WHEN you collect tokens with your shopping and send off for a promotional prize, there is a good chance your letter will arrive at Granby Marketing Services in Blackburn.
The company is one of the UK's leading promotional marketing companies, handling literally millions of offers every week from its Stanley Street base.
It lists among its clients most of the companies behind the big consumer brands such as Unilever, Coca Cola, Kimberly-Clark and Kraft Foods..
Granby's reputation within the industry has now been rewarded with two top "Making it Happen" awards for its work with Andrex toilet tissue and Dove toiletries.
Chief executive Stephen Bentley said the awards recognised the behind-the-scenes contributions of suppliers who went that extra mile to contribute to the success of promotional marketing campaigns.
"This is the fourth time we have been honoured with a Making it Happen Award," he said. "It is a great testimonial to the services we provide that we have been recognised as an innovative supplier who is committed to the achievement of superior results for our clients."
Its award-winning Andrex 'Puppy in a Pack' campaign was one of the biggest-ever offers for Kimberley-Clark. aimed at Tesco shoppers, offering them the chance to buy an Andrex soft puppy in the space normally occupied by three free rolls of toilet tissue.
Granby had to pack into rigid foam tubes the puppy, a mini catalogue, a feeding bowl and a celebration mat, seal both ends with message stickers and place 144 into a packing carton.
During the course of the four-week campaign, Granby packed 1.3 million tubes and processed more than 5,000 pallets of stock, despatching up to eight trailers per day.
The company can trace its history back to 1891 when it was a tailor's business. Its move into promotional work came by chance in the 1950s when Kellogs moved to the UK and needed warehousing space for the distribution of samples being offered door-to-door.
Granby had an empty warehouse and carried out the work on Kellogs' behalf - effectively creating the beginning of a new industry. Promotional work soon took over and the business was bought out in the early 1990s by American marketing services giant Omnicom.
Stephen Bentley became involved in 2000 when the US parent decided Granby was no longer part of its core business. He had been working for a smaller promotional operation in Nelson when he saw the opportunity.
"Businesses like Granby don't come up for sale very often," said Burnley-born Stephen. "And when you find one literally on your doorstep, it was too good an opportunity to miss."
In his first year, turnover was £2.2 million - double the forecast figure - and sales for 2003 are expected to hit the £4 million mark.
"What makes us unique in the industry is that we have everything under one roof," he said. "We offer our clients a comprehensive basket of services - we even have our own print shop."
Granby has a core staff of around 140 which rises to 200 at peak times. Contracts vary enormously from counting tokens shoppers have collected for a free gift to distributing paperwork for the Central Office of Information.
The award for Dove was for its role in the 'Face in a Crowd' campaign. A team of photographers travelled the UK, taking pictures of women aged 20-35. Judges selected the 40 most naturally beautiful and an advertising campaign asked friends to identify them.
Granby had to devise a system to help the identification of the individual face and associate the first person to recognise it as the winner immediately. In addition, entrants' details were captured via telephone, web and e-mail and a prize draw was carried out for all entrants.
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