Update from the EO

Hello to all of our wonderful businesses,

Thanks to all the businesses that came along to give your input onto our winter campaign and marketing at Samuel Pepys café last week. It was so great to see so many of you and hear your ideas and get your feedback.

Keeping people visiting the city in winter.

In light of the current economic challenges faced by businesses, especially in retail and hospitality sectors, we are committed to supporting our local community in Launceston. With a focus on encouraging spending within our city and bolstering foot traffic over the winter months, we've made some strategic decisions.

After extensive discussions with stakeholders last year, we've opted not to proceed with the Fire & Fog in Civic Square this year. While the festival has been a fantastic central winter event featuring fire pits and music, escalating costs and the risks associated with hosting an outdoor event during this season prompted us to reconsider. Instead, we will be reallocating resources to enhance marketing efforts and activate initiatives that drive footfall and spending to local businesses. We believe this shift aligns better with our goals of supporting the local economy and ensuring a vibrant winter season for our community.

After consultation with you all and using the evidence from previous winter campaigns we invite you all to get involved with us on the following projects:

• Empty shop activation – We are in the final stages of securing a shop to rent as a pop-up community space for the winter months. Our vision is to create a warm and inviting environment where people can gather, enjoy live music, art, and a sense of community. Our dedicated team of volunteer musicians is eager to transform the space into a musical haven. With comfortable seating, art installations, and the beloved Cityprom piano, visitors can drop in with their lunch or a coffee and immerse themselves in the sounds of professional musicians jamming or enjoy happy hour performances a couple of days a week. We invite anyone interested in doing a pop-up display or activation in this space to reach out to us. Additionally, if you're able to donate or provide furniture, furnishings, or fabrics, your contribution would be greatly appreciated. We would welcome any sponsors for the space in return for signage and advertising too. We hope you help us advertise this space once it is up and running to encourage city visitation and attract more people into the city over winter including any aspiring or experienced musicians or those who like to listen to live music!
• Fire & Fog | The Feast – We've taken our beloved Fire and Fog logo, a national award-winning piece of marketing crafted by our very own Brea, and rebranded it as Fire and Fog | The Feast. Building on the success of last year's Memory Lane launch with Stelo and our generous landlord and team, we're thrilled to announce our latest endeavour: activating the Old Brisbane Arcade with a spectacular long table dinner. In collaboration with agriCULTURED, this immersive four-course dining experience promises to ignite all the senses and is a must-attend event for food enthusiasts. Tickets are for sale now, get in early as there are limited numbers.
• Win a winter wardrobe – An exciting opportunity for your customers to win big this winter! By subscribing to our newsletter on our website throughout June, July, or August, they'll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $1000 winter shopping spree right here in Launceston. We encourage you to spread the word to your customers, inviting them to participate in this opportunity to support local businesses and enjoy a shopping spree on us.
• Soupalicious – It's back and better than ever! Can anyone dethrone Saigon Kitchen in 2024? Register your best flavour-packed soup to serve throughout the month of August and let the public vote for their favourite. This is a great opportunity to boost your winter marketing and ensure your name is on everyone's lips as they get their winter hunger on!
• Blogs and social stories – Let us know if you have any winter specials, special announcements, new seasonal stock, or upcoming events. We're eager to promote your cosy winter shops and venues and encourage everyone to support local businesses this winter.

I'm looking forward to working with you all over the coming cooler months. Don’t hesitate to reach out with your ideas or to collaborate in anyway.

Amanda McEvoy

Executive Officer

Launceston Central