ONE OF Liverpool’s hidden gems has appointed a marketing consultancy to help it attract more visitors and host more events.

The Metropolitan Cathedral has appointed Liverpool agency Bolland & Lowe as marketing consultants for its Lutyens Crypt.

The Crypt was the only part of Sir Edwin Lutyens’s original design for the cathedral to be built.

Today it acts as the platform for Sir Frederick Gibberd’s 1967 cathedral, and serves as a visitor attraction and venue for events.

Bolland & Lowe has created a marketing strategy for the Crypt for 2011 which will use social media, direct mail and advertising to raise awareness of the venue.

It also wants to promote the venue as a destination for conferences and events.

In 2008, as part of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebrations, the Crypt hosted the largest-ever exhibition of work by Le Corbusier, the French designer regarded as the father of modern architecture.

The Crypt also hosts the annual Liverpool Beer Festival – tickets for which sold out on Saturday.

A member of the Bolland & Lowe account team will be seconded to the venue on a part time basis, to work directly with cathedral staff.

Canon Anthony O’Brien said: “We’re delighted to have Bolland & Lowe on board for this exciting project.

“We appointed the agency as they have a very strong track record of delivering successful marketing campaigns for a number of high-profile organisations, particularly in the leisure and tourism sector.

“Also, having worked with the agency on a number of projects in the past, we know the standard of their creative output is extremely high.”

In August, Bolland & Lowe won a contract with hotel group Prima to produce Christmas brochures for its six four-star hotels.

Bolland & Lowe was founded as a design agency, but over the last year has broadened its offering to become what director John Lowe calls a “full-service creative communications agency”.

He said: “We’ve invested heavily in the last 12 months, increasing our core team by 30%.”