Yorkshire TV Campaign Set to Steal the Nation's Heart
Published: 11 April 2011
A brand new television campaign urging visitors to make Yorkshire their staycation this year will be beamed into homes across the nation this week.
The major new TV and marketing campaign was today announced at the UK's largest tourism conference, Y 11, in Leeds.
More than 1,000 people attended Welcome to Yorkshire's tourism event at The Grand Theatre and Opera House to hear announcements for 2011/12 which aim to raise Yorkshire's profile and attract more visitors.
Gary Verity, Welcome to Yorkshire's chief executive, revealed the agency's ambitions for the coming year.
He said: "Building on our previous award-winning campaigns, we're broadcasting a brand new TV advertisement into homes across the UK with, ‘So much, so near, so different. Have a brilliant Yorkshire' as our new slogan and if you miss that you'll certainly not miss our sponsorship deals which will accompany a number of prime-time TV programmes."
TV Advert
Welcome to Yorkshire is sponsoring the hit television drama filmed in Yorkshire, The Royal, the family show which has been a huge ratings success, Do the Funniest Things and chat show, The Paul O'Grady Show. The aim is to target peak family viewing times to encourage families to visit the county.
"The TV promotions aim to target the family market because we know that once people visit Yorkshire, they fall in love with our marvellous county and become repeat visitors in the long term."
Guests at Y 11 also saw extracts from the new TV series The Dales which is presented by Yorkshire-born actor Adrian Edmondson. More than 8.7 million viewers have tuned into the fly-on-the-wall documentary which features locations, businesses and characters filmed across the Yorkshire Dales last summer.
Welcome to Yorkshire is confident the 12-part series will inspire people to visit the county; within 24 hours of the first episode the agency saw a 375% increase in page views.
In addition to TV promotions, the new Welcome to Yorkshire marketing campaign will also feature more press advertising and innovative outdoor marketing at prime sites.
The aim is to build on the success of the previous 2010 campaign which achieved fantastic results: 52% of ABC 1 adults saw the TV advert (in targeted northern regions 74.5% people saw the ad) and 2.4 million saw the cinema advertising.
A whole host of new themed campaigns and initiatives were also unveiled at Y 11.
Welcome to Yorkshire announced the Arts of Yorkshire campaign which encompasses all artistic themes; visual arts; performing arts; sculpture; museums; art trails, plus exhibitions and events.
Art will also be the theme for this year's entry at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which follows on from last year's award winning ‘Welcome to Yorkshire Rhubarb Crumble and Custard Garden', which took home the People's Choice Award. This year the tourism agency is going for gold with The Welcome to Yorkshire Art of Yorkshire Garden in partnership with Leeds-based landscape designers Gillespies.
The garden takes inspiration from Yorkshire artists as well as those inspired by the county including - Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney, and JMW Turner. The centre of the garden will be a major piece of art in itself, Barbara Hepworth's ‘Ascending Form', framed by an iPad style easel which was inspired by the work of Bradford's own David Hockney.
The impending Royal Wedding and Queen's Diamond Jubilee will increase heritage and cultural visitors to the UK which has prompted Welcome to Yorkshire's Royal Yorkshire campaign which will highlight Yorkshire locations with royal connections.
The Royal wedding has also inspired the Yorkshire Weddings campaign which will be a one stop shop for those planning their big day. This will aim to increase the appeal of holding a wedding in Yorkshire and will provide an online directory for venues and services for those involved in planning a wedding.
A brand new Yorkshire Coast campaign is also coming soon and aims to raise the profile of the Yorkshire Coast and its 100 plus miles of golden beaches and stunning coastline. The initiative will bring together the very best in accommodation, beaches and cliff walks together with the area's much-loved family seaside resorts. Entertainment and the arts will also feature heavily, highlighting the beautiful Yorkshire coastline as the place to enjoy this summer.
In a countdown to the Olympic Games, more than 1,000 festivals and events in Yorkshire will be celebrated as part of Yorkshire's Great Party. Welcome to Yorkshire is working closely with festival directors, event organisers, local authorities, the Arts Council England and private business to promote the best that Yorkshire has to offer.
Y 11 welcomed Yorkshire sporting heroes Nicola Atherton, Danny Price and Hannah Cockroft on stage along with Charles Allen CBE, Chair of the Nations and Regions Group, and encouraged businesses to make the most of the many opportunities open to them in the lead up to the 2012 Games.
A Battlefields of Yorkshire campaign is a comprehensive guide to famous battles, key historic sites and re-enactments across the county, and a Yorkshire Film Trail will tap into the growing numbers of ‘setjetters'.
Gary Verity concluded: "The previous year's campaigns and partnerships have resulted in a raft of amazing successes. By bringing people together we are seeing more visitors and further growth to our economy and now is the time to build on this for the future of Yorkshire's tourism industry. We now have a three year plan and I can guarantee you this; Yorkshire's profile is going to be bigger and better than ever."
- ENDS -
Y 11 Images will be available to download from the following link at 2pm
www.yorkshire.com/Y11Photos
EDITORS' NOTES:
Thank you to the following for their support of Y 11
Opera North
The Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds
Our event sponsor - Supplies Team Solutions
First Buses for providing Park & Ride free of charge
The Dalesman for refreshments
About Welcome to Yorkshire
• Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism agency for Yorkshire, working to grow the county's visitor economy.
• Welcome to Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy.
• Key facts include:
• Tourism in Yorkshire is worth £7 billion annually
• The county's industry employs almost a quarter of a million people
• There are 216 million visits to Yorkshire each year
For more news and a free image bank /mediacentre
For further information contact:
Beverley Richmond - Press Officer
Email: brichmond@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3507
Mobile: 07769 257380
Graham Poucher - Press Officer
Email: gpoucher@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3578
Mobile: 07805 958728