A CAMPAIGN to support Bradford's hospitality businesses over the winter has been shortlisted for a prestigious marketing award.

The Sparkling Bradford Winter 2020 campaign has been shortlisted in the UK Content Award for the Travel/Leisure Content Campaign of the Year.

Sparkling Bradford is a partnership campaign, with Bradford Council, Visit Bradford the council’s tourism department, The Broadway Bradford and the Bradford Business Improvement District (BID) and aims to highlight and showcase what the Bradford district has to offer visitors.

Now in its third year, the Sparkling Bradford winter campaign ran from November 2020 to February 2021.

Due to changing circumstances around the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions, the campaign moved entirely online, making full use of social media, video, website and media engagement to create a content marketing campaign, with a focus on encouraging future visits, engaging local communities and businesses to create a positive image of the district.

Highlights of the campaign included a series of videos, focusing on retail, the outdoors and what people could look forward to.

Winter campaign aims to celebrate success in Bradford

The campaign also encouraged people from across the district to share images of their local lockdown discoveries and celebrated the ‘People who make Bradford Sparkle’.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “The Sparkling Bradford campaigns are a fabulous examples of the great partnership work going on across our district.

“I’m delighted that they have been shortlisted for this award and winning would be a real testament to the hard work that the team have put in to showcase the best of the district.”

Ian Ward, General Manager of The Broadway, Bradford, said: “Every industry has been affected by the pandemic; from retail, education and care, right through to tourism and marketing.

“This award nomination really highlights the creativity and dynamic thinking of the teams involved in the Sparkling Bradford partnership. Innovation was key to maintain the momentum we’ve experienced with previous campaigns and to really showcase what people could plan and look forward to in the district.

“Summer in the region is set to be an exciting one with restrictions easing and hospitality returning along with family events.”

BID manager Jonny Noble said: “We’re thrilled that the Sparkling Bradford campaign has been shortlisted. It was a great example of collaboration and partnership working across ‘Team Bradford’ especially in the face of a national lockdown and the restrictions brought about by Covid-19.

“It proved to be a very successful piece of place marketing to showcase the wider Bradford district and it dovetailed beautifully with the BID’s efforts to promote the city centre through our Rediscover Bradford campaign – to remind local people just how much it has to offer – and our Getting Back to Business campaign to help, support, advise and promote local retailers, leisure and hospitality providers as they fight back from the impact of the pandemic.”

Sparkling Bradford will be competing against

FRUKT, MRM and ibis MUSIC and their Gigs At Home / #RatherBeTogether campaign

Motive & My Baggage – A Breath of Fresh Air

Rise at Seven & Parkdean Resorts – Hedgehog Holiday Park

The winners are announced at an event in London on July 15