Wednesday, February 29, 2012

BWI: ‘GREAT’ Ads Launched to Encourage World to Choose Britain

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: VisitBritain.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 04:25 PM IST (10:55 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Food & drink, Lifestyle; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Hospitality, Media & entertainment, Travel & tourism
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'GREAT' Ads Launched to Encourage World to Choose Britain


London, United Kingdom, Wednesday, February 29, 2012 -- (Business Wire India) -- Details of VisitBritain's largest ever image campaign(1) have been unveiled today by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The national tourism agency's overseas advertising offensive will be seen across 14 major cities in nine key inbound tourism markets(2), reaching an audience of some 90 million people.

The £25 million image campaign will add to the £100 million match-funded tactical campaign(4) already being run by VisitBritain with commercial partners such as British Airways, easyJet, Hilton Worldwide, Radisson Edwardian and STA Travel to deliver the agency's biggest marketing push, with an aim to drive an extra 4.6 million visitors to the UK over the next four years, stimulating an additional £2.3 billion in international spend.

Looking to enhance overseas perceptions of the UK as a major tourist destination and help drive economic growth, the highly impactful image blitz will run until March next year, with activity being undertaken in major cities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan and the US. The campaign will show the world what makes the UK such a GREAT place to visit at a time when high profile events such as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Cultural Olympiad, Torch Relay and the London 2012 Games are taking place.

In Delhi, GREAT billboards will line the main routes in the city and 200 GREAT branded taxis will be on the streets.

Launching the campaign in central London, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "With the eyes of the world focused on the UK this year, we want to ensure that they see what it is that is so special about this GREAT country of ours. 2012 will see a year of festivities taking place, with global reach possible on a level never seen before for British tourism. As we come together to witness an extraordinary celebration of culture, heritage and sporting achievement, there is no better time for us to showcase all the wonderful attractions that we have on offer and entice as many people as possible around the world to come and share it with us."

Sandie Dawe, VisitBritain CEO said: "This campaign will allow us to promote Britain in 14 of the key global economic powerhouse cities where our adverts will be seen by over two-thirds of our target audience. That means nearly 90 million people will be focusing on all that is GREAT about coming here for their next holiday. The eye-catching images reflect Britain's tourism appeal, featuring our rich history and culture, our spectacular countryside and coastline, our thriving music scene and our wonderful shopping, which our research tells us are the main draws for overseas visitors.

"We have long recognised that 2012 will present us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a solid tourism legacy, one that will help us to grow a sector which already contributes over £17 billion in foreign exchange to the UK economy each year and has potential to grow. The more overseas visitors we can entice to visit Britain as a result of this campaign the more jobs the industry can sustain right across the country.


The international reach of the campaign will be strengthened by the announcement of a global partnership with Yahoo!, one of the world's most visited homepage. That will guarantee over 5 million views of VisitBritain content on the Yahoo! network and help drive 3.5 million click-throughs to VisitBritain's own online platforms.

Rich Riley, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Yahoo! EMEA said: "We are really excited to have been chosen as VisitBritain's digital display partner. This will be their largest ever online campaign and Yahoo! has a strong track record of delivering original global media campaigns with seamless digital content and advertising. Our campaign for VisitBritain will be as individual as those consumers who interact with it - helping demonstrate why we all think Britain is so great. VisitBritain has partnered with us so that they can potentially engage with our 400 million Yahoo! users across Germany, France, India, China, Australia, Japan, Brazil, USA and Canada. 2012 is the year to visit Britain and we're about to show people why."

Along with the GREAT image effort telling people overseas about the fantastic place that Britain is to visit, passengers arriving at airports across the UK - including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City and Manchester - will see GREAT posters on display when they get off the plane and as they travel onwards through the airport. Altogether these airports account for 75% of all UK air passengers and will help reinforce the sense of a warm welcome and help improve perceptions of the UK's overall friendliness.

Notes to editors:

1. Copies of the GREAT ads being used in each country, along with a copy of the television commercial being aired across the globe and other GREAT material are available for use at: http://media.visitbritain.com/

2. The nine target countries have been chosen for this campaign as they represent the best short and medium term prospects for the UK, with both volume and value being delivered through the near European markets and great potential for future growth from the newer emerging markets such as India and China.

3. Similarly, we have focused our efforts on the 14 cities where there is the largest concentration of our target audiences, including high spending urban professionals who have a greater propensity to travel. Cities where the image campaign will run are: Beijing & Shanghai; Berlin; Los Angeles & New York; Melbourne & Sydney; Mumbai & New Delhi; Paris; Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paolo; Tokyo; and Toronto.

4. We are leading a partnership with private industry - with match funding of cash and marketing in kind we will make up a marketing fund of £100m, across a four year period to enhance the UK's position as one of the world's leading destinations for international tourism. Our partners so far include American Express, BMI, British Airways, DFDS Seaways, easyJet, Hilton Worldwide, P&O Ferries, Radisson Edwardian, STA Travel and Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.

About VisitBritain

-- VisitBritain is the national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain worldwide and developing Britain's visitor economy. A non-departmental public body, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it works in partnership with thousands of organisations in the UK and overseas ― the Government, the industry and our strategic partners in London, England, Scotland and Wales ― and seeks to ensure that Britain is marketed appropriately around the world.
-- Its priority is to deliver a four-year £100 million match funded global marketing programme, working with the private sector to take advantage of the unique opportunity of the Royal Wedding, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Games to showcase Britain and attract new visitors from the tourism growth markets of Asia and Latin America and to reinvigorate its appeal in core markets such as the USA, France and Germany.


CONTACT DETAILS
Ritushri Dhankher, Press & PR Manager - India, VisitBritain, +91 9910668238, ritushri.dhanker@visitbritain.org

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, FOOD, LIFESTYLE, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, HOSPITALITY, MEDIA, TRAVEL

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