Shopping centre owner intu has launched Big Bugs On Tour, a national experiential roadshow that brings adults and children face-to-face with 12 giant British bugs at 13 intu shopping centres nationwide.

The initiative is being backed by naturalist Chris Packham and features 12 supersized, indigenous bugs including the honeybee, ladybird, hornet, swallowtail butterfly and the nut weevil. It launched at intu Lakeside last week where it will be on display until the end of July before moving around the UK over the next 15 months, visiting 12 other intu centres around the country including intu Trafford Centre, intu Metrocentre and intu Braehead, between now and September 2019.

Roger Binks, Customer Experience Director for intu, says: “Over 35 million people shop at intu centres every year so we hope bringing them face-to-face with these giant British bugs can make a real impact in how they interact and reconnect with nature, and ensure they are happier than when they arrived.”

The campaign, which into says aims to reconnect kids and adults to nature, comes as research shows children are now better at identifying Pokemon characters than there are at recognising British wildlife, despite a £10m pledge from Government to encourage children to get closer to nature.

Research by intu found that almost four in five parents (78%) want their children to be more connected to nature and 86% think they spend too much time looking at screens. However, one in six children in the UK (17%) have not set foot in a park or forest in the last 12 months.

One in five children (21%) were unable to correctly identify a bee while one in four children (25%) have not seen a caterpillar in over a year. One in ten kids (10%) did not know honey came from bees.

Adults were also lacking in their bug knowledge, with one in four (25%) unable to tell the difference between a bee and a wasp and a quarter (25%) unable to correctly identify a grasshopper.

Over a third of adults (35 per cent) of adults say they see far fewer bugs in their gardens now than five years ago with nearly half (49 per cent) saying they are worried about the decline in insects but didn’t know how to help.

Intu’s Roger Binks adds: “We know that a closer connection to nature makes people happier and Big Bugs on Tour is an opportunity to help educate adults and children on the importance of the bugs in their gardens and put a smile on their faces.”

Naturalist Chris Packham observes: “We are facing a crisis in our countryside. I haven’t seen a single butterfly in my garden this year and more needs to be done to reconnect people with nature and start caring for and realising the importance of the bugs in your backyard. intu’s Big Bugs on Tour is shining a big magnifying glass on this and also putting bugs into school classrooms, and is a fantastic initiative to alert to the importance of nature in our lives.”

In addition to visiting into shopping centres, Big Bugs on Tour will also be inspiring school classes around the country to help children learn more about bugs.

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EPOCH making toys – the company behind collectible toy brand Sylvanian Families – is launching its new Town range by creating the world’s smallest fashion show, unveiled at Hamleys Regent Street on Thursday March 22nd. A UK-wide experiential roadshow tour with intu shopping centres will follow in April.

The fashion stunt, devised by Bath-based agency Highlight PR, comprises two miniature automated catwalks on which Sylvanian Families figures (just 9.5cm tall) will model 40 ‘petite’ haute couture outfits.

Handmade by EPOCH’s R&D designers in Japan specifically for the launch, these eye-wateringly small outfits feature couture quality details and will be presented as ‘the debut Spring Summer Collection’ of the Town’s main character, Stella the fashion designer.

Over 30 London fashion press and guests attended the Hamley’s launch, together with child look-alikes of Anna Wintour, The Queen and Karl Lagerfeld on the FROW (Front Row).

While one catwalk is part of a double window display at Hamleys Regent Street until May 2nd, the second catwalk will tour the UK as a key attraction within EPOCH’s experiential roadshow – a national partnership with intu shopping centres to launch the Town across the UK.

Devised by Bournemouth-based brand communications agency, Mad River, the Sylvanian Families Town roadshow kicks off at intu Trafford Centre on 31 March (Easter Saturday). It will comprise a branded area with purpose-built life-size replicas of the Town buildings’ facades and street lamps.

Once inside, Sylvanian fans and intu customers can see and play with the new products, watch the new Town characters perform on stage and admire the miniature fashion show. To drive consumer engagement, there will be a themed selfie corner and craft activities, with a competition to become ‘Stella’s intern’ by designing a dress for her next collection.

The roadshow will also visit intu Metrocentre, intu Merryhill and intu Lakeside during April.

Yuki Otsuka, Marketing Manager at EPOCH making toys, comments: “This is the largest product launch in the history of Sylvanian Families, so we wanted to create maximum awareness not just amongst our core customer base but also within a broader target audience to attract the next generation of fans. We’ve therefore designed an integrated campaign across multiple channels, and we hope our unique miniature catwalk will be an exciting element, from a PR, experiential and consumer engagement perspective. As a fashion-lover myself, I’m amazed by the details of the tiny, couture outfits within Stella’s collection – I’m sure everyone is going to love them too!”

To support the launch and the roadshow and drive sales, EPOCH is running a TV campaign from now until 8 April. Ads will promote the Town’s hero products comprising the Grand Department Store, Designer Studio (run by Stella Chocolate) and Ride Along Tram.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board (UK) is running an experiential campaign on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October 2016 at Manchester’s Trafford Centre, to promote the launch of Thomas Cook’s flights from Manchester to Tobago, starting 13 November 2016.

Experiential agency Kreate has put together the Island of Tobago experience, which features a 13m x 5m stand with a palm tree border effect, so physically creating an island in the shopping centre.

True to Tobago, the island will embrace the tropical look and feel and visitors will be fully immersed in the culture of the country, brought to life by an array of activities. Four zones within the island will all offer a unique experience:

• Relaxation – a relaxing beach setting, featuring a reception desk and brand ambassadors who will meet and greet guests to give them an overview of the island and the experiences they can immerse themselves in.
• Adventure – a physical-digital biking challenge with prompts to showcase various sites across the island to entertain the more adventurous.
• Nightlife – a limbo challenge accompanied by a MC and jazz music featuring videos of various popular night life locations for party-goers.
• Scuba – an opportunity for all scuba and snorkelling enthusiasts to have their photo taken behind a tropical fish tank for a scuba selfie.

Visitors start at an airport-style check-in desk, then travel through the zones, from one experience to another. Digital signage between zones will introduce each experience and footage relating to theme will be available on TV screens. Staff will be on-hand to answer questions, direct visitors to the dedicated microsite and capture data for those who would like more information post-event.

Visitors can take advantage of exclusive offers and take part in various competitions, including the ultimate prize of flights and accommodation for two people. Throughout the two days the experience is live, there will be incentive prizes for Leaderboard activity on the interactive stands.

Visitors will be encouraged to share their experience with friends and family via their own personal social channels.

Activity will be supported by a social campaign geo-targeting consumers within a 60km radius of Manchester Airport with an interest in Caribbean travel.

Sheona Walker, Promotions Analyst, Tobago UK, says: “We wanted Mancunians to live and feel our island and to really bring it alive. Kreate have certainly met the brief and recreated an authentic, emotive experience, which we are confident will engage with shoppers and deliver results. The Tobago Island experience allows consumers to be educated about the destination and immerse themselves in the location – before they decide to buy.”

Duncan McCaslin, MD of Kreate, adds: “Today’s traveller is all about seeking out new experiences. We created the Tobago Island with this in mind. An opportunity for visitors to feel the brand story and live the island experience. We’re confident the work will give the highest expression of the island.”

Kreate is an award-winning Experiential Marketing and Promotional Staffing agency with offices in London, Dublin, Sydney and Auckland. Clients include Budweiser, Mattel, NHS, Stella Artois, Swatch, Warner Bros and Proximo.

Trinidad & Tobago is the southern-most Caribbean island nation, located seven miles east of the Venezuelan coast. The country is home to the largest Carnival celebration in the Caribbean and ranked the happiest nation in the Caribbean in 2013 and 2015, according to the United Nations’ World Happiness Report. It is the birthplace of both limbo dancing and the world famous steelpan, the only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century.

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Shopping centre group Intu is preparing to award one shopper with a Christmas prize on Black Friday, following a month-long social media campaign that aimed to engage consumers online.

The property company, which owns Lakeside in Essex, Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Gatehead’s Metrocentre among other sites, has spent November encouraging shoppers to post their favourite Christmas memories on social media – with one entrant in line to win their perfect Christmas dinner, tree, decorations, outfit and other festive items.

Online videos tagged with #intuChristmas will be entered into the competition, with judges from selected retailer tenants choosing the winning entry. Intu is describing the campaign as an opportunity to “win your Christmas on Black Friday” and the company says it is an example of how it is helping connect its retailers to customers across different channels.

Trevor Pereira, commercial and digital director of Intu, says: “As one of the country’s biggest retail landlords, with one of the top 10 performing affiliate content sites in the country, we’re in a great position to work with our retailers to make sure they benefit from Black Friday. This digital campaign gives retailers access to an additional two million monthly online customers, drives engagement with their brands, and ultimately encourages more sales opportunities.”

Intu’s 15 branded shopping centres across the UK attract over 400 million customer visits a year, while its affiliate site, intu.co.uk, allows retail tenants to showcase some of their ranges via what is effectively a third-party online store.

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