Graduate and student talent lends creative hand while enhancing employability options
A Chorley-based company is reaping the benefits of a partnership with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), after enlisting the help of two of the institution’s free business support projects.
Crowberry Consulting, an environmental, energy and ethical consultancy which provides training and audits for businesses in the UK and overseas, teamed up with UCLan staff and students to produce a series of promotional videos.
Having previously worked with the University on a website development project, the firm approached UCLan’s European Regional Development Funded (ERDF) programmes, Digital First and UNITEplus.
Digital First is made up of a team of digital specialists and students from the University to help SMEs promote and grow their businesses through a range of digital tactics, while UNITEplus is designed to add value and skills to a business through high impact placements delivered by UCLan students and graduates.
The project resulted in the production of six videos to help promote Crowberry’s services, comprising three customer testimonials and two expo walk-around videos which were filmed at the RWM Recycling, Energy, Water and Waste Management Show at the NEC and the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation (CGE) showcase held at Lancaster University.
Former UCLan student Luke Nelson graduated from the University in 2016 with a degree in Media Production and Technology, and is now Web Innovation Developer within Digital First. He and current final year Film Production student Curtis Tootell used their skills to help film and edit the videos.
Becky Toal, Managing Director of Crowberry Consulting, said: “We had every confidence that UCLan could help us by providing a quality student to support us, as we have had good experiences with the University in the past. Our main objective was to produce high quality, user friendly video-based customer testimonials, as well as a feature from two expos we attended."
"I would recommend any business to work with the UCLan Digital First and UNITEplus teams. They have provided excellent support to our integrated marketing strategy."
“Thanks to the team we now have high quality video customer testimonials which have resulted in a sizeable increase in engagement across our social media channels.”
Amine Melaine, UNITEplus Project Manager at UCLan, said: “By teaming up with local businesses, not only can we help them achieve their goals, we can also provide students and graduates with real-world experience in their chosen field and enable them to get the best start to their careers.
“The business receives valuable support while the student gains real experience and an opportunity to hone their skills.”
For more information about Digital First and UNITEplus or any of the business support services on offer at UCLan, contact Amine Melaine on 01772 894097.