Tag Archives: jesse mcclure

Don’t mess with Jesse… he’s got a tank!

Jesse McClure, breakout star of hit US reality TV show Storage Hunters, took control of some hardcore British hardware during his latest UK trip.

Jesse with Heywood Tanks crew Dale (left) and HarryHe visited Heywood Tanks, in North Manchester, where he took an Abbot 105 Howitzer Self-Propelled Gun for a spin around the field, loving every minute of his high-calibre adrenalin-fuelled joyride.

“It was awesome!” said Jesse, instantly recognisable with his trademark sideburns, shades and leather jacket. 

“I had no idea when I left California for my trip that I’d get to drive a genuine British tank. I love the UK. You guys rock!”

Earlier in the day Jesse had been celebrity guest at Accrington Food and Drink Festival, where the tank was part of a military display. Back at Heywood Tanks HQ Jesse jumped at the chance to take the tank for a spin, soon getting to grips with its controls.

“I’ve driven all kinds of weird vehicles over the years, but this was my first time in a tank,” he said. “It was incredible and I want to thank Heywood Tanks for letting me do it.”

A video of Jesse’s driving experience at Heywood Tanks is on YouTube

Now Jesse is hoping to attend this year’s Heywood Tanks ‘Yesteryear Festival’ if it coincides with his next UK trip planned for September.

Storage Hunters star Jesse McClure riding high at Heywood TanksFeaturing around 50 military vehicles, plus agricultural exhibits and other vintage vehicles, the Yesteryear Festival takes place from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday September 12th and 13th. The venue is Heywood Tanks HQ at Collop Gate Farm, Manchester Road, Heywood (OL10 2PX).

As well as the chance to see tanks in action on the specially designed 100-acre site, other attractions include re-enactors, stalls, vintage clothing, a fairground, craft tent and beer tent. Admission is £5 for adults and £2 for children or £12 for a family ticket. Over the past two years the festival has raised more than £30,000 for the Springhill Hospice, in Rochdale.

Meanwhile, fans of Storage Hunters, the highest rating show when aired on UK TV’s Dave channel, can catch Jesse on the British spin-off, Storage Hunter UK. He is set to make a second guest appearance in the new series on Tuesday July 21st at 8pm on Dave, and watch out for fireworks when things get physical with one of his rival UK bidders!

If you are interested in booking Jesse McClure to appear at your event when he’s next in the UK, check the ‘Tour Dates’ section of his website: www.jessemcclure.co.uk

For more about Heywood Tanks, see their Facebook page.

How to market your local market…

Lancashire town pioneers a 21st century approach to promoting the much-loved traditional market

A traditional and award-winning market at the heart of a Lancashire town is embracing new ways to promote itself, while preserving that all-important personal touch.

Accrington Market Kirsty Lauder personal shopperOpened in 1869, Accrington’s Victoria Market Hall is one of the finest buildings in the town centre, home to more than 60 kiosks under its dramatically high ceiling, and with more in outdoor pavilions alongside the Market Hall.

A £2m. revamp of the historic Grade II-listed building was completed in 2010, quickly followed by it winning the coveted Britain’s Best Indoor Market Award in early 2011.

But it is people who make a market – the friendly traders, their stalls stacked high with quality fresh local produce at value-for-money prices, and their loyal customers, shunning the supermarket shelves in favour of a familiar face and caring personal service.

Accrington could boast plenty of both, and yet the younger generation were not prevalent among the bustling market’s regulars. Whether it was down to their busy working lives, the culture of out-of-town superstore shopping, or just not knowing all the market had to offer, there was, literally, a gap in the market.

What it came down to was “marketing the market” to a wider and largely untapped audience, and making its services more accessible to those with 21st century pressures on their time. Enter locally-based marketing specialists Scott Dawson Advertising, bringing a fresh and up-to-the-minute approach to promoting one of Accrington’s oldest attractions.Accrington Market online launch

It joined forces with Hyndburn Borough Council in a bold and innovative bid to combine the traditional market experience with the latest promotional tools. The result has been a pioneering pilot project – and a template that could be rolled out to other markets across the UK.

Now Accrington Market has its own website (www.accringtonmarketonline.co.uk); its own dedicated YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/accringtonmarket); its own Facebook page (www.facebook.com/accringtonshops); even its own Twitter feed (twitter.com/AccringtonShops).

As well as promoting the market and its various traders, the website allows customers to shop online, choosing a range of products available from its stalls, and even to benefit from a personal shopper, Kirsty Lauder. Options include a “click and collect” service, with Kirsty compiling customers’ orders ready  for pre-arranged pickup, or even free delivery within a three-mile radius in a liveried Accrington Markets refrigerated van

Kirsty (23), who works from the Market Hall, is often seen buzzing around the stalls filling customers’ orders taken online, by email or phone.

“It’s my job to oversee customers’ orders from start to finish, from the moment they come in until they end up in the customer’s hands,” said Kirsty.

“Whether customers call in to quickly collect their order at a time convenient to them, or arrange to have one of our drivers drop it off at their home or business, I can look after that. And if there’s something special that customers can’t see on the website, chances are I can hunt it out from one of the stalls if they contact me.”

There are even special online discounts for customers using the website, with a range of money-saving eCoupons which can be cashed in at the PayPal checkout.

It’s all a long way from the days when the only marketing a stallholder could rely on was his own voice bellowing “Get yer strawberries… a pound a punnet!”

Accrington Market Kirsty and vanNine months on from its official launch by Jesse McClure, star of the hit Dave TV show Storage Hunters, the online market is growing steadily, with neighbouring local authorities showing a keen interest.

Murray Dawson, MD of Scott Dawson Advertising, has kept a close eye on the pilot project, his team continually refining, improving and refreshing the model. Murray said:  “Hyndburn Council were very bold and forward thinking in adopting this approach and together we got to work developing a digital and practical solution that builds on all of the fantastic traits of our much-loved market, as well as making them available for the first time to an online audience.”

Cllr Clare Cleary, Hyndburn Council’s Cabinet Member for Markets, added: “We have a fabulous market housed in a refurbished market hall offering great local produce and goods from friendly stallholders.

“We knew that shopping habits are changing rapidly with more use of online facilities and were keen to capture this to allow more people to experience the fantastic good and services Accrington Market has to offer. We are glad we’ve taken this new approach and proud that we’ve moved with the times to make the market more accessible using the latest technology, whilst still offering the same friendly service and warm Lancashire welcome for market customers.”