Giant screens to boost Stockport’s retail and leisure district

Out-of-home digital advertising specialist Lucid Outdoor will unveil two giant LED screens at the heart of Stockport’s £1bn redevelopment in June.

The large format HD displays will hang permanently in Redrock and Merseyway shopping centre as part of Stockport Council’s ambitious regeneration plan.

Their addition is part of an initiative to promote and animate Stockport town centre and increase dwell time in its public areas.

Each will begin screening live sports, films, local events, weather reports, traffic updates and advertising from the start of June. They will also offer interactive gaming and social media capabilities.

The screens will operate from 6am to midnight each day, allowing advertisers to pitch brand messages, flash sales and adaptive offers to Merseyway’s eight million and Redrock’s 80,000 annual visitor footfalls.

Hyde-based Lucid Outdoor has signed a contract with Stockport Council to sell advertising packages on the displays.

Ads, featuring static or animated content, will run for 10 seconds of every minute, for two week durations.

Each hi-resolution screen will feature self-brightening technology to counteract increasing sunlight and will be paired with sound and PA systems in the town’s retail and leisure districts.

Live news, traffic, travel and weather feeds will enhance shopper experiences and determine corresponding adaptive advertising to influence visitor spending during visits to Merseyway and Redrock.

Plans to introduce fan zones for large sporting events including Wimbledon and the Olympics, and interactive gaming tournaments, are part of ongoing discussions between Lucid Outdoor and Stockport Council.

Lucid Outdoor will erect the screens in June. Managing Director Mike Cleary said: “The addition of the full motion screens in Stockport town centre is a significant development in Stockport Council’s plans.

“Outdoor continues to grow in technical capability and stature as an advertising medium. This will be a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to maximise their share of the retail and leisure spending power of the area.

“As a local company we are very proud to have won this contract in such an iconic area and add it to our portfolio of out-of-home opportunities for advertisers.”

Stockport town centre is home to a number of well-known high street brands.

Outlets for Primark, Office, Tessuti, and Claire’s Accessories are among the highest performers in the North West for each company.

They benefit from an average weekly visitor footfall of 162,000 in Merseyway, with approximately 30,000 shoppers visiting the shopping centre every Saturday.

Redrock, Stockport’s new leisure quarter, is home to Berretto Lounge, Zizzi, Pizza Express and The Light Cinema which, as one of the busiest of the company’s 10 cinemas, attracts approximately 12,000 visitors per week.

Redrock is also home to The Gym Group, which provides 24 hour access, seven days a week to users.

Cllr David Meller, cabinet member for economy and regeneration at Stockport Council, said: “The digital screens will be a fantastic asset to the town centre and are a great way of communicating with the public to promote the council’s campaigns and messages throughout the year.

“They’ll also complement our improvement plans to Merseyway, which will be under way very soon and, perhaps most importantly, provide even more opportunities for people to visit our town centre.

“I’m particularly excited about the prospect of fan zones and gaming tournaments. We’re determined to have a broad and exciting offer within our town centre and the screens will help achieve that.

“All this, along with the recent transformation of the Market Place and investment in the Underbanks area, will make Stockport even more attractive to potential advertisers and visitors.”