A love letter to Manchester after a year to remember

As we start to cool down on a hot 2023 and prepare for a bit of time off over Christmas, I’m taking a moment to reflect on a remarkable year.

Manchester is going through a cultural rebirth right now.

And since the last time I said this, the city has made a few more marks in history. A real renaissance and a year to remember.

Manchester has stepped onto the international stage more than once in 2023.

The city is absolutely buzzing and throughout the year Manchester has further galvanised its position as a cultural and creative world-class city which can proudly take its place on the global stage alongside New York, Paris, Rome, Milan...??

The CHANEL event for example - I mean the fact that they chose Manchester to host and invested in our city - won't just put the international spotlight on us but will boost the city's economy for years to come.?

I got a bit emotional at this point during my presentation on Tuesday, because this is just one example of how the city is capturing attention and accolades from around the world.?

It came in the same week that English National Opera announced plans to relocate to our city and in the wake of Hamilton - the spectacular, most talked about smash hit theatre production in the world - landing in Manchester among many other great shows this year.?

This was all in the wake of the opening of the new ‘world-leading venue’, Aviva Studios, the official new home of Factory International with Danny Boyle’s Free Your Mind and You, Me and the Balloons.?

Earlier this year we saw ‘blockbusting’ queues at the reopening of Manchester Museum.???

Manchester knocked it out the park as a sporting city too, hosting matches in the World Cup of tennis, the Davis Cup and other international events such as cycling’s Tour of Britain, netball and Taekwondo. We are now also the home of the only two football teams in the country to win the treble, and it's been announced we will host games in Euro 2028.?

It’s no wonder international publications such as Time Out, Lonely Planet and National Geographic named Manchester among their top places to visit in 2023.???

And next year promises to be just as exciting.

For starters, we have the opening of another top-class venue in Co-op Live poised to ‘put Manchester back as a global entertainment powerhouse’, the city making its way to become the European Capital of Cycling, Manchester’s historic Midland Hotel will host the Michelin ceremony announcing their stars for 2024 and the reopening of the jewel in the city’s crown, the Manchester Town Hall (oh wait, that’s been delayed - but you get the picture).??

We finally launched the inaugural I Love MCR Awards show and ceremony to champion community heroes from across Greater Manchester in a live event. Officially the biggest Manchester awards ceremony the city has ever seen, the project was a great success. The operation was smooth, it went viral on social media, and people are still talking about it now weeks later. It really brought the brand values to life and we can’t wait to do it again in 2024!

These are not just sources of Mancunian pride and bragging rights, these accolades reflect the public image and reputation of the city, support jobs and help attract further investment.?

Taking over from Sir Richard Leese this year, the new Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, sent us this message:?

“As a city, we know how to have fun but we won’t get distracted by the glitz. We know that there’s still a lot to do to ensure the benefits of the city’s growth are more inclusive and that’s what our economic strategy and other plans are all focused on: Making sure everyone in the city can share in its success.

“But as 2023 draws to an end, our city is brimming with the pride and can-do attitude for which we are renowned.”

Enjoying a fair slice of the city's success, I Love Manchester has had one of its best years ever.?

Our purpose-driven city brand was conceived in desperation - as an independent and incorruptible new ambassador to divert people's attention to a positive new understanding of the city during dark times in 2011 - and we’ve been relied upon to respond to adversity more than once (more on this below)

But while I Love MCR positively reacts to and promotes city-wide events, the multi-platform is also a meaningful source of joy that champions community spirit and makes a difference to the lives and prospects of people.?

This year, like every year, we’ve looked back on our community-driven brand’s origin story (read below) to double-check that the company’s current status has stayed true to its original mission and we’ve stood by our core brand values.?

We continue to document life and projects across Greater Manchester and we reach an average of more than 6 million people every month (and growing) with places, human stories, and a colourful events calendar filled with what’s on in Manchester. What’s more, as a symbol of civic pride wherever you are in the world, we also continue to post charitable merchandise all over the world via our shop.

Here’s to an even better 2024!

Origin story

You're in a busy room. Suddenly a fire alarm goes off.?

What do you do?

You don't calmly pack your stuff and head for the fire exit. You look at other people. If everyone's heading for the door, you will too. If nobody moves, you'll assume it's just a drill.?

Proof that in uncertain situations, we watch other people.

The inaugural “I Love MCR” campaign is social proof that Mancunians have a unique sense of civic pride, especially in an emergency.?

This is the story of how a simple graphic design became the purpose-driven city brand adopted by Manchester.

How did the campaign mobilize real Mancunians to declare their civic pride, and why did the brand optimistically champion community, culture, and a better future for the city?

Born of frustration

We’ve all got stories.?

Mine is why I’m both a proud Salfordian and a proud Mancunian and how we rebranded the city region at a desperate time of need.?

This is the story of how a simple piece of graphic design became the purpose-driven city brand adopted by Greater Manchester.?

How the original campaign mobilised real Mancunians to declare their civic pride and why the brand optimistically champions community, culture and a better future for the city.

Like the legend that is Anthony Wilson, I was born at Hope Hospital (aka Salford Royal).

Salford is affectionately known as Dirty Old Town and when I was growing up there through the 80s and 90s it was about as working class as it gets - which is of course all part of the charm - it’s character building.?

That's why if someone asks me where I'm from when I’m on holiday I say Manchester, but if I want to get a good deal or send out a subliminal warning I say Salford [haha].

Fast forward to 2011, I was living in Manchester city centre and working as an art director at a publishing company on Deansgate. In my eyes, I had finally ‘made it’ to the centre of the universe and life in Manchester was mint.

One morning the office was distracted by the news of rioting in north London, which erupted after the death of Mark Duggan, a black man from Tottenham, who had been shot dead by the police. The riot spread to Manchester and Salford, causing millions of pounds worth of damage and hundreds of people were arrested.

It felt like a big ball of frustration. It was a combination of injustice and also austerity from the financial crash a few years before that had come to a head. But it was mainly mindless opportunists.

The rioting started on Market Street at about 6 o’clock. By nightfall, hundreds of violently motivated youths were out on the streets causing chaos. Riot police were in running battles with groups of hooded hooligans, windows were smashed, and shops were looted and set on fire.?

I witnessed a big gang of scallies smashing up an independent shop across from my apartment, and it was that moment that struck a raw nerve within me.

So instead of dressing up as Batman and fighting for justice, I decided to open my laptop.

And out of carnage came creativity.

The city brand

“The Manchester graphic designer who became the architect of the city brand” - University of Manchester

It was obvious to me that Manchester was missing a leader. The city was missing a strong identity or incorruptible brand.?

There’s been a giant Tony Wilson-shaped hole in Manchester since he died of a heart attack in 2007 (he was 57 years old).

“Most of all, I love Manchester. That is my heroic flaw: my excess of civic pride.” - Anthony H Wilson

Mr Manchester selflessly - and sometimes shamelessly - promoted our city all over the world. Wherever Tony went, he took Manchester with him, proudly championing it like a doting parent.

Simply Red’s former manager Elliot Rashman said: “There isn’t a PR firm on the planet that could have achieved what Tony did for Manchester.”

He was right and Manchester needed a new ambassador to positively turn people's attention to the city with a new understanding.

A clear visual identity can help a city to gel its image and give people something to rally behind. A simple logotype, colourway or pattern can go a long way without travelling far.

The best example of this is New York City.

I always wanted to go. I first visited New York in 2008 and today it’s probably the most iconic city in the world with limitless opportunities.

But New York wasn’t always perceived this way. Back in the 70s, the city was going through hard times. Crime was at an all-time high, and tourism was at an all-time low. In 1975, President Ford denied federal assistance to save New York City from bankruptcy, and 1977 saw a widespread blackout that led to rioting, looting and thousands of arrests. Tourists stayed away from New York due to the negative publicity that followed.

So, the New York State [Department for Economic Development] commissioned a top Madison Avenue advertising firm [Wells Rich Greene] to create a tourist-friendly campaign to promote civic pride and encourage visitors to The Big Apple. [Have you seen the TV series Mad Men? It’s based on this agency]

The campaign worked. The simple symbol helped the city rise again and “I Love New York” became the official state slogan and city brand of New York.

Proof that a strong city brand has the power to positively change the conversation and express a strong sense of civic pride as Tony Wilson did.

If Manchester was going to reboot its economy it needed to emulate a campaign like I Love NY.?

Although Tony’s presence or personality can not be replicated (there’s only one Tony Wilson), social media was a new way to broadcast messages to large groups of people.

I didn’t have long to put something together. So, inspired by Tony Wilson and I Love NY, I came up with an acronym for Manchester “MCR” and declared my love for my city.

I posted the I Love MCR symbol on a new Twitter and Facebook account during the infancy of social media and I was able to reach and talk to the wider community of Greater Manchester very quickly. It made an instant impact and went viral. It was an expression of solidarity at a crucial time, and it rapidly became a bit of an antidote to antisocial behaviour.?

The campaign attracted an army of followers - I think if I remember rightly about 35,000 followers within a few days - and social media users started to change their profile pictures to the I Love MCR logo.?

Posts and conversations on Twitter inspired a ‘broom army’ of people to take to the streets to take part in a voluntary riot clean-up in and around Piccadilly Gardens and Arndale Centre.

It was beautiful to see people coming together to stand up and represent something bigger than themselves.?

The I Love MCR sign symbolised solidarity and proved that this city still has a unique sense of civic pride and resilience.?

It showed the true face of Manchester and it was a sense of belonging.?

In the days after the riots, the city centre was a ghost town. I think a lot of people were too scared to come into the city for fear that the scallies might come back for more.

I couldn’t sleep. So I designed and built a website overnight to publish all of the good news that came out of the response to the riots, and to say thank you to all the volunteers I met.?

The site was used as a platform to post positive human stories from not just the city of Manchester but from the wider community of the city region of Greater Manchester. Spotlighting good people, projects, charities, and promotions. I managed to raise a bit of money for charity by selling merchandise and helping fundraisers while helping to boost the local economy.

“The I Love MCR campaign has united the Greater Manchester region against the rioters and produced a package of measures to boost the local economy.” - The Guardian

It was important to get Manchester back working and get confidence back in the city.

The media and national news are notoriously full of negativity and it spreads viral misery. The Manchester Evening News was filled with hate and they have their duty to report on hate crimes such as stabbings and drugs.?

So my mission - my purpose - was to spread some love, sunshine and happiness in the world and highlight just how much good stuff happens across the city region.?

I like the good news and Manchester has plenty of it.

I couldn’t sleep. So I designed and built a website overnight to publish all of the inspiring stories that came out of the response to the riots, and to say thank you to all the volunteers I met.?

The site was used as a platform to post positive human stories not just in the City of Manchester but from the wider community of Greater Manchester. Spotlighting good people, projects, charities, and promotions. Traffic to the website grew and grew the more stories and offerings I posted. I also managed to raise a bit of money for charity by promoting fundraisers and selling merchandise.?

The campaign grew in strength.

I felt that I was making a difference and helping to boost the local economy and it felt good.

People were sharing content on social media and subscribing to email alerts. They were desperate for information and how else they could support the city. And many weren’t on Twitter or Facebook so they relied on receiving a newsletter.?

I was used to being a bit of a multimedia machine and I wasn’t short of content…

In the aftermath of the disturbances, Councillor Pat Karney said that the riot was one of the city’s darkest days.

He wasn’t wrong. However, in hindsight, when the gang violence erupted across Salford and Manchester, it was a small minority of hooligans who chose hate but thousands of real Mancunians stood up to show their love.

“Few Mancunians will be unaware by now of the social media-savvy campaign [I Love MCR] rescuing the Manchester brand as an enticing location to shop, relax and invest in.” - The Guardian

Love spreads. The I Love MCR movement gained recognition from big cheeses like Bruntwood and The Co-op who displayed the logo on the former CIS Tower.

Manchester City Council and Marketing Manchester got right behind it, became priceless campaign drivers, and I Love MCR was granted free outdoor media space across the city.?

The purpose-driven brand was emblazoned on posters, shop fronts, buses, lamp-posts, billboards and hoardings.

Manchester Airport looped the logo above check-in desks and across screens inside the terminals.

I Love MCR T-shirts and mugs were sold in Manchester Arndale and the Visitor Information Centre in Piccadilly raised almost ￡10,000 for local charities. We urged shops to cut prices to feature on the website which, according to Local Enterprise Partnership, helped boost the city’s economy by ￡1m.

“This was the largest community campaign Manchester has ever seen.” - Cllr Pat Karney

The drive to get people back into Manchester city centre attracted widespread celebrity and media backing.

Coronation Street stars, celebrities, Manchester United and City players were pictured showing their support by wearing I Love MCR T-shirts.

“The I Love MCR campaign was soon everywhere. Weeks before the other cities hit by the riots even thought about it. Amazing piece of Mancunian ingenuity.” - Vaughan Allen, Chief Exec at CityCo Manchester and Manchester BID

The ubiquitous I Love MCR campaign marked a pivotal movement that united the residents and businesses of Greater Manchester, turning a negative into a positive, and becoming a symbol of the city’s resilience recognised not just by the city but nationwide.?

I Love MCR became a purpose-driven city brand.

Love what you do

I Love MCR was a big case of the right place, right time.?

But the birth of I Love MCR also demonstrated the magic of a successful advertising campaign during the infancy of digital and social media.

“Advertising is based on one thing — happiness. And you know what happiness is? It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay.” - Don Draper, character from Mad Men

I had organically grown a media and advertising platform. I had brand awareness, traffic and trust - I also had meaning and purpose - so all I needed was a business model.

I felt some political pressure from Manchester City Council, and a great sense of social responsibility. I felt that I had to inform and maintain the momentum of what I’d started instead of letting the campaign and its followers fizzle out.

That’s when it dawned on me, that if I could unite the best of us, spread a piece of joy or even just remove some uncertainty by the power of words, storytelling, comparisons, graphics, billboards etc, I could make a real difference in the city long-term.?

After all, they say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.?

Our only competitors were the M.E.N. (who were negatively saturated and expensive) and Manchester Confidential (who were aggressive and expensive)

So there was a gap in the market for feel-good news and affordable regional advertising. And, ultimately, staying true to our brand values was the root of our success.

There was a gap in the market for feel-good news and affordable regional advertising. And, ultimately, staying true to our brand values was the root of our success.

I Love MCR remains one of the most powerful billboard campaigns of all time. Its relationship with Manchester is so overwhelmingly positive as a case study that we decided to invest in out-of-home media to facilitate all outdoor advertising needs for good.

Social responsibility and philanthropy is more than just giving monetary donations, it’s also about donating time. So while we continued to sell merchandise and donate the profit to local charities, we also continued to support community interest groups and share human stories while helping to restore some confidence in the city.

What happened next was phenomenal.

By 2012/13, the economy had got up off its knees, and new bar and restaurant concepts were opening around every corner of the city.

“I Love MCR is phenomenal. I’m a big Manchester supporter so it’s been good to see the brand grow with the city. It’s given our new and existing venues fantastic exposure.” - Tim Bacon (RIP)

When no more units were available to let, unused spaces were transformed into food and beverage businesses such as The Liars Club, Corridor and The Liquor Store.

It was what I like to call ‘the hospitality boom’ and the standards were high. It was great for the city.

It was an epic era and it almost felt like a reward for the city’s display of civic pride and resilience.

I was attending multiple launch events a week. Sometimes it was three launch events in one night and I was positively burning the proverbial candle at both ends.

The city was more vibrant than ever and our main revenue stream was advertising hospitality, leisure and tourism.

We moved to a bigger office in the characterful Royal Exchange building and launched a department inside House of Fraser (Kendals) to sell merchandise and launched a limited edition summer gin with a pop-up bar on King Street during the Manchester Flower Festival and set up colourful Afternoon Tea events across the city.

Everything went to plan.

We celebrated Manchester from the rooftops while championing community, charity and a better future for the city.

22 angels

By 2017, I Love MCR was a well-established media and advertising organisation that had indeed kept up the momentum created by the first campaign in 2011 by consistently publishing positive news and inspiring stories, and creating meaningful content from the heart of the city. We had about 5 million website hits per calendar month.?

Then breaking news broke our hearts.

When 22 innocent people lost their lives and hundreds were injured in the terror attack at the Manchester Arena on the night of 22 May, as well as the feeling of terror, we felt an unprecedented weight of responsibility to react the right way while also encouraging people that it's safe to visit the city.??

Once again I Love MCR signs were displayed across the city, but not just on the billboards and in shop windows, they were laid on tributes and held up at vigils.?

People couldn’t find any words. So they adopted the I Love MCR symbol to show that they cared. People were honestly wearing our t-shirt to signal the values that our brand stood by.

“The defiant sign being used by a city mourning bombing victims…” - The Independent

Newly-elected mayor Andy Burnham made his mark in a baptism of fire and changed his social media profile to the I Love MCR symbol. So did thousands of others.

Then the logo gained not just national reach but this time global visibility.?

The logo was displayed above the entrances and check-in desks at Manchester Airport and on the side of an aeroplane.

I Love MCR posted Manchester merchandise not just all over the UK but all over the world – including the USA, Canada, India, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and more - the online shop almost broke the server.?

Conscious of how a large number of shop orders posted worldwide could leave a mark on the planet, we pledged to invest in only reusable and sustainable products, including organic clothing.

Ariana Grande returned to Manchester for “One Love Manchester '', a benefit gig at Old Trafford Cricket Ground. It united some of the biggest names in music including Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber, Coldplay and Liam Gallagher – who all declared, “I love Manchester.”?

In fact, Miley Cyrus wore a T-shirt and Liam Gallagher asked for the I Love MCR logo to be projected behind him on stage.

The hugely moving One Love Manchester concert raised over ￡21 million for I Love MCR’s partner beneficiary charity.

As part of our giving back strategy, we sponsored victims and those affected to a magical trip to Disneyland Paris in partnership with British Airways.

Liam once again requested that the I Love MCR logo be lit up behind him for his set at the Brit Awards.

Ed Sheeran bought eight I Love MCR T-shirts – which included a donation to our beneficiary charity – ahead of his gig at the Etihad Stadium before buying a further four tees for his second Manchester show.

Other artists such as Peter Hook, Richard Ashcroft and Happy Mondays wore T-shirts on stage at their respective gigs.

The brand awareness was so intense that, to this day, a lot of new subscribers and followers think the brand was born after the Arena bombing.?

Of course, it wasn’t, it was born out of the riots five years earlier, but the riots felt insignificant in comparison to the size of devastation this dark event left on the city.

Manchester came at me, in all its unanticipated madness; the thing that makes you grow is how you respond.

As people say in their thousands “I Love MCR”, we want to remind people that this magnificent city is a sum of its people and that it’s them - it’s ordinary people - that makes Manchester so special. So we commissioned a local poet David Scott aka Argh Kid to write a poem from Manchester with love.

Covid-19

Manchester has faced dark times and adversity more than once. The instantly recognisable I Love MCR logo has always been seen as a symbol of the city’s resilience - a sign of the city returning to normality - and the website used to share the good news. Our approach to the coronavirus pandemic was no different.

I’m proud of our resilience and where we are today.

It’s well known that over 50% of businesses go bust after their first year. But did you know that only 4% of businesses survive after ten years? That means 96 out of 100 businesses fail.?

I Love Manchester has never received financial investment because I have always valued our independence.?

However, independence in media and advertising is very much dependent on advertisers.?

During the restrictions of Covid-19, which of course had a much bigger impact on the local economy than the riots and the Arena bomb did put together, I gave our clients the option to pause or cancel their advertising contracts. Not because it made business sense, but because it was just the right thing to do.

80% of hospitality firms stopped trading in April 2020 and 1.4 million hospitality workers were furloughed - the highest proportions of any sector.

Once restaurants started to reopen they needed our support more than ever.

So we launched a motivational new social campaign titled “I Love Manchester More Than Ever” which consisted of colourful posters and a poetic video involving a tribe of over 30 influential people speaking a line from a moving new poem to inspire hope and resilience across the city region.

The idea inspired many initiatives across the city once restrictions had been lifted to help encourage a well-needed boost to the economy.

Like most other businesses, we went into Covid survival mode and had to adapt. However, any hospitality, leisure and tourism business that held signed advertising contracts with I Love MCR could cancel them without penalty. Not because it made business sense – it clearly didn’t - but because it was the right thing to do.

The uncertainty of the pandemic was a harsh reminder of what it’s like when the economy is flat.

We closed the office but continued publishing inspiring stories, spotlighting community heroes and initiatives such as the Eat Out To Help Out scheme - supporting the city’s restaurants and encouraging diners to eat out in Manchester again.

The pandemic catalysed every trend imaginable and conceived many more competitors. Since then, being different and sharing original content has never been more important.?

So how did we adapt after burning so many contracts?

We launched a geo-directory to put Greater Manchester places and businesses (back) on the map.

The directory puts venues - whether they’re on the high street or off the beaten track - on the map and offers a very affordable way to advertise across Greater Manchester.?

We diversified our sales strategy, advertising different sectors such as private healthcare, property and retail, to keep advertising revenue alive and the business afloat.?

Once again encouraging people to visit the city after restrictions were lifted. Our target advertising sectors grew and the client base only got wider.

I’m proud that we did not forget our core values or sell out while we rebuilt the business.?