April Newsletter to BID Members

Welcome to Issue 2 of your BID newsletter! Its been a busy few months in the Bid team!

Land Train
Despite a last minute route change, due to the ongoing closure of Murray Place, this was a huge success, with nearly 1,600 customers taking the trip from Corn Exchange Road to the Castle and return. We conducted nearly 500 surveys over the four days and a separate report will be produced, this will also conclude whether operating this throughout the year is a viable option.

Promotion was via social media, Google, The List and we obtained great free media coverage from the Observer, Stirling City Radio, Central FM and numerous web sites including evensi and net mums. We also erected 3m tall signs in 6 locations across the city which also promoted the Chew and Brew food and drink event in the Stirling Arcade.

Digital Marketing (and FREE training)
Destination™; our new digital marketing partner, will be visiting businesses in the next few weeks to introduce themselves and to get content for our new city centre website and social media platforms. This is a free service to all levy payers and in mid-May there will also be a free training day for all aspects of social media and digital marketing, this is a drop in event and all levy payers are welcome to attend.

Save the Date:
15th May from 10:00 – 16:30

Go Forth Group Buy – Procurement
We will be operating a trial exercise with a procurement specialist to enable businesses to obtain better deals for utilities, merchant services etc. This will be operated directly with levy payers and the company is called Eyebright, who work with several Business Improvement Districts in Scotland and the rest of the UK. This buying power should enable businesses to get much better deals and in some cases could see your bid levy payment saved in just one deal.

Year Two – Stirling’s Marathon 29th April 2018
This popular event will bring nearly 8,000 participants to Stirling and we would like to provide the runners and spectators with a special welcome. If your business would like to provide a special offer or package for this event please email jon@goforthstirling.co.uk

This will be publicised via the Go Forth communication channels and we will send to the organisers so it can be included in their own communication to participants.

OTHER NEWS

City WiFi
A tender for the installation of free wi-fi for Stirling City Centre will be issued towards the end of April 2018, we will keep you up to date on progress. 

Waste
The number of bins and general clutter on the streets is a major concern, so the first step to making this better will be an audit of all city centre commercial businesses to ascertain how you presently deal with all waste and recycling. This survey will be issued in the next week or so, please help us by completing this and letting us make the city as presentable as possible.

Pubwatch/Purple Flag
Chaired by Danielle McRorie Smith of the Fubar, it is hoped Pubwatch will launch this month. This powerful collaborative initiative will help Stirling provide an even better evening experience and is a first step towards to the city obtaining ‘Purple Flag’ accreditation

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