A marketing campaign designed to promote Birmingham as a festive destination attracted record numbers of participants and helped drive over three million visitors to the city over the Christmas period.
Run by Visit Birmingham in partnership with train operator London Midland, the campaign ‘It’s got to be a Birmingham Christmas’ positioned the city as a must-do destination for all the family. From the Frankfurt market and bustling shopping areas to the city’s diverse food and drink scene, Birmingham had it all for festive visitors.
The holistic campaign incorporated marketing, PR, online and advertising activity including reader competitions, YouTube promotional videos and an interactive viral game.
Top line results reveal the campaign’s success with the website attracting a record 265,000 visitors and 28,764 competition entries. There were over 70,000 downloads of the Birmingham ‘Ho Ho Ho Express’ viral game and almost 10,000 YouTube hits for the city’s Christmas films. The campaign’s creative PR campaign also generated over £768,000 of media coverage with 77 articles appearing in international, national and regional press.
Visit Birmingham’s group travel ‘Frankfurt Market meet and greet’ service, also saw record highs, welcoming 179 coach loads of Christmas shoppers to the city.
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing Services for Marketing Birmingham, which manages the Visit Birmingham tourism brand, commented: “The campaign was designed to capture the magic of the festive season and showcase the unique Christmas experience Birmingham offers.
From the Frankfurt Market to packed festive theatre programmes, family attractions, a buzzing food and drink scene as well as opportunities to shop until you drop, Birmingham really was the place to celebrate the festive season.”
Commenting on the holistic approach, Emma said:
“The campaign was designed to drive people to the website, visitbirmingham.com, where they could get an online insight into an energetic, thriving and exciting city before experiencing it in person. “
On the ground, response to the campaign from visitors to the city was overwhelmingly positive. A survey conducted by Birmingham’s visitor centre during the festive period reported that more than two thirds (70%) intend to return within 12 months, with nearly all (93%) rating their visit as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
The visitor survey also highlighted Birmingham’s international appeal, with respondents visiting from countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Slovakia, Greece, Germany, Italy and Sweden.
For Gray, Visit Birmingham’s partnership with local companies was key to its success:
“Our target audience for the campaign included those in the wider region, which aligned with those of our partner London Midland. This allowed us to promote the city as a fun, festive day out for locals, as well those from further afield.
“The campaign also allowed us to pool the city’s marketing resources by working closely with restaurants, theatres, and attractions to promote the city as truly offering something for everyone.”
The Visit Birmingham visitor survey also indicated that the most popular method of transport into the city for tourists over the festive period was the train, which was preferred by almost half (47%) of respondents.
David Whitley, Head of Marketing for train operator London Midland, believes working closely with the city’s tourism agency is vital for attracting visitors to the city.
“Birmingham really comes to life over the Christmas period, and getting here by train couldn't be easier, with three stations right in the heart of the city centre. Add to that the money saved on parking and the stress saved from driving, and the train becomes the obvious choice for a day or weekend break in the city.”
The campaign also provided exposure for Cadbury World, the REP and Alexandra Theatres, Brindleyplace, Broad Street, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, the Jewellery Quarter and Winterbourne House & Garden which all supported the campaign.
