Businesses invited to take part in free Christmas promotional offers

Businesses across Bridgend County Borough are being invited to showcase their products online for free this Christmas as part of a festive drive to encourage residents to shop local.

Following on from last year, Bridgend County Borough Council is working with EPM Creative around the Digital Christmas website and We Love Apps.

Both the website and the digital apps which mainly focus on Porthcawl, Maesteg and Bridgend town centres offer businesses across the county borough the chance to advertise their products and any promotional offers for free.

This year, as part of encouraging residents to spend Christmas in their local town centres, we want to highlight all businesses, from the independents to the larger shops, giving customers the chance to explore what the area has to offer and enabling businesses to engage with a wider consumer base during the festive trading period.

When using the We Love App in their town, shoppers will have the opportunity to make the most of vouchers, loyalty cards, discount codes and competitions such as winning a personalised message from Santa. Meanwhile on the Digital Christmas website, there’ll be further promotions and a virtual flight through Santa’s grotto and virtual meet-and-greets with Santa’s reindeer.

If you haven’t signed up to take part yet as a business, we’d really encourage you to do so.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Communities Stuart Baldwin

Paul Whittaker of EPM Creative said: “We are very excited to be managing and delivering the Digital Christmas experience again this year for Bridgend County Borough Council.

“We hope that this will increase footfall for the participating towns as well as go some way to replace the larger events that would have happened in each town but are unattainable due to the current changing circumstances.”

Businesses can register for either or both of the initiatives on EPM Creative’s webpage.

This year, the Digital Christmas website and Apps will run from 13 November to 5 January. Customers can download the app via the App Store or Google Play.

• This year’s Bridgend town centre Christmas lights switch-on will be broadcast via social media with no public event because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but a special free Santa Trail is being planned for Saturday 27 November.
  
  Visitors to the Santa Trail will walk through various Christmas-themed zones set up throughout the town centre featuring live music from local choirs and bands, a snowstorm, a Santa selfie sleigh, street entertainment and the chance to meet Father Christmas and his reindeers.
  
  Access to this free event will be by ticket only and numbers will be limited, so book early to avoid disappointment - full details will be released on how to obtain tickets later this month.