Digital Marketing Blog

Bowler Motors Further Cement Iconic Off-Road Racing Status

Bowler Motors Further Cement Iconic Off-Road Racing Status

As Derbyshire-based off-road performance specialists, Bowler Motors, reaches another milestone in its history, we highlight how Gravity Digital has supported this innovative company through its recent history.

Bowler’s parent company JLR recently announced that applications are now open for next season’s Defender Rally Series – the iconic off-road motorsport championship that brings together experienced and novice race drivers for a series of unforgettable cross-country rallying tests. https://media.landrover.com/en-gb/news/2023/09/defender-rally-series-gets-gear-2024-uk-and-european-championship-season-launch

With seven varied rounds across the UK from March 2024, the third Defender Rally Series offers competitors the opportunity to test and develop their skills on a mixture of surfaces, ranging from gravel tracks to exhilarating hill rallies. In addition to the UK Rally Series, participants also have the option to join specific international events throughout the year, a concept proven as part of the 2023 season.

Defender Rally Series vehicles are based on the latest 90 production model, which provides rugged durability and unstoppable off-road capability. Bowler then adds body strengthening – including the addition of an FIA-approved roll cage – and safety features, while removing unrequired interior trim and replacing the glass side windows with lightweight polycarbonate. Enhancements to the lighting, suspension and cooling then equip Defender for the demands of competition.

The announcement marks another milestone in Bowler’s history and Gravity Digital have worked with the company for the past nine years to maximise their digital footprint including website design, hosting and maintenance, Google Ads management, SEO and email marketing.

Bowler Motors marketing manager Laura Parry explained: “Gravity have been a great and trusted partner to Bowler. They understand our business and take the time to clearly understand our objectives for each task, which leads to great work being delivered and at high speed. The team go further by using their expertise to make suggestions on other ways we could approach a task, and the end result has always been successful. They continually impress us and we feel that we have a partner who is very much working with us to get what we need to be done, and at a high standard to be proud of.”

Gravity Digital director Sharon Stevens-Cash continued: “Bowler are an incredible Derbyshire success story and we are proud to have been part of their growth over the past nine years.

“Bowler continue to be an icon in the off-road motor racing industry and we greatly value them as a client.”

Founded in 1985 by Drew Bowler and still based in Belper, Bowler Motors has a rich history in engineering off-road competition vehicles – achieving international acclaim for its dedication to producing successful high-performance models.

Specialising in rally raid events, Bowler has participated in iconic competitions such as the Dakar Rally, British Cross Country Championship and French Baja, showcasing its exceptional Tomcat, Wildcat, and Nemesis models – all derived from the legendary Defender 90 and 110.

Bowler Motors goes beyond simply manufacturing vehicles – it provides clients with exclusive competition racing events. These events serve as a platform for participants to develop the essential driving skills and technical knowledge required to excel in international rally raid events. With Bowler’s guidance, enthusiasts can experience the thrill of off-road racing while honing their all-terrain driving skills.

Every customised rally car produced by Bowler is meticulously tailored to meet the unique requirements and desires of its clients, including bespoke engineering solutions. From enhanced performance to elevating driving dynamics, Bowler is dedicated to delivering exceptional off-road driving experiences.

Bowler Motors has fostered a close partnership with Land Rover since its inception, culminating in a formal brand partnership in 2012. This collaboration marked the beginning of the popular Defender Challenge Rally Series, which took place between 2014 to 2016. This joint effort showcased Bowler’s expertise and cemented its position as a leader in off-road competition.

In December 2019 Bowler Motors joined JLR, becoming a subsidiary of the company. The union provided Bowler with enhanced resources and opportunities for innovation, reinforcing its commitment to delivering unstoppable state-of-the-art off-road vehicles. Its products have navigated uncharted territory, incorporating Land Rover DNA to deliver customary capability and composure.

With a rich racing heritage and an exciting future, Bowler continues to captivate enthusiasts and thrill-seekers with its exceptionally tough competition vehicles. Its immersive off-road experiences are uniquely facilitated by the latest generation Defender, which provides extremely tough and highly capable foundations.

For more information about this iconic company, visit https://www.bowlermotors.com/

Digital Marketing Blog

Gravity Digital Signs Up To Support DCCT

Gravity Digital Signs Up To Support DCCT

We have teamed up with Derby County Community Trust (DCCT) to help break down barriers facing young people keen to further their education and training.

As part of DCCT’s Partners Programme we chose to specifically align the organisation’s Education Hardship Fund as part of their commitment to support young people into the workplace.

DCCT established the Education Hardship Fund to support young people who may have a financial barrier to accessing the charity’s wide range of educational courses and supports their travel, kit costs and living expenses.

In the coming academic year, more than 700 young people will be part of the education programme which ranges from football and education to sport-related degrees.

As a Derby-based marketing agency, we have long been in awe of the incredible work that DCCT does across Derbyshire and the positive impact that this has on the lives of so many people in our local communities.

Their work closely aligns with our ethos of putting something back into the communities where we all live, work and enjoy.

Education and employability skills are particularly relevant to our fast-moving digital marketing sector which relies on the enthusiasm, positive attitude and flexibility of young people who are the future of this industry.

We were therefore keen to specifically support DCCT’s commitment to ensuring a level playing field and I hope that our support for the Hardship Fund will make a real difference to young people’s lives.

DCCT Business Development Manager Pete Collins writes: “We are delighted that Gravity Digital has joined our Trust Partners Programme alongside so many other notable local businesses.

“The Education Hardship Fund is crucial to support young people who might otherwise struggle to continue their education and training due to financial constraints.

“We have had many notable successes over the years including Gemma Barrowcliff who is now an administrator in the education and employability department having graduated from our Kickstart Employability scheme.

“She is a shining example of the power of education, and, with the support of Gravity Digital and other Derby businesses, many more young people will be able to achieve their potential and get the first step on the career ladder.”

Header picture shows, from left: Andy Smith, Gravity Digital; DCCT’s Pete Collins and Gemma Barrowcliff and Sharon Stevens-Cash

Pictured above is some of the Gravity team and clients at the DCCT Fundraising Ball in June 2023

Digital Marketing Blog

Don’t waste money on your website

Don’t waste money on your website

Websites are arguably the most important marketing tool that your organisation has to attract sales and enquiries.

The way we see it is that websites are your most loyal and knowledgeable employee, available 24/7 and should have the answers to just about everything. So, treating your website well and maintaining the information and software is essential – especially as competition is always out there to take your place online.

Marketing is a ‘digital first’ environment where much of our day-to-day business is online, if your website isn’t up to scratch it reflects on your brand.

The first thing to do is to make sure you don’t waste money on a website – whether it’s a new website or an existing one, some businesses don’t invest enough time, resources or money and that’s often when problems surface for all to see. Here are a few things you can do to give your website a health check;

  • Speed – speed is everything and a slow website is a big turn-off. Search engines rate a website on how fast it is, and this could determine where you appear in searches. Speed is determined by hosting, content, coding and general build.
  • Maintenance – just like an engine that does a lot of mileage, to keep it in the best condition a website needs regular maintenance. This means regular security and software updates, it’s far better to keep a website maintained than to try and repair any damage after it has happened.
  • Experience – when somebody lands on your website it reflects your brand and should immediately describe what your organisation offers. Put yourself in the place of the visitor and regularly review how the website looks, the images and the language you use – it takes less than 1 second to form an opinion about your company from a website, so first impressions count.
  • Responsive – many websites are viewed on mobile devices or tablets. The website should be designed to be responsive; this doesn’t mean just shrinking it down, ensure you present the right information for people on the move.
  • Analyse – make sure you have analytics installed so you can extract valuable information about how people use your website.

Google is the largest search engine and it studies every detail of how people interact online. Google tracks every click and you can gain informative insights to help influence your online presence. For example, understanding how people arrive at your website gives an impression of how to focus or re-focus, your marketing activity this includes social media, email marketing, SEO and digital adverts.

Overall, make sure your website is effective, don’t waste money on getting a cheap website or template, because it might just not make the grade, and then you may be faced with spending money on bringing up to scratch. Here are a few stats on why your website is so important;

  • 92% of people don’t trust websites that have mistakes or are slow to load.
  • 90% of people who phone, email or visit your business will have visited your website.
  • 60% say that they wouldn’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website.
  • 85% of customers look and compare online before making purchase decisions.
  • 40% will stop looking at a website if it is difficult to navigate quickly.
  • 50% of people expect a maximum load time of 2 seconds.

However, it’s no good having an attractive fast website if no one knows it’s there. People often turn first to search engines and social media channels to learn about products and services. This is where your customer’s journey starts. Websites have to earn their place in rankings, so the right SEO-structure helps you manipulate how your brand appears in search engines to create the best first impression. Also keeping your social media and wider marketing messages consistent and clear are just as important.

To generate sales or leads online, focus on making the website look and perform well centered around the customer experience, which, if done right, can attract the right visitors.

Try not to think about your website as a cost, instead think of it as an investment. You spend money to make money, so spend wisely.

Digital Marketing Blog

We’re happy to announce we’ve partnered with One Tree Planted.

We’re happy to announce we’ve partnered with One Tree Planted.

At Gravity, we care deeply about the planet and creating a business that gives back to nature. That’s why we’re thrilled to share that we’re partnering with One Tree Planted and have made a commitment to plant a tree for every invoice we send out to our customers.

During 2022, we are aiming to plant over 500 new trees around the world, including in Western Jutland, as part of an international effort to grow the forest cover in Denmark to 25%, and Australia, to recover forests affected by recent bushfires and help restore native habitats vital for their amazing wildlife.

Planting trees is one of the best ways to combat the damaging effects of climate change. Trees help clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and provide habitat to over 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Trees also provide tremendous social impacts by providing jobs to over 1.6 billion people, empowering women in underdeveloped nations, and supporting communities devastated by environmental damage.

One Tree Planted – Tree planting project in the UK

England used to have glorious forest coverage, but changes in land use have caused extensive deforestation. In addition to being critical to protecting the climate, forests also build community.

This reforestation project will be a highly engaging, community-led initiative to create educational opportunities, volunteer planting events, and public spaces so that everyone, including the most marginalized communities, can enjoy England’s native flora and fauna. Find Out More

One Tree Planted is a charity on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Reforestation helps to rebuild forests after fires and floods, provide jobs for social impact, and restore biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

To learn more visit onetreeplanted.org

Digital Marketing Blog

Excited to announce that we are Finalists in the Derby Telegraph Business Awards

Excited to announce that we are Finalists in the Derby Telegraph Business Awards

Here at Gravity Digital we are over the moon to announce we have been named as one of three finalists in the ‘Creative Industries Business of The Year 2018’ category.

The annual Derby Telegraph Business Awards celebrate success, recognise achievement and highlight the innovative people throughout Derbyshire.

The Creative Industries is arguably the biggest growing sector in the UK and we know we are surrounded by so many talented innovative businesses right here in Derbyshire. In fact, we have been lucky enough to work with many of them including filmmakers, photographers and graphic designers over the years and will continue to well into the future. As a small creative agency ourselves, we are always keen to promote and support the diversity of companies that operate in the creative sector, often meeting, mentoring and collaborating on projects.

Our very own Sharon Stevens-Cash, sums up how we feel: “We are lucky to have such a strong team at Gravity Digital and so many clients that are happy to endorse the work that we do.

“We believe that our commitment to evaluating and proving the results we achieve for our clients plays a large part in why we have been recognised and we are very grateful to all of our clients that have testified on our behalf – and of course to all of the judges at the Derby Telegraph Business Awards too!

“We’re really looking forward to finding out if we’ve secured the top spot at the Awards Ceremony in June – we’ll let you know.”

To find out more about the Derby Telegraph Business Awards log onto: http://derbytelegraphbusinessawards.co.uk/

 

Find out more…

We are a no-nonsense digital marketing agency based in Derby. To learn more about how we can help you get results from your marketing, then get in touch. Please email us on [email protected] or give us a call on 01332 416555.

Digital Marketing Blog

10 Downing Street round table: Gravity request to rural businesses

10 Downing Street round table: Gravity request to rural businesses

At Gravity we are a small firm with two offices, one rural and one urban. The disparity between them on essential business services is really striking and so we are pleased to have been invited to share our experiences with the Government at a round table discussion at Number 10 Downing Street, planned for the 27 September 2018. But we know we are not alone in wanting to raise key issues that affect the operational performance of our rural business, so we would like to be your mouthpiece too.

Our Downing Street round table invite arrived because we are a member of the Rural Business Group, thanks to our success in 2017 when we were named Best Rural Creative or Media Business at the Amazon-sponsored and DEFRA-supported, Rural Business Awards.

At the round table, we are going to raise three core issues that we think are key to building sustainable rural business communities – and we want you, our rural business colleagues, to let us know if there are issues affecting your business that are currently not on our list to raise, or if you have some solutions to these challenges that you’d like us to propose on your behalf.

We want to make the most of having Downing Street’s ear – in the form of by Niamh Mulholland, Business Relations Manager – so either let us know what is having a negative impact on your rural business, or what solutions you have for any of the issues affecting the countryside business community and we will raise them on your behalf, if you’d like us to.

We have already asked our rurally-based clients for their feedback and we would like to provide as many perspectives as possible. We can’t get you into the meeting, but we want to give every rural business the opportunity to be represented, if you’d like to share your concerns with us?

What we will be raising at 10 Downing Street:

Connectivity: We know this is such an obvious problem that we shouldn’t have to outline it, but its impact on our Bakewell office, and therefore our overall business, is significant. As many of you will know, the 2016 Ofcom broadband survey showed that internet speeds in rural areas were substantially slower than those in towns and cities, with most rural locations having speeds of 10MB or under, and that’s just not good enough for our business community – the 1/2m+ rural businesses that suffer as a consequence. Our Bakewell office has just had an ‘upgrade’ but it’s nowhere near as fast as our Derby site. Of course, the Government will counter with its pledges in the Broadband Delivery UK scheme, or perhaps the Local Full Fibre Networks programme, which has a pot of £95m that local authorities can bid for to support the rollout of full fibre connectivity across the UK. However, in reality, none of these initiatives are all encompassing or give enough focus to the rural marketplace, and they are certainly not either consistent or quick enough.

Transport links: Urban firms complain about potholes on their route to work, train delays and limited cycle lanes but, in contrast, our bus services continue to get cut, finding a rural train station is rare and the condition of our rural roads seem to be a worryingly low priority. This means staff struggle to reach us, having an impact on the skilled people that we can find to staff our businesses, cycling to work is a risky journey, HGV deliveries are often tricky with weight restrictions and poorly maintained roads and customers that choose to visit us will enjoy the scenery but not the poor signage.

Crime: A 2017 NFU Mutual Report noted that rural crime in 2016 cost Britain £39.2million and we are all well aware of the ongoing rise in rural crime with thousands of rural businesses being affected across the UK. The well organised gangs that now operate to specifically target rural businesses are commonplace and we want to see more action taken to both prevent crime and catch the perpetrators. As a service firm, some may believe we have less to lose than some, however, we are not immune. Some colleagues, a professional services SME in Staffordshire, were devastated by a break-in last year when every one of their computers was stolen, losing files that represented months and months of hard work; and I know that our clients in the countryside with livestock or machinery, live with the constant dread that today will be the morning they wake up and their livelihood will be on the line.

 

We have our own ideas about how we would like to see each of these issues addressed and if any rural business reading this would like us to raise any additional issues, or additional perspectives on these issues, on their behalf, please get in touch. We realise that there are only so many businesses that can fit round the table, however, we’d like to give all rural businesses the opportunity to metaphorically share our seat.

The round table will focus on the challenges that we are currently facing as rural businesses and explore thoughts and ideas about how we can address these challenges in order to have a real, sustainable impact on our rural communities – enabling us all to not only survive but to thrive. As I’ve mentioned, we were invited by the Rural Business Group and the Co-Founder of the Rural Business Awards and the Rural Business Group, Anna Price, says:

“Our view is that successful rural communities are underpinned by successful rural enterprise in all its forms. We are delighted to be able to share some of our success with other hard working rural businesses and give them the opportunity to be heard at the heart of Westminster. We look forward to a constructive and rewarding day.”

Find out more…

We are a no-nonsense digital marketing agency based in Derby. To learn more about how we can help you get results from your marketing, then get in touch. Please email us on [email protected] or give us a call on 01332 416555.

Digital Marketing Blog

Gravity Digital Director joins Dragons’ Den legends James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne as Columnist

Gravity Digital Director and marketing specialist Sharon Stevens-Cash has been asked to join the impressive line-up of columnists for the UK’s largest SME business publication, Business Matters Magazine.

With around 30 regular columnists, including Dragons’ Den businessmen Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan, Sharon will write monthly columns about digital marketing, sharing her expertise and advice with up to 5000 unique visitors to the Magazine’s website each day and more than 80,000 subscribers to the Magazine’s Daily Update e-briefings.

Sharon comments: “When I was first approached to be a columnist for Business Matters Magazine, I was extremely honoured. The line-up of columnists is pretty awe inspiring and to know that the publication has made me one of only 30 columnists in the country is absolutely brilliant!”

Sharon’s photo and biography sits alongside the other regular writers in the Columnists section of the publication on its online portal here.

Business Matters Magazine online Editor Rebecca Jones said: “We approached Sharon because of her strong track record in digital marketing expertise and we are really pleased that she has accepted our offer and come aboard as one of our columnists. We think she will add real value to our readers and give them a practical insight to the complex world of digital marketing.”

Sharon continues: “I am really pleased to have an opportunity to share my insights with more than 100,000 small and medium-sized firms each month. My first article, covering how to improve your company’s digital marketing, is on the Magazine’s home page now and you can take a look at the full article here.”

Business Matters Magazine was first established in 1987 and has grown to be the largest business magazine dedicated to small and medium-sized business in the UK. The publication has over 120,000 SME subscribers to its physical publication, 80,000 subscribers to its Daily Update and between 1500 and 5000 unique visitors to its website each day.

Find out more…

We are a no-nonsense digital marketing agency based in Derby. To learn more about how we can help you get results from your marketing, then get in touch. Please email us on [email protected] or give us a call on 01332 416555.