Manchester unveils Christmas marketing campaign
Manchester has unveiled a comprehensive £600,000 Christmas marketing campaign which includes 48 sheet posters, press and radio advertising, a specially designed city centre map, and, a TV commercial that will air on ITV 1 on 12 November to tie in with the City's Christmas light switch-on.
Commissioned by Cityco, the organisation responsible for managing the city centre, in partnership with Manchester City Council, Marketing Manchester and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, the campaign focuses on the depth and diversity of the retail and leisure offer, using a collection of items gathered from Manchester stores, with the strap line 'See what Manchester's made of'. The campaign also has a strong public transport message encouraging people to choose the train, tram or bus as the easy option for a day or night out in the city at Christmas. In addition Manchester city centre offers 20,000 on and off-street parking spaces.
The concept was created by Manchester based creative agency, Dinosaur, who designed the poster and press campaign, and was transformed into a TV commercial by Amaze advertising agency, produced by Loose Moose Productions and shot at the Hot Animation studios in Altrincham, Cheshire, home of Bob the Builder for 10 years. Let by HIT Entertainment, this is a centre of excellence for stop-frame animation.
The animated film is directed by Manchester based Oscar and BAFTA nominated animator, Barry Purves, and is designed to highlight the impressive range of shops, leisure and entertainment venues in the city centre and ensure Manchester remains the number one choice for Christmas for anyone living up to an hour away.
It features over 200 objects borrowed and bought from Manchester stores including a designer handbag, jelly beans, toy train, cocktails, pair of shoes and a hot water bottle capturing the diversity of the Christmas experience in Manchester city centre. The products come to life, and dance about on the screen, to a catchy guitar-based tune illustrating themes including shopping, food, culture and transport.
Councillor Pat Karney, Lead member for the city centre at Manchester City Council said: "We want this to be the biggest and best Christmas Manchester has ever had. We're a major European city and at the heart of the North West, making us a natural choice as a Christmas destination for shopping and festivities. With the Christmas markets and the huge range of shops, bars and restaurants, the campaign will make us the number one choice this year."
Kate Harrison, Cityco's chief executive said: "This recession-busting campaign is exactly what's needed to keep us ahead of the game in these challenging times. The marketing initiative allows us to tackle the competition head on, ensuring city centre businesses get the most out of the crucial Christmas period. Dinosaur came up with the concept with an eye-catching poster and press campaign and Amaze using Loose Moose Productions and Barry Purves' talents have done an incredible job bringing it to life. Made in Manchester by a Manchester crew, with edgy urban music and an original modern feel, we are very proud of the end result and believe we have created something very special for our city."
Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, the agency charged with promoting the city on a national and international stage, said: "We're expecting 150,000 visitors to the Christmas pages of visitmanchester.com during the eight week campaign. We're also hoping to build on the 19% increase we saw in the number of visitors to the city during December last year compared with the same month in 2007. Working in partnership, as we're doing with this campaign, is the best way to achieve this and help Manchester tackle the high street aspect of the recession."
Councillor Keith Whitmore, Chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority said: "There are so many good reasons to choose public transport to get to and from Manchester city centre and this campaign helps to remind people of that in a fun and creative way. Public transport is a safe and easy option for people who want to enjoy the seasonal festivities. This is an ambitious campaign, but by pooling our resources, we can achieve so much more and maximise the benefits for everyone. This is an excellent example of the public and private sector working together for the good of the region."
For more information on Manchester city centre Christmas campaign visit www.visitmanchester.com