A Liverpool and Newcastle media kit checklist for regional retail campaigns

What to take away

What Liverpool and Newcastle retail brands ask creators to prove

Retail buyers in both cities ask the same first question: how many of your followers can physically reach a store, a market or a collection point. Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne are compact retail areas, so a national audience figure tells a buyer almost nothing.

In North West England, Liverpool City Region retail spend concentrates in a handful of districts, which makes local proof worth more than reach.

A Liverpool media kit should show audience share inside the Liverpool City Region, which covers Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens and Halton. A Newcastle media kit should show share in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside and the wider North East.

Brands also ask what you will actually do. A store opening, a seasonal window, a click and collect push and a market stall weekend are different jobs. Your media kit should name the format, the deliverable and the timing before you quote a fee.

The third question is compliance. The Advertising Standards Authority enforces the CAP Code, which requires ads to be obviously identifiable. The Competition and Markets Authority has published influencer disclosure guidance, and both apply to a paid post for a Liverpool or Newcastle retailer exactly as they apply to a national campaign.

Finally, buyers ask about your business. A creator trading as a sole trader registers with HMRC for Self Assessment once trading income passes the trading allowance, and VAT registration applies once turnover passes the HMRC threshold. Companies House registration matters if you trade through a limited company.

None of this is glamorous, but a media kit that answers these questions saves a retail marketing manager a week of email. That is why the kit wins the meeting. Getting the target audience right matters more than the polish.

ONS local data for Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne audiences

The Office for National Statistics is the safest source for local claims because retail buyers already use it. Start with ONS retail industry data, which covers retail sales, sector structure and the shape of consumer spending. It supports the argument that a regional retail push is worth funding.

ONS local labour market data gives you employment, occupation and earnings figures for Liverpool and for Newcastle upon Tyne. Use it to show that your audience works, earns and shops locally. Employment and employee types data is the specific release to cite.

ONS regional accounts provide gross value added and other economic figures for North West England and for the North East. Use these when a brand asks why it should fund a regional campaign rather than a national one.

North West England gross value added is larger than the North East's, so never reuse a North East figure in a Liverpool kit.

ONS business, industry and trade data covers business counts and industry structure, which helps when you pitch to independent retailers rather than chains.

Two rules apply to every figure. First, define the population before you quote a percentage, which is the discipline behind clear denominators. Second, keep the source and the release date visible, because a retail buyer will check.

A simple table works better than a paragraph. Here is a structure you can copy into your own kit.

Do not quote a figure you cannot trace to a release. If a number is old, say so and give the date.

Named regional retail and lifestyle campaign examples

Retail campaigns in North West England and the North East tend to be city-specific, which is good news for creators. You can name real campaigns and explain what they did, as long as you describe them accurately and do not imply you ran them.

Liverpool One runs seasonal campaigns across its retail and leisure estate. Its Christmas and summer activations use local creators for store-level content. A Liverpool media kit can reference the format, then offer the same treatment for one named unit.

Bold Street and the Ropewalks area host independent retail campaigns built around food, fashion and vintage. These suit creators with a strong local lifestyle audience and a modest but engaged following.

In Newcastle upon Tyne, the Grainger Market runs trader-led campaigns, including late-night openings and food events. Eldon Square runs seasonal retail campaigns with regional creators. The Ouseburn Valley supports independent retail and lifestyle campaigns around makers and studios.

Metrocentre in Gateshead runs large-scale seasonal campaigns aimed at the wider North East, which is useful when a brand wants reach beyond Newcastle upon Tyne itself.

When you name a campaign, say what the brand did, where it ran and what format the content took. Never claim a result you did not measure. If you took part, say so plainly and show the post.

This is also where benchmark research pays off. A buyer who sees that you understand the local campaign calendar will treat your pitch as a plan, not a request.

A checklist for proving local audience reach

Work through this list before you send the kit. Each item should be visible in the document, not buried in a call.

Then build the kit in five steps.

If a figure is missing, leave it out. A gap is better than a guess. Buyers notice both.

Presenting local reach figures without overclaiming

Overclaiming is the fastest way to lose a retail buyer, and it creates a compliance risk under the CAP Code. Keep three habits.

First, give a range rather than a single number. "Between 18 and 24 per cent of my Instagram audience is in the Liverpool City Region, based on the platform export of 2 September 2026" is defensible. "Twenty per cent of Liverpool shops with me" is not.

Second, separate reach from sales. You can show that people saw the content. You cannot promise that they bought. Retail buyers know the difference and will trust you more if you say it first.

Third, keep clear denominators for every rate you quote. A percentage without a base is meaningless, and it invites challenge. The same discipline applies to any metric you put in a dashboard.

Use source dates on every figure, including ONS releases and platform exports. A kit that shows when each number was collected reads as professional, and it protects you if a buyer checks later.

If you use a benchmark from another creator or a trade body, check the population and the metric before you repeat it. A North East benchmark may not describe a Liverpool audience.

Finally, remember the data protection side. If you collect audience information beyond platform insights, the Information Commissioner's Office guidance on UK GDPR applies to how you store and use it.

Sources to cite in a North West and North East media kit

A short source list at the end of the kit does more for credibility than another paragraph of self-description. Keep it to the releases you actually used.

Add the platform insight export date, the campaign names you referenced, and the disclosure rules you follow. That is enough.

Do not pad the list with sources you did not read. A buyer who spots an unused citation will question the rest of the kit. Three or four accurate sources beat ten decorative ones.

If you work with an agency, agree who holds the source list and who updates it. Stale citations are the most common fault in regional media kits.

Common questions