Close to 200 people attended the second ‘Redcar | Cleveland Ambassador Showcase’ at the wonderful Gisborough Hall Hotel‘.

The event was our biggest yet, and comparing to last year’s Showcase event, exhibitor numbers increased by 33% and attendee numbers showed a 67% increase. Lots of great feedback has been received, with many delegates stating that they had made many new contacts at the event.

“What a morning at the Redcar | Cleveland Ambassadors Showcase yesterday at Gisborough Hall Hotel! So good to feel the buzz about all the positive things going on in the area”

Holly Thompson, Blonde Creative

Fantastic exhibitors

Close to 40 organisations took exhibition space at the event, giving them the opportunity to really showcase what they do. They ranged from large businesses to small independents and everything in between.

Welcome speakers

The Chair of the Redcar | Cleveland Place Board, Angela Brockbank welcomed delegates and outlined the purpose of the event and what was in store.

The event was then officially opened by the Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland, Councillor Stuart Smith. The Mayor spoke about the benefits and purpose of the Ambassador scheme, and formally opened the event.

Key speaker – David Jack, SeAH Wind

The first key speaker was David Jack, Sales and Business Development Manager from SeAH Wind. David gave an interesting presentation and played two videos which gave an insightful overview of SEAH Wind as an organisation, and specifically their £450M wind turbine monopile factory, currently being built at Teesworks.

PANEL DISCUSSION

A panel discussion took place at the half-way point of the event, hosted brilliantly by Rachel Teate from BBC Radio Tees. We had four expert panellists covering a wide spectrum of activity – local education provision, arts and youth activity, regional transport and entertainment & events. The panellists were:

Mark Reynolds, Development & Sustainability Director: Teesside Airport – Mark spoke about the challenges the Airport had faced recently, particularly due to the pandemic, and ways that they have responded to meet those challenges. Mark also spoke about the improvements that have happened at the airport, including new passenger routes being added.

Beth Smith, Assistant Curator: Tees Valley Arts / Blooming Youth Collective – Beth spoke passionately about the work of both Tees Valley Arts and Blooming Youth Collective, who both have presence at The Palace Hub on Redcar’s Esplanade. Beth recounted some great stories of getting young people involved in their work and showing pride in where they live.

Jason Faulkner: Principal of Redcar & Cleveland College spoke about the opportunities and bright future that exists for young people in Redcar and Cleveland, giving the example of how Redcar & Cleveland College is continually striving to offer the right courses to meet the needs of students and local businesses.

Joanna Andrews, Managing Director of Charm Productions UK – Joanna spoke about how the pandemic impacted on her business, and how she and her colleagues worked hard to turn things around following that disruption. Joanna also told a story about our famous lemon tops! – educating her friends and colleagues in the south of England about our delicacy when she was based there!

Redcar and Cleveland is mint!” – we couldn’t leave this section without referencing this great quote by host, Rachel Teate – it sums up our place brilliantly!!

Key speaker – Geoff Greaves: Managing Director, Merlin Cinemas

Geoff spoke about the opening of ‘The Regent’ cinema which opened its doors to the public on 21 October. The attraction has taken Redcar and Cleveland by storm and Geoff spoke about the beautiful appearance and significance of the cinema, the impact it’s made already and what the future holds! 

Geoff referred to the fact that he has been in the cinema business for over 30 years and spoke the origins of Merlin Cinemas and how they’ve grown to where they are today.

Geoff believed that Redcar and Cleveland was the perfect place to invest in, with the visible development of the borough playing a huge role in the investment that they have made.

WRAPPING UP A GREAT EVENT

To close the event, Richard Baker, Place Marketing Manager thanked delegates, exhibitors, speakers and panellists for supporting the second Ambassador Showcase, and thanked the team who made the event possible.

Richard spoke about the exciting marketing opportunities which lie ahead for Redcar and Cleveland, with around £6 billion worth of investment happening; and emphasised that if we all work together, we can maximise the opportunity to ‘beat the drum’ for Redcar and Cleveland on the back of this huge investment and vote of confidence in the place.

Richard spoke about the new marketing tools that ambassadors have at their disposal, including the new 40-page ‘A Place to Invest’ brochure, new ambassador lapel badges and new place videos coming soon.

Finally, Richard reminded ambassadors of their role and their importance in our place marketing work – introducing an initialism, ‘AAA’ – Assets > Advertise > Amplify; simplifying how the ambassador support works.

Networking and knick knacks!

Delegates had plenty of opportunities to network and make new connections. There was a real buzz in the room! Lots of people have commented about how they made new contacts and how useful the event was.

There were also some things which got people talking! Wander Films ‘Wander Wall’, Itchy Robot’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and our new lapel badges went down a storm! Everyone was talking about which badge they chose and why they chose it!

To explain, working with Saltburn business, ‘That Design Studio’, we’ve produced lapel badges with five different place designs – Redcar (lemon top), Saltburn (Pier), Guisborough (Priory), East Cleveland (Charm bracelet) and Greater Eston (Eston Nab). Here’s some pictures…

Some event feedback:

“Well done for hosting such a brilliant event. It was really worthwhile for us, and we made some new connections we wouldn’t have otherwise made.”

“I thought the event was a great success; well done for organising such a complex event.  I look forward to continuing to support the ambassador programme and talking up the area.” 

“Good to meet you at the Ambassador event yesterday, and congratulations on a successful event.”

“Brilliantly organised event from Richard Baker and the Ambassadors team. It was fantastic to learn about so many new and exciting projects and opportunities happening in the area, including SeAH Wind and Merlin Cinemas. We can’t wait for next year!

“Great event today held by Redcar | Cleveland Ambassadors at the lovely Gisborough Hall Hotel. It was a brilliant opportunity to catch up with people and build some new relationships with local businesses and to tell them all about the work we are doing”

“What a morning at the Redcar | Cleveland Ambassadors Showcase yesterday at Gisborough Hall Hotel. So good to feel the buzz about all the positive things going on in the area”

“I had an interesting and inspiring morning representing at the Redcar | Cleveland Ambassadors event at Gisborough Hall, hearing all about the wonderful things going on in the area and how far we’ve come in difficult times. I loved getting to network with other local businesses for the first time in what felt like forever to me since the pandemic, and it was fab to meet new people who all share the same common goal – shouting about how great our places are to live!”

“We’ve had a lovely time at Gisborough Hall Hotel for the Redcar | Cleveland Ambassadors Showcase today. It’s been great meeting so many new people and to see all of the exhibitors!”

Event images by Stuart Boulton Photography.