Promoted & Vibrant
Due to Covid-19 some aspects of Promoted & Vibrant, including our annual events programme, are currently suspended. As part of the City Centre stakeholder group LQ BID are in active liaison with government partners, helping to lead the safe recovery of the District. LQ BID will continue to promote the Linen Quarter in an appropriate way and will re-activate all aspects of our programme when it is safe to do so.
Check out what LQ BID has been doing to promote the district below:
Website & Newsletter
In April 2019, LQ BID launched a new website to promote the district online and to help direct visitors to specific businesses by profiling the businesses in the BID area. The website is used as a free advertising platform for local organisations, allowing for content to be regularly updated with engaging news stories and vibrant images.
Each week LQ BID circulates a newsletter with the latest ‘LQ News’ to our members. The newsletter highlights what is going on in the district, from investment and regeneration in the area to the top 5 places to go for dinner and more. Each week brings different news and is particularly of interest to those working in the area.
To sign up to our newsletter, or if you own or work in a LQ-based business and want to share information to surrounding businesses, please get in touch via info@linenquarter.org
Press & Social Media
To date, the Linen Quarter has gained fantastic coverage from work carried out by LQ BID to support and improve the district. Projects that have gained coverage in local newspapers, publications and online include, the launch of Flax Field in Bedford Square, LQ Street Beat, Purple Flag, Imagine Festival and more. This publicity not only promotes the area further to readers, but it also highlights the types of things that take place in the district, which is important to those living in the city-centre and surrounding communities.
If you’re visiting the Linen Quarter anytime soon, be sure to tag us in your post and we can re-share across our social media platforms:
- Instagram: @LinenQuarter
- Facebook: @LinenQuarterBID
- Twitter: @LinenQuarterBID
Street Ambassadors
For 14 weeks each year, from late June to end of September, LQ BID employs 5 summer street ambassadors to act as brand ambassadors for the Linen Quarter district, supporting local businesses and the hospitality industry. The street team is made up of interactive and welcoming individuals who provide a warm presence around the district, signposting tourists, commuters and business visitors to where they need to go.
The team is responsible for providing a free concierge service to Linen Quarter hotels, and weekly walking tours to small tour groups, which in turn adds additional custom to the hospitality businesses in the area. The team is also a great support at all events and activities across the summer months and even provide additional information to levy payers, offering a bespoke service to meet any requests or requirements.
To get in touch with our street ambassadors, please contact leeza@linenquarter.org
Events & Hospitality Group
The key focus of the Events & Hospitality Group is to plan combined activities that will benefit the Linen Quarter area. This includes a programme of festivals that the BID produces across the district. This can be events we provide ourselves or by partnering with a city-wide event already taking place, encouraging footfall and spend to local organisations. The Events & Hospitality Group meet every 3 months and an update by LQ BID is provided, ensuring all parties agree with the relevant marketing and promotion of the area, which has either taken place or due to take place.
For more information or to join the Events & Hospitality Group, please contact leeza@linenquarter.org
Annual Events Plan
Each year, LQ BID is committed to providing high-class events within the district, which can either be created by Linen Quarter BID or collaboratively through partnerships with strategic partners based in Belfast. The annual events programme can see up to two events take place each month, ensuring businesses get great return on investment the BID is bringing into the area. Positive events across the year add further to the BID’s overall destination marketing plan, establishing the Linen Quarter as a place for quality entertainment through events.
As well as organising bespoke events for the District, LQ BID has worked with festivals across Belfast to extend their offering to the Linen Quarter. Recent examples include Four Corners, Chamber Music, Imagine, Belfast Blues, Culture Night, and Design Week. We aim to extend this offer in future years and deliver an even more vibrant experience to the District.
You can download the 2023 events plan here.
Please contact us for further information on events within the Linen Quarter or if you want to partner with LQ BID.
Linen Live
To promote the fantastic hospitality offering within the Linen Quarter, LQ BID launched ‘Linen Live’ in June 2019. Linen Live not only promotes the historic Linen Quarter as a must-visit area within the city, but the initiative also allowed LQ BID to produce a pocket-sized guide and map of the best bars, restaurants, cafes, and hotels to visit and enjoy. This marketing concept also made way for a Christmas themed brochure to be produced, to which LQ BID will deliver each year, highlighting Christmas dinner offerings to both corporate businesses and visitors to the area.
The Linen Live strapline has even gone beyond hospitality and has been associated with the various events LQ BID has either produced or supported, including Linen Live 10 x 10, which saw 10 musical genres play across 10 unique venues in the Linen Quarter for Culture Night 2019.
Linen Live is set to be rolled out further in 2020 and beyond – be sure to watch this space!
For more information, please contact leeza@linenquarter.org
Friday Skive (Business Networking)
At the beginning of 2020, LQ BID launched ‘Friday Skive’ at the request of our members. The new monthly networking drinks opportunity takes place on the last Friday of each month and allows for LQ BID to partner with a local Linen Quarter-based organisation to profile what they do. This get-together is located in an informal setting, encouraging multiple businesses to come along and build greater connections to those within the district and to neighbouring businesses. There is no booking involved and the location of each meet-up will be promoted on our company newsletter and website.
Friday Skive is currently suspended due to Covid 19, but we hope to relaunch it in 2021.
Purple Flag
The Purple Flag is a national accreditation that recognises an area with a well-managed, vibrant, welcoming, and diverse night-time economy. To bring this accreditation to Belfast, LQ BID worked in partnership with Belfast One BID and Destination Cathedral Quarter BID, together with a multi-agency steering group to co-ordinate necessary action.
To secure the Purple Flag status, Belfast needed to provide a clean and safe environment, ensuring there were good transport links in and out of the city, along with a vibrant mix of venues and attractions, which appealed to many. This mix needed to include the wider culture and family offering, as well as well-run bars, restaurants, and music venues. In October 2019, the steering group submitted an application and was followed by a detailed assessment of Belfast, leading to a fantastic result in February 2020, when Belfast was awarded the Purple Flag accreditation.
For more information on the Purple Flag accreditation, please contact chris@linenquarter.org
