The Lively Crew is celebrating 10 years in business in July with a brand new look. The business has grown and diversified over the years to compete in an ever increasing competitive market place. A lively and experienced team mixing wise heads with the exuberance of youth, the business continues to deliver exceptional marketing activity for organisations of all shapes and sizes across a diverse range of business sectors including public and private sector organisations.

We only work with people we like and we believe we can make a difference to their business. Results driven we don't just take the money. We have no Porsches in the car park we don't have time for the test drive as we are too busy driving client business.

The Lively Crew is one  of a group of companies, wholly owned or part shared with like minded business partners. One of the founders Valerie has a keen interest in saving the planet and through two of the sister companies Fresh Pod and Enviro-Pod is one a mission to reduce energy consumption and food waste through the food supply chain. (websites). Watch this space - proven technology is starting to make a difference!

Sustainability comes in many forms and out to prove that public sector money should be used to drive economic development on an ongoing basis and not channelled into project, short term, based programmes BOLD Directories was formed. How pleasing that forward thinking teams such as those at Broadland, Breckland and South Norfolk invested in business directories for businesses and which have ultimately bought the District Councils and local businesses closer together.

Proud to be a family business. Family owned businesses have been and continues to be a major contributor to economic growth. It's not just about numbers, emotive issues are complex and at the forefront of many of family/owner controlled organisations and where many professional services focus on the revenue share and issues Trilogic Family Office works closely with families on structures and ownership issues through the generations.

So we haven't been sitting on our seats for the past decade. Life is good, business is good and the Crew are getting increasingly livelier to the benefit of our growing customer base.

The Lively Crew have recently rebranded, to coincide with 10 years in business, delivering first-class marketing, sales and events work for businesses across the private, public and third sectors has taught us a thing or two about what works and why. That is why we are offering businesses the chance to tap into our expertise with a FREE two-hour session to review your current marketing activity and how you could move forward.

Our portfolio of services and businesses has grown steadily in the last decade. Being a true full-service marketing agency we offer; Marketing Consultancy, Direct Marketing, PR, Event Management, Website Management, Copywriting, Telemarketing, Database Management and Media Buying as well as Branding and Design.

Our growth means we now operate from 34a Yarmouth Road in Norwich and The Workshop in Bridgham, meaning we have Norfolk covered.

 Barnham Common has been given a winter makeover ready for summer. Local garden and ground maintenance company Roots and Routes, undertook the extensive winter clearance programme on the common on behalf of Breckland District Council to help preserve it as a prime example of ancient breck land.

The common, which stretches from Barnham to the outskirts of Thetford, is located within an area of ‘Special Site of Scientific Interest’ and is a listed nature reserve. As such Barnham Common is a favourite destination of walkers and nature enthusiasts. The quieter winter period, therefore offers an ideal opportunity to carry out necessary work, with the minimum disruption to both visitors and the wildlife that call the common home.

Traditionally an area of classic breck land, featuring large expanses of grass and gorse and very few trees, Barnham Common is famous for its unusual array of flora and fauna, work was required to scale back the advance of non-indigenous plant life. Breckland District Council recognised this and commissioned garden and grounds maintenance company Roots and Routes to undertake a conservation cut, including coppicing 275 oak trees, to open the area up and return it to its former glory.

“We were delighted to be offered the chance to carry out this felling contract for Breckland District Council on Barnham Common. The common is a beautiful and typical part of breck land and we are proud to have played a part in its upkeep” said Roots and Routes Director Iain Hyson.

“Winter is the ideal time of year to tidy up gardens and prepare the ground for spring planting and turfing. Spring is a key time for flora and fauna and, because the sap isn’t currently rising, now is the time to ensure that conditions are optimised. Now is also the time to lay turf, to allow it time to bed deep roots ahead of the drier summer season” Iain explained, adding “this is a beautiful part of the world and I’d encourage everybody to go along and look at the work that has been done to preserve and enhance the environment and really enjoy this gorgeous part of Thetford”.

Roots and Routes is based in Thetford, and was established in 2003 by Iain, using just a van and £200 of second-hand tools. Roots and Routes now employs seven full-time staff and specialise in all aspects of ground maintenance from assisting in individual gardens, through to commercial properties, full-landscaping and car park maintenance, including tree surgery, litter picking, site clearance, pressure washing and painting.

2011 was a highly eventful year at The Lively Crew, so put your feet up and get a cup of tea as we look back over the year that was 2011:

January
 January saw two new staff members joining the team. Andrew Lawn joined as Marketing Manager, following working on the campaign to keep Tesco out of his hometown of Sheringham. Andrew was joined by Robert Ediker who started a year's Apprentice scheme while he completed an NVQ in Customer Service from Broadland Council Training Services. During the coming 12 months, Robert would prove a very driven, talented and ambitious member of the team and will be joining the team permantly in 2012.

February
In February we were delighted to win a contract with South Norfolk Council to supply the area with a dedicated Online Business Directory, similar to those we were already managing from Breckland and Broadland District Council's. The new Directory was officially launched in June with a free business networking event, which also kicked off a year of quarterly Business Breakfast Forums for the area.

March
During March we undertook the official reckie ahead of the Disabled Motoring Alps Challenge in June. The reckie highlighted just what a mammoth undertaking the Alps Challenge would later prove to be, but was invaluable as a result.

April
During April we oversaw the official rebrand of national disabled motorist charity Mobilise, to Disabled Motoring UK. We were delighted to have managed the re-brand from start to finish, including developing a long-term business plan to re-model the charity, appeal to a younger generation and reverse declining membership numbers. We were also responsible for designing the new logo and accompanying stationary and managing the process of re-branding. Since the name change we are delighted that member numbers have increased and we have been able to attract new celebrity supporters and ambassadors to the charity, including motor-racing star Nicolas Hamilton.

May
May saw another permanant arrival to The Lively Crew staff, with Jodie McGill joining as Business Development Executive. Jodie has taken on all aspects of the BOLD Group and our Online Business Directories and has become an integral part of the business communities in Breckland, Broadland and South Norfolk.

June
The month that saw the Alps Challenge. Joined by celebrities including Ade Adepitan, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Nicolas Hamilton, we managed the challenge from long before the official start line at the Queen's House in Greenwich, down through England, across France and over the Swiss Alps, before returning North, through France once more and up to the finish line opposite the House's of Parliament in London. The event was a huge success and generated huge awareness of the charity both at home and abroad.

June also saw us launch the third of our Online Business Directories in South Norfolk.

July
In July we were delighted to launch our new logo and website, to better reflect our sustainable, environmental and socially responsible company ethos. To celebrate the new website we are continuing to offer a free marketing diagnostic to all businesses looking to ensure their marketing is measurable and working for them.

August
To help spread the message of sustainability and cutting waste, our Director Valerie and Business Development Executive Jodie McGill headed to the Peterborough Green Festival to talk to businesses and consumers about our environmental products in Fresh Pod and Enviro Pod.

September
In September we oversaw the official Disabled Motoring Awards Ceremony at the Goodwood Revival Festival. The Awards were to celebrate and recognise the achievements of disabled people and organisations, who have contributed to a better day-to-day life for disabled individuals across the United Kingdom. Winners, which we helped judge, came from right around the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland and included motor-racing star Nicolas Hamilton, Cambridge City Council, Peatlands Park and mobility scooter display team the Red Wheelies.

October
Two Business Breakfast Forums kept us busy in October with both Thetford and Broadland business leaders meeting to discuss the latest business news and developments in their respective regions.

November
During Movember our Marketing Manager undertook Movember and raised over £100 for Prostate Cancer whilstmaking himself look seedier than a flower in Spring. The whole team got involved, partly through their generous sponsorship efforts but primarily by making sure Andrew felt as ridiculous as he looked and pointing this out to all they could

December
Throughout December we ran Light for Life events for our Charity of the Year; Star Throwers. By attending numerous Christmas light switch-on events across Norfolk, we helped raise a massive £1,115.43p for the cancer charity based in Wymondham.

 The last thing any organisation should be doing in tough economic times is reducing their marketing activity.

Utilising the skills of a professional outside company on an ‘as and when basis’ can fill the gaps left by reductions in budgets or staff which could be out of your control; if you choose carefully, enlisting the help of an outside specialist, will be very cost effective solution – so much so, that in many cases it can actually make money for you. 

At The Lively Crew we have been delivering measurable marketing and sales activity for organisations of all sizes and across the public, private and third sectors for 10 years. Working locally and nationally we provide a results driven marketing service, always with cost considerations and without ever skimping on quality.

We only deliver marketing activity that is right for you which means we have seventeen different marketing tools in our toolbox. We firmly believe that what is right for one company is not necessarily right for another.
 
We create opportunities and drive them to exceed. Recently we delivered £120k of media publicity for a client including coverage on BBC TV, ITV and Sky News using an allocated budget of less than 2% of the coverage gained.

We organise events on small and grand scales and we also deliver branding and design work of national and international class. We have a sales team for those who need to attract numbers whether through making one-to-one appointments or through getting large numbers through doors and we are not afraid of risk taking, selling tickets and stand space if its needed.

As consultants we have sourced funding and worked on projects to deliver outcomes.

One of our strengths is our database management systems which mean we have access to thousands of businesses for communication purposes.

We have a very strong track record working with public, private and third sector organisations across East Anglia and beyond.

Why are we letting you know this? You may have dropped some of the marketing and event work you have done in the past through business pressures or you may have a new idea which you need help with.  It costs nothing to talk and who knows we could resurrect some of your past successes or be able to assist you in moving ideas forward.

Please let us know if you would like to meet up for an informal chat about what The Lively Crew can offer you. Telephone 01603 702374 or email andrew@thelivelycrew.co.uk

 Business leaders on the A11 have been given advice on how to lower their costs, by reducing their carbon footprint, ahead of a winter of unprecedented fuel price hikes.

Laura Chellis told members of the Attleborough and Snetterton breakfast forum that the Low Carbon Innovation fund is looking for businesses to get involved with. The fund will run until December 2015 and has already match-funded projects up to £2.3million.

The importance of lowering fuel costs and carbon footprints over the winter was emphasised by Guy Ransom of local heat pump company Finn Geotherm, noting oil prices have risen 20% every year for the last five years. At a similar rate by 2020 a business paying £2,000 for a year’s heating now will be paying over £10,000 a year. New technologies such as heat pumps will help businesses lower that cost and could be eligible for match-funding to help cover the initial outlay.

Ali Clabburn from Liftshare.com updated members on the large increase in numbers of available car-sharing opportunities in the region, whilst John Dingle from Dingles Motor-Group spoke about the advances in hybrid vehicle technology.

Finally, Valerie Bullard urged businesses to monitor the amount of untouched food they throw away. 4.3 million apples and 5.1 million potatoes are thrown away in the UK, every single day. Nearly 60% of the fruit and vegetables we buy goes into the bin untouched. Innovative natural product Fresh Pod can prevent this by naturally prolonging their life and in-turn will save the average UK household over £600 per year.

For more information on how your business can lower your costs and your carbon footprint, contact Jodie McGill on 08456 345 185.