Coleraine Connect Relaunch Reflects New Direction as Triovia Looks Back on Supporting Coleraine BID Coleraine BID

Businesses across Coleraine town centre are set to see a new identity emerge following the relaunch of Coleraine Connect, formerly known as Coleraine BID.

The organisation recently confirmed it is rebranding as Coleraine Connect following the appointment of a new Board and a wider period of stakeholder engagement focused on modernising its communication with businesses, visitors, and the wider community.

While the Business Improvement District structure itself remains unchanged, representatives say the new identity reflects a renewed focus on transparency, communication, collaboration, and delivering greater value for businesses throughout the town centre.

The relaunch also comes at a time when Business Improvement Districts across the UK and Ireland are increasingly evolving into digitally-focused organisations, placing greater emphasis on communication, storytelling, online engagement, and business visibility alongside traditional town centre initiatives.

From 2019 through to 2025, Geoffrey Moffett and Triovia worked alongside Coleraine BID, delivering a wide range of digital, creative, marketing, and communications services that helped shape the organisation's engagement with businesses and the wider public during that period.

Many of the ideas introduced during those six years focused on modernising communication and creating stronger digital infrastructure for the town centre organisation and its members.

One of the earliest proposed initiatives involved introducing festive radio broadcasting throughout the town centre. The concept centred around securing a 28-day FM licence during the Christmas period, allowing festive music, business promotions, and community messaging to be broadcast throughout Coleraine.

The idea proved popular and eventually evolved into a more permanent solution featuring year-round streaming through the town centre speaker system alongside online web streaming and Alexa integration for home listeners.

Alongside this, significant focus was placed on improving communication between the organisation and businesses operating within the town centre. Prior to the BID’s second-term re-ballot, recommendations were made around the creation of a secure digital member hub designed to simplify engagement and allow businesses to contribute directly to campaigns, promotions, and town centre activity.

The system enabled businesses to submit content for newsletters, speaker broadcasts, events, and printed materials, while also improving access to updates, feedback opportunities, and broader member communication.

Social media also became an increasingly important part of the organisation’s communications strategy during this period. Through consistent business spotlights, event promotion, campaigns, and community-focused storytelling, the BID’s Facebook audience grew to more than 10,700 followers.

Content and campaigns were also distributed through a wide range of regional media outlets and digital platforms, including Coleraine Chronicle, Ballymoney & Ballycastle Chronicle, The News Letter, Coleraine Times, Love Ballymena, Love Belfast, Fuse FM, Ballymoney Buzz, Causeway Coast Community, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, and Explore Causeway Coast & Glens.

As town centres increasingly compete for visibility online, this type of digital reach has become a major part of modern place marketing, particularly for hospitality businesses, retailers, events, and tourism-related campaigns.

Visual storytelling also became a growing focus during this period. Recommendations were made around the creation of a high-quality printed magazine designed to better showcase local businesses, campaigns, and town centre initiatives. A freelancer was recommended to lead the publication, which later evolved into an award-winning magazine supported through photography, videography, editorial content, and wider campaign support.

Additional work also involved amplifying BID campaigns beyond Coleraine itself through wider digital media platforms, reaching audiences exceeding 120,000 followers across Northern Ireland and beyond, helping to increase visibility for businesses, events, and initiatives taking place within the town centre.

Technology also played a role in improving operational efficiency behind the scenes. One example was the implementation and management of an online booking and payment system for the town’s Santa experience, helping to streamline bookings and improve the customer experience during one of the busiest events in the town centre calendar.

The relaunch as Coleraine Connect now signals what appears to be a broader shift towards a more outward-facing and digitally-focused approach under the organisation’s new leadership structure.

According to the organisation, the rebrand is intended to better reflect its role in connecting businesses, supporting local initiatives, improving communication, and strengthening collaboration throughout the town centre.

Representatives have also confirmed that a new website will form part of the relaunch, helping showcase Coleraine’s retail, hospitality, events, and services offering while presenting a more modern digital identity moving forward.

The relaunch also reflects a much wider shift currently taking place across Business Improvement Districts throughout the UK and Ireland, where digital communication, online engagement, content creation, and community-building are becoming increasingly central to how town centre organisations operate.

As consumer behaviour and business expectations continue to evolve, town centre organisations are increasingly expected to operate not only as place managers but also as communication hubs, media brands, and digital communities that support businesses throughout the year.

To find out more about how Triovia helped shape the digital communications, marketing infrastructure, and creative direction of Coleraine BID between 2019 and 2025, visit the link below:

https://www.triovia.com/coleraine-business-improvement-district