Driving festive footfall

• A magical Christmas creative design
• 70% increase in social media reach
• 14.5% increase in footfall to the centre
• Bespoke in-store POS signage solution

Since 2016, Design Workshop has proudly partnered with North Point Shopping Centre, lending our marketing expertise to elevate their annual Christmas festivities for families.

The team at North Point understand that for many families, Christmas can be a challenging time, and with the current economic hardship adding to financial struggles, their goal is to ensure that no child misses out. For a decade, the centre has welcomed families with free festivities each November and December, and 2025 was no exception.

Our team was tasked with making sure this was the centre’s most successful year yet. Here’s how we made that happen…

The shopping centre is located in the heart of Bransholme, Hull, an area with high levels of deprivation but an almighty sense of community! Every Christmas, the North Point team provides a free grotto where every child receives a gift. With other grottos in the area charging up to £20 for their experience, they have removed this cost barrier to make the event accessible to all.

Our team created a new Christmas graphic for this year’s celebrations, capturing the magic this time of year brings for children and families. The new theme and design ran throughout the centre’s marketing activities, creating continuity from social media to in-store promotions. By designing POS that captured the attention of passing customers, we enabled greater footfall to be directed towards the grotto, increasing the number of visits to see Santa and his very busy elves.

We created excitement by writing numerous press release articles to generate media coverage within the local community. They highlighted the commitment from North Point to create a free family event during the cost-of-living crisis. This was followed by celebrating the success of the festive event and what it was able to provide to the community.

Our year-round social media support for the centre was enhanced during the seasonal period by coupling engaging copy alongside magical graphics that promoted the grotto and its opening times. On the run-up to Christmas, during November and December, the organic content our team created for the centre was consumed over 925,000 times and reached 148,000 accounts, increasing their reach by almost 70% compared to the two months prior.

Creating dynamic video content for promotional videos and scroll-stopping reels helped captivate both a new audience and see families return from previous years.

By creating a paid ad campaign, we successfully increased awareness of the grotto within the local area. This helped to raise the profile of both the shopping centre and its festive activities. Utilising a minimal budget, we were able to distribute spend between engagement and awareness ads, reaching over 55,000 unique users throughout the festive period.

Last Christmas was a huge success for the centre! Since starting this annual tradition just over a decade ago, North Point’s Grotto surpassed 35,000 free Santa visits. With over 4,000 children visiting Santa in 2025, the grotto’s footfall rose by 14.5% over the previous year. We are proud to continue to be part of a project that directly benefits members of the community within our city.

North Point Shopping Centre, located in Bransholme, Hull, has been open to the local community for over 40 years. Home to more than 60 outlets, including high street brands and independent retailers, the centre offers a diverse shopping experience complemented by local traders in the vibrant market hall. Open seven days a week, visitors can enjoy a range of food and leisure options, a welcoming atmosphere and the convenience of over 700 free parking spaces.

• Social Media and PR activity
• Paid Ads Campaigns
• Video content creation
• POS Material
• New Christmas theme design