Blackpool IlluminationsMarketing Opportunities

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WELCOME TO BLACKPOOLBlackpool needs little introduction as a

mainstream tourist destination

MORE THAN JUST LIGHTAs summer draws to a close, the resort is

bathed in a sea of light

FASCINATING FACTS

Things you didn’t know about the famous Lights

SWITCH-ON NIGHTThe most high-profile event in the UK

tourism calendar

WORKING WITH BUSINESS

Brand association – the benefit to businesses

MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

How to showcase your business or product

“The Illuminations are an integralpart of Blackpool’s high kickingglamour and giddy glitz…”

Celebrity designer and Lights ambassador

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

…the home of the UK’sbiggest cluster of touristattractions outside London.

1

Loved and visited by millions, it occupies a unique

place in the hearts and minds of the British people.

It has achieved that position through an enduring

relationship and strong emotional bond with

generations of visitors, who have remained loyal

to the resort offer in the face of intensifying

competition from coastal and urban locations,

here and abroad.

Today, Blackpool attracts more than 13m visitors a

year, offering a heady mix of extraordinary heritage

coupled with contemporary attractions.

The reinvention of long-standing attractions for a

modern-day audience is one of the principal

reasons why Blackpool has maintained its status

as the UK’s most popular seaside destination.

And nowhere is that formula more apparent than

in what has been described as the greatest free

light show on earth – Blackpool Illuminations.

Blackpool needs little introduction as a mainstreamtourist destination.

Blackpool Illuminations isthe UK’s most famous lightshow – and one of themost iconic sights in British culture.

2MORE THAN JUST LIGHT

With more than a million lights stretching along

six miles of the famous Promenade, it is little

wonder that generation after generation make the

annual trip to Blackpool to celebrate this Great

British event.

Holidaymakers’ first experience of the Illuminations

was back in 1879 when just eight arc lamps lit

up the seafront in what was then described as

“artificial sunshine”.

The underlying principle might be the same, but

the sheer scale, style and professionalism of this

fantastic free show make it something very

different for a 21st century audience!

It now comprises miles of festoons, features and

tableaux, attracting upwards of three millionvisitors a year with its enduring popularity showing

no sign of abating.

As summer draws to a closeand with many seaside destinations preparing to hibernate for the winter, Blackpool is bathed in a sea of light…..

There is nowhere quite likeBlackpool when the Lightscome on…

3FASCINATING FACTS

• Blackpool Illuminations cost over £2m to stage

each year

• The mountain of lighting equipment is worth

over £10m

• The millions of people who visit the Illuminations

each year spend in excess of £230m

• The display stretches for six miles, from Starr

Gate in the south to Bispham in the north

• The Lights start with the world-famous

“Switch-On” event and run for a minimum of

66 nights

• The ultra-modern Lightworks building in

Blackpool is home to design, production and

storage

• TV star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is a creative

curator for the Illuminations

• Electricity consumption has fallen by two thirds

in 10 years due to use of LED technology

The sheer scale of the Illuminations has to be seen tobe believed. The number oflights that make up the display;the extraordinary volume of visitors who visit the attractioneach year; the “who’s who” list of celebrity Switch-On stars down the years. And so thefacts go on…

It is the night whenBlackpool moves fromsummer into autumn with the biggest outdoorparty of the year.

4SWITCH-ONNIGHT

The first official Switch-On ceremony was staged

in 1934. Since then, there has been a myriad of

celebrity Switch-On guests including Jayne

Mansfield, George Formby, Gracie Fields, Terry

Wogan, Kermit the Frog, Joanna Lumley, Shirley

Bassey, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Top Gear,

David Tennant, Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow.

The Switch-On event is now held on the Tower

Festival Headland, a spectacular outdoor arena

capable of housing 20,000 spectators in the

shadow of Blackpool’s famous Tower. The event

takes the form of a star-studded concert,

culminating in the Lights Switch-On.

Over the years, the event has attracted TV, radio

and other media coverage across the globe. In

2014, an astonishing 77,000 people applied to

attend the Switch-On event which featured Little

Mix, George Ezra, Texas, Union J and Neon

Jungle in concert, before the UK’s favourite

comedian, Peter Kay, pulled the famous switch.

The Illuminations Switch-Onevent, staged on the Friday aer the August Bank Holiday,has become one of the mosthigh-profile events in the UKtourism calendar.

From a business logo upin lights to naming rightsof an entire section, from a bespoke feature to a personalised tableau - the opportunities are endless.

5WORKING WITH BUSINESS

THE BENEFITSInvolvement in Blackpool Illuminations offers the

most unique way to showcase your business or

product.

These are just some of the benefits that can

accrue:

• Exposure to over three million visitors over

66 nights

• Association with one of the most iconic free

tourist events in the UK

• Involvement in the Switch-On celebrations

• Coverage across a wide range of media

• Extensive PR and social media activity via

the VisitBlackpool website and associated

publications

These are just some of the national and internationalbrands that have been associated with Blackpool Illuminations down the years:

• KRS

• McDonald’s

• Nickelodeon

• Norweb

• Nestlé

• Sony Entertainments

• Beaverbrooks the Jewellers

• BBC Worldwide

• HIT Entertainment

• Graham & Brown

• eviivo

• Disney

Marketing OpportunitiesThere are various ways in whichbusinesses can get their name in lights and displayed in front of some three million visitors aspart of the iconic Blackpool Illuminations show. Involvementin the Illuminations is a uniquebusiness opportunity – there is no other attraction quite like this:

the chance to have their logo displayed in the

Illuminations at an easily affordable price.

Light Box: Bespoke individual commercial

opportunity from 2.5mx2.5m square. A light

box is a simple but effective illuminated feature

situated among the tableaux or road section

of the display, offering an excellent opportunity

to get your message across in a very

cost-effective way.

Tableau Sponsor: An opportunity to brand

an existing Illuminations tableau. There are

varying sized tableaux available, some over

30m long therefore offering numerous

branding opportunities.

• Arrival Point Kiosks:Opportunities to brand the kiosks, leaflet

distribution and sampling at key points of

contact for the public. Situated at both

arrival/exit points to the south and north of

Blackpool Promenade, the arrival points are

a focal point of attraction for visitors starting

and finishing their journey through the

Illuminations.

To discuss your business requirements in

more detail, please contact Jo Ashton on

01253-478240, email: jo@visitblackpool.com

or go to visitblackpool.com/illuminations

Prices for all of the above are available on

application.

Other Opportunities:

• Associate SponsorshipAssociated naming opportunities clearly

identified throughout the display. Company

name widely featured in marketing and

promotional campaigns.

• Roadway sections from Starr Gate to BisphamSponsorship of existing sections including

the spectacular Bling display. Participating

companies will be featured in all marketing

and promotional literature for that season’s

show.

Sponsorship of bespoke section,

tailor-made to your requirements. With the

expertise of designer Laurence Llewelyn-

Bowen and the Illuminations design team at

hand, we can work with your marketing

team to produce an illuminated feature

as well as a unique marketing opportunity

for your business.

• Tableau SectionsIndividual items either located on the Cliffs

section to the North or South Pier areas of

the promenade.

Logolights: Enjoy seeing your business’ name

up in Lights. Logolights were introduced in

2014 for giving businesses large and small

• Premium Opportunity: Headline SponsorshipThis gives a company the opportunity to

become the name behind the Lights.

Headline sponsorship will deliver you

multiple points of content within the six

miles of the show, as well as embedding

your company brand within marketing and

promotional campaigns associated with the

Illuminations.

• Premium Opportunity: Sponsorship of Switch-OnThe Illuminations Switch-On celebration is

the biggest night in Blackpool’s events

calendar. Played out in front of an audience

of more than 20,000 people in front of

Blackpool Tower, the Switch-On ceremony

receives millions of pounds worth of local,

national and international PR coverage.

There are various opportunities for

businesses to become involved in

Switch-On through sponsorship, advertising

and product placement.

• Premium Opportunity: Digital MappingFrom 2015, a new state-of-the-art digital

mapping feature will be introduced. During

the nightly shows, the front of the iconic

Tower building will be transformed by

stunning 3D technology. There are new

opportunities for businesses to be

associated through sponsorship, advertising

and merchandising.