A campaign to promote Shrewsbury as a vibrant and safe destination over the summer will continue throughout autumn and winter.
The Shrewsbury’s Open campaign has been funded by the Shrewsbury Recovery Taskforce, made up of Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council and Shrewsbury BID, to spread the word that the town is safe and welcoming during the Covid-19 restrictions.
Since being launched in July, the campaign has brought 30,000 unique visitors to the www.shrewsburysopen.com website and reached 750,000 people on social media.
Using the strapline ‘Big Love for Local Life’, the campaign celebrates the shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels in Shrewsbury and encourages people to enjoy them in a safe and responsible way.
The bright and colourful branding has been seen all over the town centre in the form of safety barriers, lamppost banners and flags - and the branding is now being refreshed for the onset of autumn and winter.
Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, which has led the project on behalf of the Recovery Taskforce, said the Shrewsbury’s Open message had been well-received by businesses and visitors.
“We have been really pleased with the response to the campaign, and the statistics from our social media marketing have been excellent,” he said.
“There was a big focus on highlighting the outdoor space during the summer, and the vibrant branding reflected that summery feel, so we are now evolving it as we move into the autumn.”
Dilwyn Jones, owner of The Sabrina riverboat and director of Shrewsbury BID, said visitor numbers had improved in recent months.
“We were very concerned in the weeks immediately following the easing of the lockdown that our visitor numbers were never going to recover, but thankfully things did markedly improve as we went through July and August,” he said.
“We have worked really hard to ensure the boat is safe, and of course our capacity has reduced as a result, but people have been very happy to enjoy our river tours again.
“The whole of the town centre has felt really vibrant and I think a big part of that has been down to the Shrewsbury’s Open flags, signage and bunting, and the marketing to spread the word about what we have to offer has definitely helped.”
