The Omnichannel Strategy Powering Arndale’s Highest Awareness Yet

Manchester Arndale operates in an increasingly competitive retail landscape, shaped by reduced consumer confidence, tightened spending, the continued prominence of online shopping and the offering of satellite towns and out-of-town centres. The centre needed to cut through, inspire visits, and stay front‑of‑mind for Manchester’s day‑to‑day shoppers.

To do that, we first had to get clear on the fundamentals: who Manchester Arndale is today, who its audiences are, what drives their behaviour, and how the centre stacks up against its major competitors. Only then could we build a strategy designed to increase footfall, elevate brand visibility, strengthen digital engagement and deliver memorable in‑centre experiences.

We planned and delivered a full Omnichannel campaign, brought to life with a post‑campaign survey of 1,000 respondents across Manchester and Greater Manchester. This approach ensured we reached audiences at every stage of their journey, then captured robust insight to fuel continuous optimisation.

Our channel mix combined social storytelling, hyperlocal activation and high‑impact OOH to maximise reach and frequency. Retailer participation, creator‑led content and seasonal moments (with a strong Christmas focus) added vibrancy and cultural relevance.

The research programme provided ongoing measurement and clear seasonal comparison. Each wave included 1,000 respondents via Norstat’s online panel, with quotas by age and catchment to reflect shifting shopper profiles. Five waves have been completed to date, including the latest fieldwork from 31/12/25 to 09/01/26.

Awareness, recall and campaign resonance all rose to their highest levels to date. Manchester Arndale now sits firmly in the consciousness of local shoppers, with strong recognition across both core advertising and creator‑led activity.

Influencer and UGC content played a standout role, driving the strongest prompted recognition (57%) and clearly resonating with key audience groups.

On‑site media also surged, with exposure rising to 46% (+11pts vs Summer ’25), reinforcing its value in strengthening message recall.

These insights give us clear direction for future campaigns: maintain full Omnichannel coverage, double down on creator content, and continue building a modern, vibrant and stylish creative identity that aligns with how audiences naturally see the centre.