The People that Make the Place
Every year Manchester joins cities across the world in Cannes in France for MIPIM, the largest global real estate conference and marketing platform. We were asked by Marketing Manchester to develop a creative vision for The Manchester Pavillon, the hub of the city region's presence in 2019.
Working with the Marketing Manchester team we developed ideas for the exhibition space, generated exhibition content, designed a distinctive visual identity and developed key messages for the resulting campaign- 'Citizens of MCR.' The 24 films we delivered capture the stories behind some of the extraordinary people who make city-region what it is today.
"Sheila Bird created something really special for The Manchester Pavilion at MIPIM19, they exceeded all our expectations. Manchester is a city that often talks about doing things differently and their creative vision illustrates that perfectly.
Clair Hewitson
Commercial Director, Marketing Manchester



The campaign brand was rolled out across the whole exhibition stand including light-boxes, signage, brochures, lanyards and banners. A suite of dynamic moving image pieces animated across the 16m long video wall to communicate the strength and diversity of Manchester's offer.
Our ideas also extended beyond MIPIM into a wider campaign for the city region with adverts in the airport.



Collaborating with the photographer and director Olivier Richomme, the scientists, business leaders, students, artists, musicians and everyday people of Manchester were transformed into global ambassadors for a vibrant and diverse city.
The 24 films were choreographed across 16 screens surrounding the pavilion creating a powerful and immersive storytelling environment unlike anything seen at MIPIM before. The idea has continued to grow and evolve beyond the event into an online portal for stories to be continually added.