Armitage Shanks has launched a campaign to mark its 200-year anniversary and announced that it has raised over £200,000 for charity.
The company has also launched a number of celebrations with its long-standing trade merchant partners, including Wolseley, Graham and Grafton – with birthday activities and giveaways taking place at branches across the UK.
Originally founded by Thomas Bond in the Staffordshire village of Armitage, millions of items have been sold over the last two centuries that have adorned UK bathrooms in homes and in public spaces.
The kick-off piece of activity for the ‘Celebrate 200’ campaign sees Armitage Shanks collaborate with a professional music producer, to compose a piece of music generated from recordings of sample sounds in the bathroom and of plumbers going about their job.
The track is made using everyday noises and sounds, such as a flushing toilet, dripping tap, and even the sound of a pipe being cut, to create a contemporary piece of music.
In addition, Armitage Shanks has created a free-to-download smartphone app, Beats 200, enabling plumbers and Armitage Shanks fans alike the opportunity to create their own pieces of music for fun.
Users can make and upload their own tracks via the app. The most widely shared entry will be rewarded with a £5,000 value Birthday Experience and published on a Beats 200 album.
A second piece of activity aimed at trade merchants and plumbers, is an H20-Levels online quiz that inspires users to test their knowledge of all things plumbing.
This is all hosted on a new campaign website, which also features a run-through of the history of the brand, at: www.Celebrate200.co.uk.
The campaign will be rounded off at a celebration event for colleagues, suppliers and customers in November, hosted by Armitage Shanks at Birmingham Town Hall.