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Grants Seat wins gongs

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Time 5:28 am, September 28, 2011

grants-seat-awardA BRAINTREE car retailer has been honoured in the prestigious Essex Business Excellence Awards 2011.

Grants Seat scooped the coveted Excellence in Marketing award at last week’s glitzy ceremony at Stock Brook Country Club.

The dealership took the heavily contested prize thanks to an innovative and varied programme of marketing activities.


The programme was designed to build the business’s presence in the local community, increase awareness of the dynamic Seat brand and drive traffic to its modern showroom at Galleys Corner near Freeport.

This programme included the development of a productive partnership with the Chelmsford Chieftains ice hockey team, numerous campaigns in support of sales events, a high-profile appearance at the Essex Country Show and groundbreaking use of social media.

And it delivered impressive results, helping the dealership’s sales team exceed all targets and make a significant contribution towards Barcelona-based Seat’s record share of the UK car market.


Judges were impressed by the dealership’s efforts, which are led by communications manager Katie Williams, and praised its ‘careful competitor analysis’ and ‘outside the box thinking’.

But, the marketing award was not Grants’ only interest in the event. Managing director, Darren Williams, was runner-up in the Outstanding Businessperson of the Year category, narrowly missing out on the gong despite a glowing endorsement from the judging panel who said he ‘left a positive and lasting impression on everyone who visits the dealership’.

Speaking after collecting her award, Katie Williams said: ‘Winning this award is mind blowing!

‘We have worked hard to develop an innovative marketing strategy that avoids the more traditional methods used by other car dealers.

‘All the while our focus has been on engaging with the local community so they get to know us as well as our products and offers. In addition to our sponsorship of the Chelmsford Chieftains and our continued involvement with Autism Anglia we have used social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to make lots of noise and ultimately drive traffic to our business.’

James Batchelor's avatar

James – or Batch as he’s known – started at Car Dealer in 2010, first as the work experience boy, eventually becoming editor in 2013. He worked for Auto Express as editor-at-large and was the face of Carbuyer’s YouTube reviews. In 2020, he went freelance and now writes for a number of national titles and contributes regularly to Car Dealer. In October 2021 he became Car Dealer's associate editor.



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