Our student shopping night is back!
The Manchester BID, Manchester Arndale, My UNiDAYS, Capital FM and The Warehouse Project team are hosting a spring edition of our MCR Student Night Out on Thursday 27 April, 4-8pm. The autumn edition will take place on Tuesday 26 September, 4-9pm. Put the date in your diaries…
Manchester and Salford’s style-savvy student population can enjoy an exclusive evenings of big discounts, shopping events, music and fashion, giving you an ideal opportunity to showcase your brand and products. Students injected £1billion into the retail economy in Manchester last year, so we want to do our best to reach them and bring that spend into the city centre shops.
A few facts from last year’s spring event:
- Tens of thousands of students from Salford University, Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Salford City College and Manchester College flooded into the city to snap up big discounts and enjoy street and store entertainment
- 160 stores opened their doors late to offer one-night only discounts, including Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser, Selfridges, Topshop, H&M, River Island, Gap, Cath Kidston, Pretty Green, Office, Jack Wills, Henri Lloyd and Levi’s
- The finals of Manchester Arndale’s Student Band Competition attracted huge crowds and buzz across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and YouTube
- Capital FM, Black Dog Ballroom and The Liars Club brought Spring Break to Market Street, with DJs, beach volleyball, tiki bars, peer pong and skateboarding stunts
- Promotional leaflets, posters, digital screens, social media and targeted PR led to 6000 pre-registration on the UNiDAYS website. Some retailers reported up to 30% increased sales v the previous year
- £8800 AVE of PR coverage
Thursday 27 April 2017
Working in partnership with Manchester Arndale, the city-wide MCR Student Night Out will bring the best range of shopping offers and on street entertainment to the UK’s biggest student population. The message is that students can come into the city centre to shop, and then take the party out and about.
Evidence shows that the more in-store entertainment, activities and fun incentives – and the bigger the discounts – the better the results are for retailers. These shopping events are an opportunity for your brands to build valuable relationships with new and returning students.
On Street and After-Hours Entertainment
Manchester Arndale will host the finals of their Student Band Competition and Market Street will celebrate spring break in style. Street entertainment, competitions and live DJ sets will encourage students to stay and move around the shopping area. And the more stores host similar activities, the more students will be enticed in!
Marketing & PR
By working partnership with Manchester Arndale, My UNiDAYS, Capital FM and The Warehouse Project team, BID retailers will benefit from a promotional campaign with extended reach and marketing budget. The marketing plan includes:
- MCR Student Night Out event portal and All Offers featured on myunidays.com
- Targeted PR campaign delivered by the BID’s agency Echo
- Printed leaflets to promote the offers and advertising through the universities and colleges
- Window vinyls, posters and strut cards for you to signpost your offers and events
- A social media takeover of @/ShopMCR, @/manarndale and @/myUNiDAYS channels in the run up to and during the event
- Window vinyls, posters and strut cards for you to signpost your offers and events
Retailers offering discounts of 25% of more will be guaranteed bespoke social media posts. Feedback shows that ‘the Simpler, the Stronger, the Bigger’ the offer, the better response!
Here here a few previous offers to give you an idea of what works well: Levi’s: 30% off | Jack Wills and Henri Lloyd 25% off | House of Fraser, Topshop, H&M, River Island, Gap, Cath Kidston, Pretty Green and Office 20% off
Submitting your offers
We need to receive your offers to manchesterbid@cityco.com by Monday 27 February, so you can be included in the marketing campaign. So grab your share of all that business, and help us to make this year’s student night a truly outstanding event.
