Our work

The Alnwick Garden

We undertook a research project on behalf of The Alnwick Garden with both visitors and non-visitors to the garden. This was carried out as an online survey from which we received more than 500 responses.

The project gave The Alnwick Garden an understanding of who the attraction’s visitors are and their motivations for visiting as well as a greater understanding of which market channels are the most effective. From a non visitor perspective we identified the barriers to visiting and current motivations for days out. This helped provide The Alnwick Garden with a strategy for attracting new audiences including the development of an events strategy.

Since the completion of this work we have undertaken a number of smaller research projects for The Alnwick Garden including Economic Impact studies to demonstrate their impact on the local economy.

“We’ve really enjoyed working with the team at NGI. They clearly understood the brief and found the right methodology and approach to suit our project. The outputs and insight from the research continue to be used as part of the development of our business model – and we’ve also commissioned them to undertake an economic impact study for other elements of our offering.”

Mark Brassell, Director, The Alnwick Garden


The NP11

The NP11 is the business-led voice for the North that brings together the 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) from across the North of England.

Since its announcement in July 2018 by the Rt Hon Jake Berry MP, the new NP11 required a dynamic identity and clear brand vision in order to effectively position the North as an innovative business location with a major role to play in driving UK prosperity.

Working in partnership with our associates at Twentyseven Design and other NP11 delivery partners, we designed, co-ordinated and delivered a stakeholder consultation project to understand the collective aims of the 11 LEPs, identifying synergies, priorities and needs for clarity.

Using this insight we were able to create an effective and impactful brand identity, a brand articulation setting out the values and tone of voice, and a comprehensive set of guidelines. The new brand was rolled out across all platforms in preparation for the joint NP11 / Convention of the North summit, held in September 2019 and hosted by the BBC’s Steph McGovern.

David Levene, Strategic Coordinator, NP11, said:

“NGI and Twentyseven Design were commissioned to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder engagement, brand identity and articulation project to support the launch of the NP11 at the 2019 Convention of the North summit and beyond.

“The team worked exceptionally well in challenging and complex circumstances to deliver a strong and effective brand that has been embraced by all NP11 stakeholders. We’d be more than happy to work with them again if the need arose.”


Leeds BID

Leeds BID is a long-term client of NGI, a partnership which has allowed us to develop a clear understanding of the needs of the BID and use data to provide clear strategic insight. 

In 2018 the project required us to evaluate two key events in which Leeds BID had a key role; Leeds International Festival and Thought Bubble.  

We worked closely with the BID to devise a survey that allowed us to gather feedback on the event as well as additional insight from Leeds residents on their sentiment towards the city, especially its evening economy. 

The surveys were distributed online and hosted on our in-house survey software. Using the data gathered we used our event impact model to provide Leeds with key data as to the economic impact of the events. 

We provided the results to Leeds BID with the resident sentiment work being a key factor in Leeds being awarded Purple flag status as a city and the event research being used to inform the 2019 festival. 

“The team at NGI were excellent and we would recommend them to any Business Improvement District (BID) running events and projects that require forensic analysis of their economic impact and return on investment. The team were able to look at the challenges of evaluating some of our major city events such as the Leeds International Festival, Thought Bubble Comic Convention and the MOBO awards, categorising the economic and social impact. Receiving tangible evidence that affirms investment decisions is key for any BID. We have appreciated NGI’s knowledge, understanding and interpretation which go beyond the numbers which has been particularly valuable to us.”

Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive, Leeds BID


TT2

Tyne Tunnel 2 required an understanding of how the new Tyne Tunnel had impacted on customer experiences and satisfaction.

TT2 have been a regular user of NGI’s research services. One key piece of research was an in depth study in to how the new Tyne Tunnel impacted the public. The team also wanted to gain a detailed understanding of motivations for tunnel usage and what would encourage customers to use it more often.

To provide this insight we conducted a baseline online survey and face-to-face interviews at the tunnel. This was followed up 12 months later with an additional online survey focusing on permit holders. In total we received over 11,500 respondents.

The insight from both projects helped TT2 assess its approach to a variety of business areas. This ranges from ongoing communications and new sources of revenue generation, through to advertising recall analysis and congestion perception exploration. The two sets of data allow comparisons so TT2 can see how customer satisfaction, habits and priorities are changing over time.

“We commissioned NGI to deliver wide-ranging insight surveys, focusing on the customer experience, usage patterns and journey analysis. Given the size of the survey samples, what has really impressed us is their ability to effectively analyse such vast amounts of data and deliver our senior management team with practical business outputs and recommendations.”

Rachel Turnbull, Chief Executive Officer, TT2


Milburngate

Milburngate is a brand-new mixed use property development in the picturesque Durham city centre.

Phase One will see the Milburngate office building constructed, which will create capacity for more than 400 new jobs in Durham City on the riverside location that will also include a mix of nationally recognised, premium leisure operators and 153 built-to-rent, high-quality apartments.

Operating with a lean marketing team, they needed additional support to bolster the profile of the development within the region and beyond to attract potential occupiers.

Working alongside Invest Newcastle, the team developed a comprehensive 12-month marketing and content marketing plan which centered around four key themes and events all aimed at slightly different audiences from tech startups to boomerangs.

This included target media contacts nationally for each quarter, event suggestions in and out of region, social media examples for existing channels, different social media campaigns and additional marketing tactics such as video and mixed reality outputs.

A significant quarter for Milburngate will be its presence at MIPIM in March 2020 – this is where the insight and support from the Invest Newcastle team proved invaluable.

Following firming up the approach with key stakeholders, NGI will be responsible for event delivery, national PR, and content marketing.