Copyright: Discover Yorkshire Coast / Yorkshire Coast BID

The Brief

Develop a new marketing campaign for the Yorkshire Coast that would reposition the destination as a must-visit place in autumn-winter and an alternative to traditional city breaks.

Targeting three key audiences, as identified in the updated Scarborough Borough Council Tourism Strategy including Millennials and multi-generational families.

What PW Did…

  • Marketing Campaign Concept Development
  • Video and Still Photography Creative Development
  • Supplier Management
  • Project Management

When thinking about the Yorkshire Coast you might think of beautiful beaches, fish and chips and maybe the odd bucket spade, but there is so much more on offer.

From luxury hotels and fine culinary experiences to world-class water sports and quirky festivals and events, there is something quite surprising about how much is actually on offer across the year. This was the inspiration for the campaign – The Place Full of Surprises!

An example of the thematic videos used throughout the campaign – see the full set here.

The campaign activity would focus on tempting the audiences with what is on offer, from beautiful views to engaging activities, without ever mentioning the destination. This approach allowed the audience to truly fall in love with the place before any potential biases could kick in. Only at the end would the destination be revealed, and minds open to discovering more.

See the strategy here

Working with creative agency, Your Creative Sauce, this concept developed into the campaign launched in 2021, with initial work taking place in 2020, with YCS developing the look and feel, in partnership with PW Does…

See the member toolkit here

Four key themes were created to uncover specific activities and experiences for each audience.

This content was at the heart of a multi-channel campaign, utilising print, radio, digital and social media advertising, alongside PR activity and stakeholder campaign to support member businesses to take up the campaign and use it in their marketing efforts.

Results

Campaign evaluation is currently ongoing, however, initial results show the campaign has already converted a sizeable audience to find time for themselves during quieter times of the year.

Testimonial

We are really pleased with the development of the Surprise campaign – it is a great representation of our destination, and the ethos of our updated tourism strategy. It inspired our businesses and audiences alike and gave us a great push into the recovery and a busy autumn and winter season.

Paul understood our needs and wants and translated them into actions we could be proud of and his development of our content, including the website, has put us on a good foot for a post-pandemic world.

He is a pleasure to work with and always delivers on time, and on budget.

Janet Deacon, Tourism and Culture Manager, Scarborough Borough Council