£1 million Regional Promotional campaign update

The £1 million regional promotional campaign launched in early February and is aimed at attracting visitors from London and the South East, Midlands and Birmingham.

Funded by the South West RDA and various regionally based public and private partners (including all 9 of the region's Destination Management Organisations), the campaign aims to attract additional visitors out of the main summer holiday season.

South West Tourism has been busy since June last year, co-ordinating the latest promotional activity on behalf of the region's tourism industry, which includes mini campaigns around a number of themes: Business Tourism, Festivals & Events, City Breaks, Countryside breaks, Taste, Green Breaks, family holidays, activity breaks, and a campaign is also planned for the USA.

Look out for the campaigns launching in February: Details below

Timings for the spring campaings (JPEG) 

SOUTH WEST TOWNS AND CITIES / FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

• 16 page Telegraph supplement - 6 Feb 2010 (PDF)
• Outdoor train card panels on Birmingham Metro 01 March - 31 March 2010
• E-newsletter to consumer database - 12 Feb
• Visit England feature - 01 February - 28 February 2010
• Programme of PR activity promoting quirky events and festivals.

TASTE

• London Metro newspaper campaign running from 22 Feb for 5 consecutive days with online support
• PR programme including an online food map trail - pin pointing restaurants and linking to their local suppliers, farmers markets and food events. Currently developing food trails for the media.

Opportunity: if you would like your restaurant / pub / vineyard etc to appear on this food map, please send us a link to your website and specify two of your local suppliers so we can include them on the map.
Email: ldale@swtourism.org.uk

GREEN VALUE

• Guardian online campaign from 22^nd Feb for 8 weeks
• Editorial and branded microsite
• Online competition
• Online advertising
• PR programme: Green & Free

FAMILY HOLIDAYS (Pre School)

• Online advertising with leading site  www.netmums.com and e-newsletter: 11 February - end March 2010
• Inserts into 250,000 Marie Claire / SHE magazine - 8 page family friendly booklet
• Social media - forums / digital content, competitions
• PR programme: Promoting the many things young families can do in SWE to the national and key family media.

COUNTRY BREAKS

• Radio and online promotion including competition (across 5 commercial stations - South East / East Anglia / M4/M5 Corridor) 14 February - 7 March 2010
• 16 quarter page ads in national Sunday supplements including Independent on Sunday Review , Guardian, Telegraph, Times
• PR programme: Summer Screen Challenge - Competition for the best photograph relating to the 'Great British Summer'

BUSINESS TOURISM

• PR programme: Promoting the region and it's entrepreneurs as a great place to host meetings.

ACTIVITY BREAKS

• PR programme: Challenge Me! Encouraging people to try something new and for visitors to challenge their friends to undertake an activity.

Campaign launched with Jamie Oliver's Fifteen chefs and Extreme Academy Cornwall instructors swapping jobs. - chefing vs kite buggying

To view the video click here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We're trialing activity on social media channels and will keep you informed of how well this performs for the region.

Also look at the regional twitter and facebook pages  - that are updated daily

facebook.com/South-West-England

twitter.com/visitsouthwest

Date added: Monday 25th January 2010
Latest updated: Wednesday 28th July 2010