WORCESTER'S CrownGate Shopping Centre has received a national award for the excellence of a marketing campaign.

It was announced as a Merit Winner in the British Council of Shopping Centres' Purple Apple Marketing Awards at a ceremony at The Brewery, London. The Purple Apple Awards recognise effective shopping and town centre marketing in the UK retail property sector. They acknowledge high standards and their aim is to reassure retailers and other interested parties that shopping centre marketing is effective and provides excellent value for money.

CrownGate scored with its campaign for the CrownGate BookBench Competition and Exhibition 2015 and its marketing manager Sara Matthews was presented with the Purple Apple Award by BBC Radio 1’s Edith Bowman.

The idea for the BookBench Competition and Exhibition originally came from the National Literacy Trust’s books about town art trail that took place across London throughout the summer. Designed and created by Wild in Art’s creative director Chris Wilkinson, the BookBench proved to be the ideal canvas to unite visual art and reading for enjoyment. CrownGate took this concept and decided to run a competition with local schools, colleges and universities.

It was partnered with The Hive history centre the Purple Apple judges said: “This was a good idea which built on a national event – World Book Day – and created a bespoke promotion which gave the shopping centre ownership and good visibility. There was good interaction with the institutions and local partnerships and good implementation across the centre and then out into the local community. This was well run and real 'feel good' promotion with a clear pathway from concept to delivery."