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Well, this Christmas was a busy one! Whilst welcoming two new team members, the JQBID made sure to go above and beyond to support our businesses, put the Jewellery Quarter on the map even more, and spread festive cheer.

Now that the festive season is officially behind all of us, we’re excited to highlight everything we did at the JQBID to make it a memorable one.

Supporting The Jewellery Quarter Businesses Over Christmas 2024

As always, we provided organic promotion for local businesses through newsletters, social media, and direct outreach. From Christmas events, party venues, festive menus, and seasonal sales to competitions, giveaways, and new business launches—you name it, we helped to promote it!

Our Ambassadors played a key role, not only in their daily work but also by actively encouraging businesses to take advantage of the JQBID’s marketing support. Everyone who reached out for help got it, ensuring the Jewellery Quarter remained a go-to destination for Christmas celebrations.

Advertising the Jewellery Quarter at the German Market

To maximise visibility, we partnered with local advertising agency BBJ&K to promote the Jewellery Quarter at the Birmingham German Market. We secured prime screen space in Victoria Square, ensuring that the millions of visitors stopping to enjoy the festive atmosphere also seeing what the JQ has to offer. These screens are located where the older, more affluent audience who visit these markets
are as well as general footfall of office workers in the city centre through the week. So working with a designer, we created an eye-catching advert showcasing our businesses, attractions and atmosphere.

Paid Social Media Campaigns

Our marketing team went door to door, approaching businesses to feature in a paid social media ad designed to showcase the Jewellery Quarter as a whole, rather than individual brands. BBJ&K also ran a targeted social media push, and thanks to the ad and copy, we smashed expectations—delivering 50% more impressions than predicted. That’s a whopping 1340K impressions, using the content we filmed to draw more visitors in and encourage them to explore the area.

Podcast Sponsorship

Rather than traditional Spotify ads (since many of our target audience will pay for ad-free listening), we decided to sponsor a local Birmingham podcast—Breaking Bread in Brum—for their Christmas episode. Coincidentally, they were already talking about several Jewellery Quarter venues, making this partnership a perfect fit!

Christmas Lights Switch-On

What would Christmas in the Jewellery Quarter be without our annual Christmas Lights Switch-On? This long-standing tradition gets bigger every year, and 2024 was no exception! Highlights included:

• Spectacular fireworks lighting up the sky
• Smooth Radio presenter Gareth Evans as our host
• Special guest Marc Silk (voice actor) teaching the crowd how to talk like Scooby-Doo before switching on the lights
• Live performances from Dino Baptiste Boogie Woogie Trio and Elle-J Walters
• Business involvement, with local venues offering festive drinks and stands
• ITV News coverage, featuring a live broadcast and segment about the event

With a record number of attendees, our team worked hard to keep things running smoothly for the thousands of people that attended this years Christmas Lights Switch On Event!

Advent Trail

This year, instead of our usual Christmas Window Trail, we introduced a Christmas Advent Trail! Featuring 25 festive window displays across the Jewellery Quarter, we highlighted a different business each day on our stories using the interactive ‘shake to reveal’ feature.

We had great engagement, with entries both online and in person. A delicious hamper (courtesy of new JQ business, BoxxedUp) was awarded to the winner. Our team handled everything from design work and flyer printing to social media promotion and website updates, ensuring the trail was a success!

To further promote the event, we partnered with iChoose Birmingham and Independent Birmingham for two advertorials and a general advert. The article and ads in iChoose achieved record-breaking engagement for the Jewellery Quarter, with over 18,000 people reading the article!

Snowflake Trail

In addition to the Advent Trail, we introduced a Snowflake Trail, guiding visitors around the historic cemeteries and green spaces within the Jewellery Quarter—an area we’re incredibly lucky to have!

Jewellery Quarter on Birmingham’s Christmas Maps

We ensured that the Jewellery Quarter was included on Birmingham’s official Christmas city center maps, making it easier for visitors to discover everything we have to offer.

Looking Ahead

Thanks to all this promotion and marketing, we welcomed new visitors, increased footfall for local businesses, and strengthened the JQ’s reputation as a must-visit festive destination.

With our new team members settled in, we’re more inspired than ever to build on this success for Christmas 2025. If you’re a Jewellery Quarter business, don’t wait for next Christmas—reach out to the marketing team at [email protected] to make sure you’re supported all year round!

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