Billboards and brochure put small businesses in the shop window

‘WONDERFUL IDEA’: Jen Brant with colleagues James Wilson, left, and Ash Tyson at Bad Wolf Gaming

Local independent traders are being helped to promote their Christmas specials to shoppers with a new campaign.

HullBID has joined forces with Visit Hull to showcase 100 retail outlets across the city centre in a new brochure as part of the “We know a place…” campaign.

The retail brochure has a print run of 20,000, with 15,000 copies dropping through doors in and around the city and the rest being distributed through libraries, the information pod at the transport interchange and the businesses themselves.

It is being supported by a billboard campaign featuring some of the businesses, including Koda Studios, Bad Wolf Gaming and Stuf.

The booklet is a companion publication to a food and beverage brochure which went out to homes, hotels and other outlets during the summer and highlighted all the eating and drinking venues in the city centre, from cafes and delis to bars and restaurants and everything in between.

The format is the same, with the variety and vibrancy of the city’s independent retailers captured with a full colour photograph, a brief description of products and services and the all-important details of location and contacts.

Katherine Mathew, owner of Koda Studios, a specialist modern and contemporary furniture manufacturer in Paragon Arcade said: “The campaign is a great showcase for local businesses and really helps them promote what they do.

‘GREAT SHOWCASE’: Katherine Mathew at Koda Studios in Paragon Arcade

“Normally it’s only the big businesses that have the resources to produce billboards and brochures so what HullBID is doing is really good for the local business community and for shoppers and business owners.”

Jen Brant, co-owner of Bad Wolf Gaming, in Whitefriargate, said: “It’s a wonderful idea and a great way to raise the profile of local businesses. We are really grateful to HullBID and we hope the campaign will attract people in to see our Christmas products and offers.”

Paul Green, co-founder of Stuf, a gadget sales and repairs shop in South Street, said he was shocked to see his face on a big screen as he drove towards the city centre on the A63.

He said: “We’d sold out of selfie sticks but managed to get hold of one to use in our photograph and it looks great. I laughed my head off when I saw it as I drove past. I’ve finally made it onto the big screen!”

The businesses have been featured on big screens and billboards next to the eastbound carriageway of the A63 near St Andrew’s Quay, inside St Stephen’s Shopping Centre and at sites in Great Union Street and Cleveland Street.

Kathryn Shillito, HullBID Executive Director said: “The food and beverage brochure did a lot to raise the profile of our businesses in that sector and we decided to do the same to recognise the growing number of independent retailers in the city centre.

“These are all owned by people who live and breathe their business every day. It’s about their passion, their enterprise and the vibrancy which they bring to the city centre and that comes across really well in some fun photography”.