BRUM LAUNCHES XMAS STORE WARS

16-11-2006

Birmingham has put its tanks on the lawn on the Black Country by launching a poster campaign for its Christmas shopping attractions outside the Merry Hill Centre. Solihull, the home of Touchwood, is also being targeted.

The ads are part of a £175,000 campaign which also includes prime time TV promotions - and having seen the launch today we reckon it's money well spent.

Brum's strapline is that there are more than 1,000 shops within a 20 minute walk of the city centre, an astonishing statistic.

There will be quibbles that the Jewellery Quarter hasn't been listed as one of the attractions; and although there are around 100 independent stores in town we reckon that figure's pitifully low for a city that is now promoting itself as a major shopping destination.

Still, the marketing boys and girls can only work with what they've got, and they've certainly made the most of it. Part of Birmingham's “big sell” now is that you don't just go into town to buy a coat or a pair of shoes - after all, you could do that anywhere - but you also get to enjoy a day out.

The ever-popular German Market which opened for business today and the forthcoming Parade of Lights on the canals all add to the sense of a city finally punching its weight as a regional capital.

By setting the bar high, Brum forces other local centres to sharpen up their act - witness the Hungarian Market in Wolverhampton - and the cheeky ad outside Merry Hill should force the owners of that centre to offer a bit more than simply big name shops, midnight opening, and (for a limited period only) free parking.