VisitEngland readies partnership marketing activity

VisitEngland is to launch its “holidays at home” marketing strategy with a television campaign in the new year.

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The three year campaign begins in February with the TV ad and will reflect the ’GREAT’ branding introduced by the prime minister David Cameron in September this year.

The campaign initially had an earmarked budget of £24m and has since had an extra £3m contribution from the Government’s Olympic budget. The campaign is being coordinated by VisitEngland but will also be used to promote Scotland and Wales.

The ad is designed to encourage Britons to holiday in the UK and aims to drive people to a website that offers holiday promotions with at least a 20% discount.

The offers have been developed with suppliers including hotels, tourist attractions and other companies, such as The Eden Project, Hoseasons Group and Bourne Leisure.

There will also be a number of partner marketing campaigns over the next three years, with Hoseasons the first to announce such an initiative. It is launching a £1m TV campaign with VisitEngland on Boxing Day to promote its Cottages4u brand.

This ad will particularly focus on cottages located in the countryside and on the coast and will be supported with newspaper advertising, online advertising, direct marketing and radio.

Nick Rudge, vice president sales and marketing at The Hoseasons Group says: “After a great couple of years, there’s no doubt, with both the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, next year is going to be a major year for English tourism. We’re really excited to be partnering with VisitEngland on this joint campaign to inspire even more people to holiday in England and further help boost domestic tourism and local economies.”

The Government has also found an extra £27m to help boost VistBritain’s marketing strategy to reach overseas visitors.

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