Bradford City of Culture 2025: How to Boost Your Business

3 minute read

In May 2022, Bradford was named the UK’s latest City of Culture. In September, the dynamic events programme was revealed, including an exciting performance from Dynamo. The City of Culture celebrations are a great opportunity to boost your business.

What is the City of Culture Award?

The City of Culture award was created in 2009. This is a four-year award gifted to a city to fund cultural projects. The City of Culture Award is a great way to celebrate the culture that make a city and its’ people unique.

The Bradford City of Culture line-up includes a performance by Dynamo, a production of the Jungle Book, and concerts at the new Bradford Live. Other highlights include an interactive cookbook experience, walking trails, and a Bronte exhibition. Here’s our top tips for how to boost your business in the City of Culture events, whilst also enjoying the main impressive line-up.

Top Tips for boosting your business in City of Culture

1) Embrace the celebrations

The City of Culture Award is a great opportunity for your business – embrace it. Stay up to date with the celebrations – this is a great talking point with new customers visiting for the events. If they strike up a conversation about the events and you appear disinterested, this may have a negative impact on your business. It may even be worthwhile running a special ‘City of Culture’ promotion to entice trade.

2) Structure your working hours around events

The City of Culture celebrations take place over a full calendar year, attracting millions of visitors. To make the most of passing trade and boost brand awareness, ensure your business is open in the busier periods. Some events – such as concerts – may take place after your usual opening hours.

3) Get involved!

Getting involved in the ‘City of Culture’ celebrations is a great way to boost brand awareness. For a local business, it is important to be seen giving back to the community and engaging in community spirit. Luckily, there are many cost-effective ways to join in the celebration. You could contact the council about having a stall at one of the events, or you and your team could volunteer for an event. If you do, make sure to post this on social media.

4) Become a partner

Becoming a partner of the celebrations is a great way to boost your brand. As a partner, your logo will be displayed on adverts and the City of Culture Website.

5) Up your branding game

The City of Culture is an amazing opportunity to have your brand noticed. From an increase in traffic outside your store to increased social media recognition, your brand will already benefit hugely. However, to increase this potential, consider dedicated social media posts to your City of Culture contributions, using hashtags. Consider your branding. For example, if you run a bakery in the city centre, ensure your logo is on everything you sell – from coffee cups to cupcake wrappers. That way, not only will your customers see your brand, but also everyone they encounter at the celebrations. Who knows, maybe somebody will be inspired to buy cupcakes!

6) Avoid burnout

Running a business can be time-consuming at the best of times, let alone taking into account the above steps. That’s why it is important to ensure you get adequate rest and fun time, even during your busier business periods. This can actually lead to an increase in productivity and protect your mental health. By diverting your calls to AllCall during these busier periods, you can focus on what matters most: good customer service and boosting your brand.

7) Enjoy yourself

Whilst the City of Culture is a great opportunity to grow your brand, it is also a great opportunity for you to engage with the community and enjoy once-in-a-lifetime celebrations. Make sure you carve out some time for yourself and your family in this exciting time. You can trust that AllCall will answer all your calls whilst you have fun.

To find out more about how AllCall can help your worklife balance, why not contact us? Our team love to chat!