Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus Hosts Marketing Event as part of Wales Festival of Innovation
Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus welcomed delegates for an event titled ‘Innovative Marketing: Masterclass’ on Wednesday 20 June. Forming part of the Wales Festival of Innovation – a pan-Wales showcase of innovation in the business world and academia – the event featured presentations on different aspects of marketing from three industry practitioners.
As usual, the event started with a networking lunch as delegates arrived and registered. The presentations were then kicked off with Anthony McAllister from Cardiff-based design consultancy PDR, who spoke about the importance of good design in marketing. Having recently worked with restaurant chain Las Iguanas on a re-design of a line of table wear, Anthony was able to describe the design process in detail, and how the work formed a key part of the restaurant chain’s brand and positioning.
Following this, Eifion Loosley described his work as Marketing Manager at Aber Instruments and their journey so far. Having recently expanded into new space over at the Aberystwyth Science Park to coincide with their 30th anniversary, Eifion had some very valuable insights into managing the marketing demands of a fast-growing local company with a very diverse customer base.
Last up was Francesca Irving, founder and Managing Director at full-service marketing agency Lunax Digital. Francesca delivered a presentation on one of her favourite topics: cognitive biases in e-commerce. Following the presentations, light refreshments were served as delegates enjoyed an opportunity to have breakout discussions with the speakers.
Funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, BBSRC – part of UK Research and Innovation and Aberystwyth University, the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus will offer a range of high quality facilities to support innovation, enabling commercial enterprises to grow, prosper and drive economic growth in the food and drink, bio-processing and biotechnology sectors throughout Wales and beyond.
Ben Jones, Marketing and Partnerships Manager at AberInnovation, said: “These events continue to introduce us to new and exciting companies in the area and it’s great to see that there’s such an appetite for business support events in Mid Wales. Being part of the Wales Festival of Innovation was nice too, and we certainly benefitted from the increased exposure that came with that.”
The Wales Festival of Innovation is a showcase of innovation in Wales and runs for two weeks from 16 – 30 June. Its aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and concepts that will create collaborations and inspire innovative new products, solutions and cultural endeavours in Wales.
Susan Johns, Wales Festival of Innovation Project Manager, commented: “The Wales Festival of Innovation aims to shine a spotlight on the amazing and innovative work that is going on across all regions of Wales. The diversity and standard showcased in the events of this year's Festival has been fantastic, and we are especially delighted that AberInnovation hosted an event. We were excited to hear the news that construction is about to begin on the new Innovation and Enterprise Campus at Aberystwyth. The ambitions of this exactly reflect those of the Festival, in terms of supporting local companies, and encouraging business and academia to work together closely to facilitate strong collaborations, and inspire our next generation of innovators!”
The £40.5m Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus is the largest development of its kind in Mid Wales in recent years and will be a catalyst for economic development. The new Campus will offer a range of high quality technical facilities and specialised equipment to support innovation, enabling commercial enterprises to grow, prosper and drive economic growth in the areas of food and drink, biorefining and waste stream valorisation throughout Wales and beyond.
