Note: This post has been Sponsored by O2, but all narrative and opinion is my own.

This post follows on from the first post in this series: Sponsored video: Small business marketing lessons from Fred Aldous

I love stories of businesses that are doing things that make them stand out. and then are delivering on them too.

You know the type. The sort of businesses that do cool things for their customers, are very local in their orientation but have a big reach and impact, that experiment and try new things, that create great experiences, that treat their people really well and get them involved (really involved) in the business and have been around for either a long time or are very early in their journey (innovation and age are not correlated, right?).

This post is the second of two that features videos of two businesses that fall into that category.

The featured business in this post is Camp and Furnace, a business that was born after the demise, last year, of the art organisation, A Foundation, on Greenland Street, part of The Baltic Triangle in Liverpool.

Part-bar, part-cafe, part-event space with designs on establishing a hotel (One space is dotted with vintage caravans and will eventually form a hotel) the business has combined three industrial spaces(a furnace, a blade factory and a coach shed) to create a ‘festival’ type of experience but indoors.

Check out the video below which features one of the founders of the Camp and Furnace team talking about their business and the marketing that they are doing through the O2 Priority scheme (http://unr.ly/UJ8A05):

Again, the things that I like about this business are both professional and personal:

1. When any organisation dies it can be sad. But, it can also provide a ‘recycling’ opportunity given the right vision and drive to create something new, different and, maybe, better. Camp and Furnace are doing just that.
2. At the same time they are delivering a customer experience that is a breathe of fresh air when compared to some of the slick(ish) and sanitised retail experiences that dominate our high streets. Check out Camp and Furnace’s site (http://unr.ly/T1vT9h) (http://unr.ly/Tg38EK) to learn more about their story and see how they are using social media and other new marketing techniques, like the O2 Priority scheme (http://unr.ly/UJ8A05); and
3. Finally, as in the previous post, my Mum and Dad don’t live far away and my Mum and Dad are great fans of new shopping and eating experiences (especially my Mum) so I’ll be recommending Camp and Furnace to them and arranging to pop in next time I am up North to pay them a visit. 🙂

Finally, do check out The Guardian ‘Loving Local’ site (http://unr.ly/Tg45gp) for more stories of small, local businesses that are doing innovative things with their marketing.

Note: This post has been Sponsored by O2, but all narrative and opinion is my own.