Promoting the brand
The South West RDA spends £1.2 million
per year promoting the South West England brand. The advertising
campaign has several key objectives:
- Business objective - to change people's
perceptions of the region and make them aware of its potential as a
place to do business.
- Tourism objective - to extend the
visiting season across the year and encourage greater
spend.
- Regional objective - to raise the
profile of the region and encourage a sense of pride and confidence
among the people who live here.
- Overall objective - to position South
West England as the place of choice for business, investment,
living and visiting.
The campaign falls into two
categories: business and tourism. The same creative treatment is
used for both audiences, helping to raise awareness of the region
and reinforce its distinctive identity.
Tourism advertising
These ads use individual stories
inspired by real experiences. The campaign is eye-catching and
distinctive. It features close-up, expressive shots of human faces
to convey positive emotions and the ads run in pairs, with each
member of the couple telling his or her own story. The copy is a
quote from the person pictured and the tone is chatty, informal and
fun.
Business advertising
The business campaign has a similar
look and style, but the tone and messages are different. These ads
show how the South West business environment contributes to
individual company success stories. Like the tourism campaign, the
business ads feature close-up shots of human faces and the copy is
a quote from the person featured. However, these quotes have a
strong business focus and each one is backed up by a striking
business fact that underlines what the business person is saying.
The tone is business-like but informal.
Business. Life. Inspiration.
The purpose of a sign-off at the end
of an ad is to leave a core message in the mind of the reader that
sums up what the ad is about. The sign-off "Business. Life.
Inspiration." tells the reader that the South West is inspiring as
a place to live and work.
Overall theme
All of the advertising for South West
England follows a single, overall but unspoken theme: "It's in our
nature." The theme has an intentional double-meaning. It says to
the target audience "creativity and innovation is what we're all
about" and it also says "our natural environment plays a key role
in inspiring us." As the campaign develops over the years, you will
find that we constantly return to this clever and compelling
theme.
Click here to register your
support