Award-winning Shropshire festivals company launches new business

Shropshire Festivals – which stages the Shrewsbury Food Festival, Shropshire Oktoberfest and Shropshire KidsFest – has unveiled a new creative business called Shropshire ThinkTank.

The company will use expertise gained from staging and promoting its festivals to help promote and market local businesses in new, creative ways.

Shropshire Festivals boss Beth Heath said the success of its events – attended by tens of thousands of people every year – had sparked a flurry of interest from county companies who wanted to tap into its creative talent.

“We are getting asked to do creative, out-of-the box thinking all the time by people who see the success of our festivals, and the fresh, dynamic approach we bring to them, and want to replicate that in their own businesses,” she said.

“By launching Shropshire ThinkTank, we will be able to offer all our creative and marketing expertise across the county, helping other companies benefit from the wealth of knowledge and experience we have gathered. It’s hugely exciting for both us and the county in general, because there is a wealth of opportunity out there for any company which wants to take a fresh look at the way they market and promote themselves. That is exactly what we will offer.”

The company – which also stages Shrewsbury Winter Festival and the county’s Field to Fork Festival – was named Best Small Business at this year’s Shropshire Chamber Business Awards officially launched the new venture at Shropshire BizFest on Thursday.

Shropshire Festivals teamed up with Reech Media, a Shropshire-based marketing agency, and Shropshire Chamber to organise the free festival-themed networking event at Reech’s base in Anchorage Avenue, Shrewsbury. It featured a range of seminars and networking opportunities, with specialists giving advice on a range of topics including the importance of branding.