Book of York | City to Coast | Q&A by Independent Life

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AN INSIGHT INTO T H E I N I T I AT I V E A N D HOW TO JOIN THE BOOK OF YORK

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An invitation to sign up for the first Book of York, become a member and join a vibrant community of independents, alongside an independently curated city guide showcasing the very best of York.

Independent Life helps people choose from a wide variety of independent businesses with trust and confidence that they will receive an exceptional experience.

A BIT ABOUT US

We are a small independent, family business with a passion for local and discovering everything that gives York itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique character. We specialise in sharing places through peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stories that collectively paint a compelling picture. We are committed to York for the long term returning to our local roots where we brought our family up to launch after proving the model in Leeds. We are truly independent, self funded and designed to include the smallest and hardest to reach first. Grown organically over 7 years, step by step, building face to face relationships on the ground, we take a distinctly different, personal approach. Independents form our foundations from where we take a fresh authentic look at whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on across the wider city and York district, from grassroots to tree tops.

L I T T L E BL ACK B O OK OF YORK

FOOD & DRINK

ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE

SHOPPING & LIFESTYLE

Independent Life aims to capture and showcase the brilliant independent offerings which set York, the city and its rich surrounds, apart. Customer facing businesses are invited to register in our Little Black Book reference guide and benefit from the complimentary digital package worth over ÂŁ300. A lot of time has gone into getting the feel of this proposition right to showcase your business. The project has been designed by independents and developed through extensive consultation to ensure that its shaped to meet your needs. The project is set up to connect, support and promote independent businesses and will always strive to offer excellent value and to secure the widest possible inclusion. We have answered your questions in this book and once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve signed up we need newsworthy content to share and connect the community, grow collaborations and support networks across the city building on the great work already being done.

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FULL MEMBERSHIP We are built to include all independent businesses, venues and visitor attractions. We offer a full page membership package to businesses in and around York.

F UL L PAGE B O OK EN T RY

£ 275 + VAT

E F

E E R F

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES THE BELOW:

WEBSITE

SOCIAL

PHOTOS

THE OFFER:

Fully editable premium website profile page.

Instagram and Facebook gallery and story posts.

We arrange for a brand spanking new set of photos for you to choose from for your business profile.

RRP

£59.95

RRP

£300

RRP

£50 p/h

FULL PAGE BOOK ENTRY E X AMPLE >

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YORK THE ATRE ROYAL ST. LEONARD’S PLACE YO1 6 D T

DID YOU KNOW...

MONDAY | 10.00 - 17.00* THURSDAY - SATURDAY | 10.00 - 23.00** SUNDAY | CLOSED *Open until 20.00 on show days **Open until 18.00 on non-show days

In 2016, the theatre received a new roof, an extended and re-modelled front of house area, a refurbished and redecorated main auditorium and with major improvements to access and environmental impact.

0 19 0 4 2 4 3 8 6 6 6 www.theatreroyal.co.uk

AM PL E

B E P A R T O F O U R H I S T O R Y , WHI CH D A T ES B A CK T O 1744 Over the last ten years York Theatre Royal’s work has expanded to include collaborations with the wider community and school groups both on and off stage.

Each year the theatre entertains over 200,000 people with its wide variety of performances, events and activities including the much loved annual pantomime starring Berwick Kaler, the UK’s longest-running Dame.

The theatre has seen an increase in the number of young people wanting to get involved and as a result they now have one of the largest youth theatre groups in the country with over 300 members.

York Theatre Royal has been producing great drama in the beautiful city of York for over 270 years and is one of the country’s leading producing theatres.

E N T E R TA I N M E N T & C U LT U R E |

THEATRE | ST. LEONARD'S PLACE

HALF PAGE MEMBERSHIP In addition to the full page membership package we offer an exceptional half page membership package to independents, venues and attractions across market towns, countryside and seaside.

HALF PAGE BOOK ENTRY

£ 1 50 + VAT

E F

E E R F

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES THE BELOW:

WEBSITE

SOCIAL

PHOTOS

THE OFFER:

Fully editable premium website profile page.

Instagram and Facebook gallery and story posts.

We arrange for a brand spanking new set of photos for you to choose from for your business profile.

RRP

£59.95

RRP

£300

RRP

£50 p/h

HALF PAGE BOOK ENTRY E X AMPLES >

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YORK THE ATRE ROYA

THEATRE | ST. LEONARD'S PLAC

FLORIAN POIROT DID YOU KNOW...

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SUNDAY | 11.00 - 16.000 19 0 4 2 4 3 8 6 www.theatreroyal.co

I R R E S I S T I B L E T R E AT S & G I F T S As an award winning French Master Patissier, Florian brings a little flavour of France to Yorkshire. “Pastry has always been my passion and it’s so big that I couldn’t keep it all to myself. So I decided to open a Pastry shop in Yorshire’s food capital, Malton.

AM PL E

Every day, I look for the best ingredients available - whether that is fresh fruit sourced within one mile of the shop or vanilla pods that comes from the other side of the globe. All this in order to give you the best products.”

YORK THE ATRE ROYA

THEATRE | ST. LEONARD'S PLAC

HARE & WILDE

OR...

MASTER PATISSIER | MALTON ST. LEONARD’S PLA YO1 6 M A R K E T TO W N S | M A LT O N

OR...

HOMEWARES | MALTON ST. LEONARD’S PLA

B DID E PYOU A RKNOW... T O F O U R H I S T O R Y , WHIC H YO1 6 MONDAY | 10.00 - 17.0 DAT BACK 1744 In 2016,E theS theatre received TO 4 MARKET STREET, MALTON YO17 7LY

THURSDAY - SATURDAY | 10.00 - 23.0 a new roof, an extended and 01653 690412 | hareandwilde.co.uk re-modelled front of house SUNDAY | CLOS area, a refurbished and *Open until 20.00 on show d MONDAY - SATURDAY | 09.30 - 17.00 redecorated mainRoyal auditorium Over **Open the last ten years Theatred York Theatre has been 18.00 York on non-show SUNDAY | until CLOSED and with major improvements Royal’s work has expanded to includ producing great drama in the to access and environmental 0 19 04 24386 collaborations with the wider beautiful city of York for over 270 impact. www.theatreroyal.co

years and is one of the country’s leading producing theatres.

community and school groups both on and off stage.

R U GS , L I GEach H Tyear I N the G ,theatre FU Rentertains N I T U Rover E S TOThe O theatre L S has seen an increase in the number of young people wanting A N D H O M200,000 E WApeople R E S with its wide variety of performances, events and activities

to get involved and as a result they

the UK’s longest-running Dame.

over 300 members.

Our love for Scandinavian design, mutedloved colours and simple functionality means now have one that of the largest youth including the much annual everything we sell fits comfortably in a urban interior to a country retreat. theatre groups in the country with pantomime starring Berwick Kaler, Working with small brands built on craftsmanship, quality and simplicity our carefully curated range has been hand sourced by us, we only choose pieces that we love and are proud to have in our store.

T HE DIREC TORY

FOOD & DRINK

ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE

SHOPPING & LIFESTYLE

A printed directory of independents from across the greater York district, the Little Black Book will be the definitive guide to the independent scene. The book will be distributed to outlets across a hand selected mix of locations across both YO and LS post codes. We have chosen a variety of independents and public spaces that will form a thorough mix of touch points for locals and visitors alike. It will also raise opportunities for our members and heighten the profile of the book as the go to reference for the best of York and surrounds.

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DIRECTORY ADVERTISING There will also be opportunities for businesses to advertise within the Little Black Book.

HALF PAGE ADVERT

FULL PAGE ADVERT

£ 350

£600

Q&A WHAT’S THE BOOK GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND HOW OFTEN WILL IT BE PRODUCED? The demand points to this being an annual publication. The Book will have a heavier weight, matt laminated outer cover increasing durability and premium feel. HOW WILL THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK BE MARKETED? The Book will be marketed through leveraging an established network of member businesses in York who have and contributed to the Book. As a core part of our business proposition is connecting local York and Leeds markets the Book will also be stocked in Leeds to drive inter city traffic. We will fully utilise our own channels, through our market leading independent magazine, social media and website. Supporting PR will build on our established local market position to increase awareness and direct people to the 400+ stockists WHERE WILL THE BOOK OF YORK BE DISTRIBUTED? A minimum of 50,000 books will be produced that will be delivered to a hand picked mix of over 400 locations that we have personal relations with. The stockists will be those places that locals and visitors are most likely to visit and value the quality of the Book and most importantly use it to explore and spend! The stockists list will comprise independents, hotels, venues, attractions and transport hubs across York: city, towns, countryside and seaside. Leeds stockists will also be included as will key Yorkshire locations as locals and visitors will wish to explore further. HOW WILL YOU KEEP CUSTOMER’S INTEREST AND GET THEM TO KEEP COMING BACK? We have an integrated content plan which works across all our channels from our annual Book of York, to our quarterly magazine that looks ahead at the season, to online and social that all combine together to maintain and grow awareness. For member businesses that join the community they will take priority in features as well as when they have newsworthy community news for us to share. HOW MUCH WILL THE BOOK COST TO BUY? It should cost circa £7.99, like with comparable publications, but the good news here is that it is FREE as a result of the independent community and commercial contributors. We know from 5 years experience that this works extremely well accelerating pick up and usage producing a far quicker benefit to businesses than charging for it. independent life

WHAT BENEFITS DO WE GET WHEN WE BECOME A MEMBER? When you sign up for the Book you become a member of our community and it’s designed to give you the best value package and a footprint for your business in print, on social and online. We then use this to build a long term relationship with each business to look after your business objectives as and when they arise: • Print: Entry in the Book of York where each issue will be seen by up to 8 people. It has been established as the only go to Book in Leeds over 5 years combining a unique, useful mix of Independents Directory and City Guide to discover the best of what’s on offer. • Online: Premium fully editable website profile with private access. • Social: Combined Instagram and Facebook posts, a gallery and a story. • Distribution: The Book will go to over 400 locations across Greater York, all over Leeds and Yorkshire • Local & Regional Coverage: We connect York to Leeds to key places in Yorkshire. We will promote the book through all our channels to encourage customers to come to explore and spend. WHICH BUSINESSES WILL BE GOING IN THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK? The businesses that go in will be a mix of city and suburbs, towns and seaside all under the YO postcode. We spend over a year getting to personally know the businesses and go out of the way to give them the opportunity to be included. City businesses will be profiled in the independents Directory and those in Greater York towns, countryside and seaside will be included in their respective feature sections. WHAT DOES THE GUIDE PART OF THE BOOK INCLUDE? The guide part of the book accounts for half of the book and follows the same sections as the Independents Directory introducing each one: Food & Drink, Entertainment & Culture, Shopping & Lifestyle. The guide will be shaped by local people to ensure it is informative and useful to enable the user to discover and enjoy the best of York and its surrounds. Content wise it will take a look at what’s going on in each section across the city, towns, countryside and seaside.

To ensure the book becomes an invaluable go to reference guide there will be a rich, helpful mix of dedicated features to help the explorer dig deeper. Below are some examples of what will be included in each section: A: Introduction: • Welcome: A general introduction to the rich variety of what York has to offer, what to see and do where to go. Starting in the city and working out through the country to the seaside. Designed for everyone to discover like a local if you’ve lived here all your life or just arrived. We look right across all areas of interest as an independent observer for individuals and free spirits to discover their new favourites and have us best time. Then it will then take a deeper look with feature sections, like the examples below: • City of Independents: An easily accessible look at the city centre as ‘Independent Neighbourhoods’ of adjacent streets with a helpful narratives and maps looking at them through our categories: Food & Drink, Entertainment & Culture, Shopping & Lifestyle. • Out and About | Countryside & Seaside: A general introduction to the varied and exceptional places that give York its unique character area from Market to seaside towns and everything in between. B. Food & Drink : Designed to help the reader dig deeper and find the best of what the area has to offer, the seen and the unseen: • Taste Seekers: For food lovers to search out both the award winners and hidden gems in the city and on day trips. • God’s Pantry: We go back to the land and explore ‘God’s country’ through some of the fabulous local growers, producers and artisan makers to help people discover the tastiest local treats. • Sup’ All York: We investigate local brews from fabulous local beers to spirits from the casual to the aficionado. C. Entertainment & Culture • Here to Entertain You: We take a look at what’s on events in the City and country. From big crowd pleasers to niche happenings. • Feast Your Ears: We share the exciting music scene happening in the city across genres and in the different venues from the smallest to the biggest. • A Grand Day Out: Different trips for all tastes to discover the rich variety your way, from foot, to bus, to train, to car or to mix it up.

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D. Shopping & Lifestyle • Shopping for All: We take a look as an independent observer with the York Retail Forum at the outstanding diverse city shopping from markets, to independents, to high street- shopping for all! • Style Hunter: In this section we search out some of the best looks then share where it’s all from to get the look: vintage, independents and high street. • Pamper Me Time: This feature searches out the most stunning places for ladies and gents to pamper themselves. • Perfect Day, Perfect Places: Whatever the occasion there’s a place fit for a wedding, a birthday or whatever. We search out a fabulous medley across city and country to choose from including lifestyle features for weddings, jewellery and stunning cars. HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT INTRODUCING THE BOOK AND WHAT ARE THE NEXT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT? We’ve invested three years getting to know the place and people that make up Greater York which culminates in launching the Book of York and activating our business here. The build up to the book has involved us producing a full set of print and digital outputs: 8 magazines, a new website, social media and producing extensive content to support the independent community and to share what’s going on. The next stages of development is to use the release of the book as the foundations to get further involved by supporting more through increased coverage and working closely with businesses to meet their business objectives through bespoke marketing. HOW DOES THIS HELP THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR’S VOICE IN THE CITY? Independent businesses and people are at the heart of what we do and our progression over 7 years continues to grow awareness and market prominence. We are driven to raise the profile of independent businesses to help them prosper and to collectively be heard and increase their influence and voice. We firmly believe that the independent sector are a significant economic asset and that our role is to provide the local infrastructure to provide a welcoming place to both help nurture the business community and to crucially grow visibility and accessibility. HOW DO I REGISTER MY BUSINESS? A quick and easy online registration form is completed at: https://york.independentlife.co.uk/book-of-york/

TA K E A L O O K AT W H AT S O M E O F O U R B U S I N E S S E S S AY

TESTIMONIALS

“ I love the clean, smart and different look of the

Book of York. I’m excited to be featured alongside other great independents and to showcase the difference they bring to York. SCOT T BR ANNAN | THE BLOCK

KIOSK

“ A perfect guide to all the best independents and

things to see and do in the city and surrounds. The layout is easy to follow and the design is cool. RUS SELL CARR | KIOSK

“ The Book of York brings together some of the best independents and showcases them alongside everything to see and do in York and beyond. CHRIS DAVIES | E XPRES SIONS

“ We are excited that we’re in the Book of York. It’s going to be a go to guide referencing everything York has to offer with a focus on independents, their vital role in the life and future of city. ALICE MAYNARD | BOTANIC

“ York’s great strength is it’s quality and quantity of

Independent businesses. The Book of York is lovely directory of York well known and hidden Indie gems alongside a great guide of what to see and do. SIMON LONG | SHAMBLES KITCHEN

“ Rich in independent businesses not only visitors

but also the makers and shakers. The Book of York brings many of these independents together in an easy and enjoyable format. CAELEN WEBBER | G ATEHOUSE COFFEE

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“ The Book of York will help further connect local

communities with local businesses and local creatives. So the starting point for us is building local awareness of what’s on our doorstep and then welcoming visitors. HELEN HARRIS | OWL & MONKE Y

“ The Book of York will be a perfect handy reference

to find the best cool stuff all around York. I really like the mix of independents and city guide to find best things to see and do in one place. I picked up a copy of the Leeds book and I always use it to explore. We’re delighted to be in it and think it’s just what York needs to help people get the most of here! TOMASZ MLYNARSKI | KREP

“ We’re excited to be in the Book of York along with

other businesses representing the city’s fantastic independent community. Independent Life have taken a really personal approach to get to know the people and their businesses on the ground and actively supported them. This stylish book will really help bring the independents and city together. It’s definitely the type of quality publication I’d pick if I was coming into York with my family. G ABRIELL A E VANS | DAUGHTER CAFE

“ It will be great to consolidate all the Independent

businesses in York into a little black book that celebrates and recognises the unique Independent community in York and the individuality of each business. HIL ARY WALKER | BISON COFFEE HOUSE

“ Independents are the beating heart of our city,

and the Book of York recognises that, helping guide visitors through what the city has to offer, and helping those independents themselves find their custom - a win win. NIC BARKER | DOG & BONE

“ We don’t do marketing but are very excited to

be in the Little Black Book of York. There’s an organic feel to Independent Life. Their marketing doesn’t feel forced or phoney like in some ‘paid for’ memberships that pretend to promote your business naturally. People aren’t daft, they see through that. I like the independent, forward thinking style of these guys, it’s creative and stylish, but not overly so. Social media is massively important these days and it’s refreshing to see honest and individual posts rather than robotic hard sells. STE VE HOLDING | THE PIG & PASTRY

“ Independent Life creates a space for independents

to work together, meaning they can take their brand to another level. Here at Roots and The Black Swan Oldstead it’s given us a platform to reach a wider audience of like-minded people who want to support their local independents, and they do it in such a friendly and approachable way. With such a lovely team it made us feel like we had gained a new friendship group rather than ‘business connections.’ R ACHEL SMITH | THE BL ACK SWAN & ROOTS

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“ The team at Independent Life have been fantastic

in championing what we stand for at Spark. From Day 1 (and even before that!), David was present and helped us to not only connect with a wider community of like-minded individuals, but even went as far as to help as capture some amazing video content from our launch weekend. That combination of a real willingness to help for the right reasons, and taking the time to genuinely understand what we were looking to create is rare. That approach meant that our working relationship quickly became more of a shared mission, and it’s working with people like this, that optionally go out of their way to connect, share and have a desire to grow together that allows a community like ours to grow and flourish to their fullest.” TOM MCKENZIE | SPARK YORK

“ We’re really proud to be part of the thriving

independent scene in York. We are all very supportive of each other, helping one another blossom and Independent Life stands by this value. The Book of York will therefore showcase some of the wonderful talent that this beautiful city has to offer. LUCY SCAR AH | HEL STON STREE T

“ I’m passionate about York and committed to

supporting anything that promotes this wonderful city. We really like Independent Life’s organic approach and are proud to be in the first edition of the Book of York which will be a real city asset. We love the unique mix of an independents directory and insiders look at ‘reasons for coming’ guide to the city and surrounds- it’s going to be a real winner for York! PHIL PINDER | POTION’S CAULDRON

Independent Life aims to capture and showcase the exceptional independent scene as well as taking a refreshing authentic look at the whole city.

ANY QUESTIONS? Sarah Laycock - Mobile: 07738 559339 Email: sarah@independentlife.co.uk

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