The Cumberland is celebrating after its marketing team was named the best in the North.
The award celebrates the heart and hard work behind The Cumberland’s campaigns and community initiatives like Kinder Kind of Kitchen, which highlights and helps to combat food poverty across its communities.
The building society won the Best In-House Marketing Team at last week’s Prolific North awards in which judges praised their partnership and ‘through the line activation’ with FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria as well as FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland.
Based on research and insights which showed that food poverty is one of the biggest concerns for Cumbrians caught in the cost of living crisis, the objective of the Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative is to raise awareness of the issue as part of The Cumberland’s community giving strategy.
The initiative led to the creation of a cookbook featuring recipes contributed by organisers and volunteers working at the community food groups, telling the impact that connecting over food had on their lives.
And World Kindness Day was an opportunity to raise awareness for the worthy cause, with events in four locations and the cookbook being downloaded more than 400 times in six months; showcasing the positive impact the partnership is having in the community.
The Cumberland partnered with a local caterer to produce soup and shortbread recipes from the cookbook so hundreds of people enjoyed a free lunch as part of the day, thanks to the marketing team and Cumberland branches.
Nigel Taylor, head of marketing and brand at The Cumberland, said: “This award is a special recognition and proud achievement for our incredibly talented marketing team – with an emphasis on ‘team’ and collaborative element of the award.
“To be recognised in this way shines a light on the spirit and kinder culture we have, and not just in marketing, but extended and shared by our community partners and teams across the whole business.”
The 11-strong marketing team’s entry was judged on effectiveness, innovation, evidence of growth or potential for growth, and social and environmental impact.
The judges described them as “a small but highly engaged team delivering campaigns with genuine heart and strategic clarity, following a community campaign to raise awareness of food poverty, this is an in-house team very worthy of recognition”.
Prolific North’s annual awards programme recognises the outstanding achievements of companies, teams and individuals working across the North of England and Scotland. Across the creative, digital, tech, media and marketing sectors, they shine a spotlight on the region’s world-class work, and the people behind it.
