Walsall’s Hidden Hippo Trail now offers users the chance to win prizes in a photographic competition. Participants could win up to £300 in ShopAppy vouchers that can be redeemed at participating retailers in Walsall. The ShopAppy scheme helps small businesses sell their goods online and a new click & collect service will soon be available.
To enter the competition, participants simply need to take a selfie beside their favourite hidden hippo and submit it via the Walsall.online web site.
The first prize is £300, the second prize is £150 with 11 runner up prizes of £50.
The trail is accessed via an app that uses Augmented Reality (AR) to reveal a number of reinterpretations of the well-known local landmark. Local artists were given cut outs of a hippo, which were placed in 20 locations and then camouflaged to blend in with their backgrounds. The locations are a mix of civic, historic, nature and retail.
In the days before mobile phones, the Hippo used to be a meeting point for Walsall people but now the trail invites people to find Hippos in all sorts of significant locations. Later this year there will be an art exhibition where the local artists will be showing their artistic interpretations of their designated locations.
Speaking about the trail, Deputy Leader of Walsall Council, Cllr Adrian Andrew said:
“The Hippo Trail has proved very popular and now we’re using it to promote local retailers. Independent traders are vital if we’re to regenerate our High Streets and ShopAppy helps them compete with the national chains online. There are exciting times ahead in the Town Centre as a number of projects are getting underway to transform the look and feel of the place to make it a brighter, safer and more welcoming destination.”
ShopAppy is supported by Walsall Council and allows customers to divert their online browsing to local spending. Any retailers wishing to register can go to ShopAppy.com/Vendor
Funding for the hippo project has come from the EU and Walsall Council Build Back Better fund and is supported by Lord Wei and associates. The idea has been developed by Urban Futures and delivered with local partners Urban Hax.
For more details on the Hidden Hippo Trail, visit Walsall.online.
