorities across Lancashire to seek an “ambitious” County Deal. And, also working in partnership, a ‘Lancashire Infrastructure Plan’ will be developed to better integrate infrastructure and economic development opportunities, including growth corridors and clusters.
The strategy document was being put before councillors as Lancashire Business View went to print. Aidy Riggott, council cabinet member for economic development and growth, said: “While there will undoubtedly be challenges ahead, the future of Lancashire’s economy looks bright.
“Significant programmes of work that include multi-billion-pound developments
and infrastructure projects are already in the pipeline, together with a mix of high- performing, well established businesses, with long and settled roots in Lancashire.
“We have a unique opportunity over the next three years to capitalise on new industries and new business locations across the county, to secure high value jobs and encourage further investment.
“The creation of new, high quality opportunities will also contribute to our wider ambitions for health and regeneration, making Lancashire somewhere people want to live, work and visit.”
It is the first of three closely linked strategies the council is looking to announce over the coming months. Environmental and transport strategies will follow.
Laura Weldon Creative director
@studioLWD studiolwd
BRAND FOR FUNDING OR IS IT FUNDING FOR BRAND?
Branding investment is a huge conundrum for start-ups and growth businesses seeking funding. Quality branding can seem an expensive exercise when funding is limited. But a great brand can intuitively demonstrate your vision to investors to secure the funding you need in the first place.
TOURISM BOUNCES BACK
To help decide on whether to invest in branding before or after seeking funding, consider the following:
Visions are visual
You can have the greatest black and white business plan in the world, but humans are visual animals. To sell someone on your vision, they have to be able to visualise it. Strong branding at a funding pitch is an incredible way of helping investors buy into the vision. It helps them to see what the company represents in the same way as your end customers will.
You would invest for sales, so why not funding?
A new report has revealed that Lancashire welcomed twice as many visitors - and brought in twice as much visitor spend - in 2021 compared to the pandemic-hit year before.
The annual STEAM report, released by Marketing Lancashire, shows that visitor numbers rose from 23.8m in 2020 to 51.5m in 2021. The economic impact generated increased from £1.7bn to £3.5bn.
The county-wide numbers equate to around 75 per cent of pre-Covid levels, which had experienced six years of consecutive growth up to 2018.
However, Blackpool recorded visitor numbers higher than pre-pandemic levels, despite pandemic restrictions stretching into the first four months of 2021.
The resort attracted almost 19m visitors in 2021, generating spend of £18.8m, which is a four per cent increase over 2019.
These figures were boosted by Blackpool Council initiatives including a two-month extension to the Illuminations season and a £1m investment in marketing and events to kick-start the tourism, retail and hospitality industry as it emerged from Covid-19 restrictions.
Rachel McQueen, chief executive of Marketing Lancashire, said: “Having been through the unprecedented challenges of the Covid pandemic on the tourism and hospitality sector, we are very much encouraged by the findings of the new STEAM report, which shows Lancashire businesses recovering well, no doubt due to their hard work and determination to welcome visitors back.
“Visitor numbers grew to around 75 per cent of pre-Covid levels and economic impact was at 80 per cent of the £4.4bn reported in 2018. Considering Lancashire was amongst the destinations most disrupted by local as well as national lockdowns, this positive news is further testament to the resilience and innovation of our brilliant sector and colleagues.”
She added: “We know we cannot afford to be complacent as the challenges of rising energy costs and the increased cost of living now pose new threats, but we are committed to continuing to do all we can to help return to the healthy levels of annual growth that we experienced before Covid.”
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
If you consider the investment ratio of developing a great brand against the sales you would hope to achieve in your first year, why wouldn’t you see funding in the same way? If you don’t get the investment to start with, you’ll never get the sales anyway. So, if you’d invest for sales why not when you’re seeking investment?
Pitch confidence
Brand audiences are internal and external – and that includes you. Going into a pitch with a strong brand will really help your pitching confidence. That confidence is infectious and will give investors confidence in you and your vision.
Are your brands aligned?
Sometimes you will be pitching as an established company for funding to support development of a new product or service. Is your established brand strong enough to help your new pitch, or does it need updating? Keeping your central brand fresh and updated is a great way to ensure your ongoing visions are supported and represented when seeking new investment.
To discuss how brand power can help you achieve your vision, email
hello@studiolwd.co.uk, call 01253 892031 or visit
www.studiolwd.co.uk
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