November has been a busy month of PR, events, and social media activity for the Umpf team – read on to see what we’ve been up to.
Opening the doors of Christmasville at Gunwharf Quays ???❄️
In September, we teased the arrival of Christmasville at Gunwharf Quays – offering a traditional Santa’s grotto, an immersive live show combining theatre, puppetry, and projection, as well as the all-important ‘Bauble Bar’ . Fast-forward to November 20th and we officially opened the doors with a sparkling launch evening.
Our dedicated press and influencer preview gave media and content creators exclusive access to the experience ahead of the public opening. Guests included Imogen Horton, regional media outlets and local influencers. PA Media also attended, distributing imagery from the evening across the national newswire. The next morning we released a ‘first look’ press release and imagery to our media contacts.
So far, the campaign has generated 115 pieces of press and influencer coverage with a reach of 23.6 million. With festive round-ups in full swing, that number continues to climb. Highlights so far have included inclusions in The i – print and online – as well as Heat.
On social, paid partnership content from @harleighfairgriev has already delivered standout results, securing 375k views and almost 100k likes within just five days. Her daughter Alora, complete with reindeer face paint, has officially stolen the nation’s hearts.❤️
@harleighfairgriev ad Come with us to Christmasville at @Gunwharf Quays ??♥️
Harrison Spinks expands international presence to bring luxury sleep to Indonesia
Our longstanding client, luxury bedmaker Harrison Spinks, has been making more international moves this month with the launch of its range of premium luxury mattresses in Indonesia for the first time.
We generated some fantastic B2B PR coverage for the mattress brand in regional, trade, and international press, including key wish list titles such as Yorkshire Evening Post, Yorkshire Post, The Business Desk, Insider Media, MSN, Bed Times, Big Furniture Group, and Sleep Savvy. There were a total of 25 pieces of coverage, with a potential reach of almost 7 million.
iFLY Xscape Milton Keynes turns 20 — and pulls a few tricks out of the tunnel
We recently supported iFLY Milton Keynes, the flagship indoor skydiving attraction at Xscape Milton Keynes, as it celebrated its 20th anniversary with a standout Guinness World Record attempt.
To mark the milestone, magician Martin Rees took on the challenge of performing 10 magic tricks while in flight within three minutes inside the iFLY wind tunnel, adjudicated by Guinness World Records. We supported the event by inviting key local media down to capture the action on the day, including BBC Look East and ITV Anglia West.
As part of our wider influencer programme for Landsec, we also invited family blogger @rooneyadventures to share the experience and create destination-led content.
The anniversary proved a huge success, with Martin breaking the record and securing his sixth official Guinness World Record title.
The campaign generated 21 pieces of local media coverage, including six broadcast features and ITV online, reaching an audience of more than 3.3 million people — a fantastic celebration for an iconic Xscape attraction.
The World’s Biggest Elf Skate
How do you top a festive ice-rink launch which skated straight into the history books with the World’s Biggest Santa Skate? You do it with elves, of course!
Last year’s Santa skate was such a huge success, we knew raising the bar would be a challenge. So, we went bigger, brighter, and more magical – this time with Santa’s little helpers. And we sleighed it.
We offered free tickets to guests who came dressed as elves and hosted a jingle-worthy, feel-good celebration featuring the REAL Santa and his head elf, a live DJ, festive treats as well as official rosettes and participation certificates.
On the night, Clarks Village claimed a new world record for ice skating elves (outside the North Pole of course) with an incredible 193 ice skating elves. That’s 40 more than last year’s Santa record! Elf and safety never looked so magical.
The event delivered a sleigh-load of media buzz too, including two live ITV News broadcasts that captured all the twinkling action.
But the true icing on our (Christmas) cake? Guests sharing that our festive ice rink events at Clarks Village had become a core Christmas memory for them.
Now that’s what we call elf-made magic ?✨
Umpf checks in to World Travel Market
The Umpf team attended World Travel Market to connect with the global travel community at the world’s most influential travel and tourism event in London. As well as key networking opportunities with international travel, tourism, and leisure businesses, the team experienced a host of masterclasses, learning everything from how AI is shaping travel marketing and PR, to how we can utilise large scale events and live tourism for destination magnets for our clients – both in the hospitality industry and beyond.
Exclusive community skate session at Braintree Village
November marked the opening of Braintree Village’s popular ice rink for a third consecutive year. To celebrate its return, and to demonstrate the rink’s inclusivity, the Umpf team invited more than 100 guests from various disability groups across Essex for a complimentary skate.
Families attended from Little Havens Hospice and SNAP charity, and the team arranged a visit from local title, Braintree and Witham Times, who interviewed guests and Braintree Village’s Centre Director about the importance of inclusivity in public places such ice rinks.
The ice rink’s return has generated fantastic media coverage, with 41 clippings achieved so far and a reach of over 4.1 million. 14 of those clippings focus on the accessibility event, with their reach totalling over 840,000.
Predator: Badlands influencer screening at Trinity Leeds
To celebrate the cinema release of Predator: Badlands, the Umpf team supported Disney and Trinity Leeds to host an exclusive influencer event. We handpicked and invited high-impact creators and ensured the event went seamlessly on the night.
The evening began at CrowdedHouse where guests enjoyed light bites and cocktails with panoramic views of the city, before heading to a private screening at Everman Cinema where they were among the first to watch the new release.
The event was a social success, with every creator sharing content that showcased both the experience and film launch. In total the preview event generated 33 pieces of influencer coverage and delivered a combined reach of more than 672k.
Double-dip of ITV for St David’s Cardiff
We helped secure not one but two features with ITV Wales for St David’s Cardiff in November – one piece reporting from the centre following release of Welsh footfall data, and a second focusing on a busy Black Friday, with vox pops from centre guests.
Two great opportunities to showcase St David’s as Wales’ leading shopping destination.
Going Wild for Zoowater: Bluewater x Zootropolis 2
November saw Bluewater team up with Disney for one of its most ambitious collaborations yet, celebrating the upcoming release of Zootropolis 2. For the first time in its history, the shopping centre underwent a full rebrand – becoming ‘Zoowater’ – complete with refreshed signage across key entry points, a reimagined logo starring Mayor Winddancer and even a Zootropolis-themed slide taking over an escalator.
To support the takeover, Umpf delivered a dedicated media campaign and managed the guestlist for an exclusive influencer screening held ahead of the film’s official UK release. Twelve family creators attended the private event, giving them an early look at the highly anticipated sequel and plenty of opportunities to capture content from the moment they arrived.
Across press and social, the campaign has generated 39 pieces of press and influencer coverage with a total reach of 6.4 million.
Record-breaking high fives at White Rose
In other world record-related news, we worked with White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds to set a world record for the most high fives in 30 seconds in November.
We enlisted the support of Leeds Knights ice hockey players Liam Peyton and Balint Pakozdi, who joined 248 festive locals in setting the record at the White Rose ice rink. The energy was incredible, with guests cheering and whooping their way into the record books, and both Look North and Leeds TV in attendance to capture the action.
High fives all round!
Pup-loving Clarks Village fetches Dog-Friendly Award
Our client Clarks Village told us they wanted to shout about the fact that it’s dog friendly. In response, we made it our mission to sniff out every opportunity to make it known as the most dog-friendly shopping destination in the country.
Enter tail-wagging national press trips and Pawsome Pooch; a dog-celebratory event now in its third year with free pup pampering, fur-bulous dog trick displays and agility sessions and pet pawtrait photo shoots. At the heart of the event was the ulti-mutt recruitment mission: the hunt for the new CEO of Clarks Village – Canine Executive Officer that is.
One-year old golden Miniature Dachshund Archie stole hearts and in a public vote was proclaimed the winner, taking the lead from last year’s winner Dudley, our beloved three-legged Hungarian Viszla.
As well a whole litter of media coverage and social media buzz, the event catapulted Clarks Village into fully doggy stardom and has helped the outlet scoop the award for the UK’s Most Dog-Friendly Shopping Centre (for the second year running!) at the DogFriendly Awards. Not too shaggy, right?
