New campaign to celebrate 5 years of the East Ayrshire Gift Card

A Great Gift Card Giveaway has been planned to celebrate 5 years of the East Ayrshire Gift Card initiative, giving shoppers an instant chance to win a gift card purely for shopping local.

Between 29th August and 11th September, businesses who are part of the East Ayrshire Gift Card will be handing out small cards to their customers featuring a QR code linking to an online game which will reveal if the customer has won an East Ayrshire Gift Card

£700 in East Ayrshire Gift Cards will be given away during the campaign, including a £300 gift card and 20 x £20 Gift Cards.

The East Ayrshire Gift Card was introduced in August 2020 as a means to drive footfall into East Ayrshire and keep money locked in locally. Over £450,000 of East Ayrshire Gift Cards have been sold to date.

Tracy Murray is Town Centre Regeneration Office for East Ayrshire Council and said the Great Gift Card Giveaway is an opportunity to celebrate the huge success of the initiative over the past 5 years:

“The East Ayrshire Gift Card has been a powerful force to support people, places and businesses over the past 5 years, including disbursing funds with dignity to local families, as corporate rewards, and as the local gift card option for everything from birthdays to Christmas, all benefiting our local businesses. East Ayrshire residents and organisations have adopted the East Ayrshire Gift Card as their own, and we want to say ‘thank you’ with our Great Gift Card Giveaway. People simply need to shop local for their chance to win an East Ayrshire Gift Card to spend with 230 businesses.”

Kilmarnock Football Club is the oldest professional football club in Scotland and one of the 230 businesses who accept the East Ayrshire Gift Card. Gregg McEwan, General Manager at Kilmarnock Football Club said:

“Kilmarnock Football Club is one of the biggest retailers in East Ayrshire, and when we first heard about the East Ayrshire Gift Card launching in 2020, we knew it was an initiative we wanted to support as part of our wider strategy to support our community. Kilmarnock Football Club is extremely active in the community, for example, through our Killie Community, a charity that uses football as a force for good. We see the East Ayrshire Gift Card as a force for good within the community too, and a way that the community can work together to support the local area.

“A lot has been achieved with the East Ayrshire Gift Card already. For the East Ayrshire Gift Card I think it’s a case of keeping the momentum going and continuing the positive work of the card to support local people, places and communities.”

The East Ayrshire Gift Card is part of the award-winning Town & City Gift Card concept from fintech Miconex, active across the UK and Ireland.

Colin Munro is the CEO of Miconex and said: “The East Ayrshire Gift Card has been a trailblazer for local gift cards in Scotland and a source of inspiration for the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card concept, demonstrating the wide use cases for local gift cards. The Great Gift Card Giveaway is a fitting tribute to a successful 5 years for the East Ayrshire Gift Card.”