Visit Britain:
A Screen Tourism Case Study
Cover image: Paddington. Courtesy of VisitBritain and StudioCanal
Authors Film London Contact address euroscreen@filmlondon.org.uk Editorial Film London and the EuroScreen Partnership with thanks to VisitBritain Publisher Euroscreen www.euroscreen.org.uk London, UK 2015
Contents Introduction to EuroScreen ...........................................................................4 EuroScreen Partners......................................................................................................... 5 1. Film Tourism and Marketing......................................................................................... 6 1.1 Film Tourism and Marketing Campaigns.................................................................... 7 1.2 Bond is Great Britain.....................................................................................................8 1.3 See Britain through Paddington’s Eyes....................................................................... 10 2. Conclusion.....................................................................................................13
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Introduction to EuroScreen EuroScreen is an INTERREG IVC funded partnership of regional development agencies, film commissions, municipalities and academia.The partnership works to strengthen cooperation between the screen and tourism sectors through the alignment of policies and strategies. There are multiple opportunities for these two industries to benefit from collaboration to generate growth and income. Beyond the immediate investment generated by hosting a production, film and television create promotional opportunities for cities, regions and countries by attracting tourists to screen locations.They also significantly shape and enhance the brand and perception of on-screen destinations. Cities and regions therefore have the opportunity to engage with a worldwide audience in a different way and drive interest and actual visitors to their respective destinations. EuroScreen has built a breadth of resources, promoting good practice examples in screen tourism, sharing knowledge and commissioning research to assess location placement value. Working across nine organisations in eight EU regions, EuroScreen has enabled participating regions to engage with their key stakeholders and drive screen tourism in their region.The project has put screen tourism on the regional agenda. www.euroscreen.org.uk @EuroScreen2 For any questions, contact Matti Allam euroscreen@filmlondon.org.uk EuroScreen Partners
Film London (UK), Lead Partner Apulia Film Commission (Italy) Bucharest Ilfov Regional Development Agency (Romania) Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit (Malta) Rzeszow Regional Development Agency (Poland) Municipality of Ystad (Sweden) Maribor Development Agency (Slovenia) PRO MALAGA (Spain) Lund University Department of Service Management (Sweden)
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EuroScreen Partners
Partners
Agenţia pentru Dezvoltare Regională Bucureşti-Ilfov
Funders
European Union
European Regional Development Fundd
Consultants
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The Houses of Parliament, as seen in Sherlock Holmes (2009). Image courtesy of Film London / Jon Cefai
1.1.FILM TOURISM & MARKETING
1.1 Film Tourism Marketing Campaigns The UK is one of the busiest film production centres in the world, attracting inward investment productions as well as nurturing homegrown independent films. In 2014, there were 222 films made in the UK which recorded a record breaking production spend of £1.4bn. In recent years, the country has hosted blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Paddington, along with independent productions such as Rush and Mr. Turner. These are successful films showcasing British talent and locations. At the same time, the UK is a popular visitor destination for inbound tourists. 2014 saw an increase in visitors, with a record number of 34.8million overseas tourists visiting the UK. This represents a 6% increase on 2013. These visitors spent £21.7bn in the UK economy, up by 3% from the previous year (VisitBritain 2014). This makes the tourism industry an important driver for growth in Britain. With a successful film industry reaching audiences across the globe, promoting the UK on the back of the films and continuing to position Britain as a desirable place to visit seemed to be a perfect match. VisitBritain acknowledges the value of films towards tourism and the impact that productions have on Britain as a brand – selling the UK to audiences across the world and inviting them to visit the locations that feature on the big screen. The official tourism agency for Britain, it is now regarded as one of the most prolific destination marketing agencies that uses film productions to promote its country. VisitBritain often quotes the fact that one in 10 visitors to the UK come because they have seen the country depicted on film (Oxford Economics 2012) and that 40% of potential visitors would be ‘very likely’ to visit places from films (Nation Brands Index 2007). These figures offer fantastic potential for marketing the UK through film, converting audiences to visitors. From Robin Hood to Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter, over the past 15 years VisitBritain has regularly organised marketing campaigns in conjunction with the release of a blockbuster film production that features the UK in a prominent way. The Bond is GREAT Britain campaign in partnership with Sony Pictures in 2012 marks a highlight in the agency’s promotional activity in key markets across the globe due to the extensive partnerships and promotional reach. Building on the success of the Bond campaign, VisitBritain ran a film tourism campaign in 2014 to celebrate the release of the family feature film, Paddington. Addressing a family focused audience¸ VisitBritain invited audiences to See Britain through Paddington’s Eyes. The following case study will look at the success of the Bond is GREAT Britain campaign and showcases the highlights of the See Britain through Paddington’s Eyes work in 2014.
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1.2 Bond is GREAT Britain 2012 marked an important year for the most famous British secret agent in many ways. The James Bond franchise celebrated its 50th anniversary, Bond himself parachuted with the Queen into the Olympic Stadium at the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Games in London and the latest Bond film Skyfall was released later that year. Taking into account all these factors, Skyfall presented a unique opportunity for VisitBritain to associate Bond with the destination brand of Great Britain. Furthermore, the film features a multitude of British locations in greater length, including places in London and Scotland. One of the key objectives for the Bond is GREAT campaign was rooted in the fact that there is a great value in brand association with the big screen’s quintessential British agent. The film had a significant branding effect in promoting Britain as a new, dynamic and modern destination. Other key objectives included the increase in PR and social media exposure for Britain and to increase visitor spend in the UK. VisitBritain entered a partnership agreement with Sony/MGM, the international distribution company of the Bond franchise. Both parties benefitted from the cooperation in terms of promoting the UK (VisitBritain) and encouraging target groups to see Skyfall (Sony/MGM). The aims of VisitBritain’s Bond campaign were to: • P romote Britain as the home of Bond • Develop creative assets including a Bond is GREAT poster and 30-second video advertisement, which was shown in cinemas in Germany, Australia, Brazil and the US • Create data capture opportunities for VisitBritain’s use • Extend the reach of the GREAT campaign1
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1. GREAT is a UK government backed campaign highlighting the best of Britain, inviting people to visit, study or do business in the UK. For further information visit the website
The creative assets such as posters and the cinema advertisement were created to be used across VisitBritain’s global network. Furthermore, two competitions were launched to attract visitors. One was promoted in key markets with the chance to win a trip to live the Bond lifestyle in Britain – including a bespoke itinerary to places like the Aston Martin factory, a Martini-making class and a visit to the Old Royal Naval College which featured in Skyfall. Another prize was promoted through an online game called AgentUK, where users could become a secret agent on a digital mission through the UK to go to different locations across the country. The whole campaign has had a powerful impact and VisitBritain conducted an evaluation, assessing the results of their marketing activities. The evaluation found that: • The campaign reached 22 countries across the globe, including key markets for Britain such as France, Germany, Brazil, the USA, India and China. This resulted in £3.2m in marketing exposure for the Britain brand (AVE) and £36m in global PR coverage (AVE)2. • The work around Bond is GREAT generated 2,158 media articles. • The Agent-UK online game had the potential to contribute to £12m additional visitor spend in the UK. • 35% of those who recall seeing the Bond is GREAT advert said ‘they would strongly intend to visit Britain in the next three years’. This evaluation was part of a wider survey of the GREAT image campaign which is a cross-government campaign to promote Britian as a great place to visit, study and do business. 39% of respondents who recall seeing the video did so through social media channels, indicating the success of social media in reaching the target audience. Overall, a very successful campaign and match with the Bond franchise.
2. AVE: Advertising Value Equivalent
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1.3 See Britain through Paddington’s Eyes Following the success of the Bond is GREAT campaign, VisitBritain teamed up with production company STUDIOCANAL in 2014 for the film Paddington. With the film, VisitBritain builds on the success of the famous children’s book character created by Michael Bond, Paddington Bear. The opportunity to promote the British brand through the film was multifaceted and included the following: • A positive destination placement • Opportunity to promote family Britain and train journeys out of Paddington train station • Retail opportunities through the promotion of Paddington souvenirs • Using Paddington as a GREAT ambassador • Opportunity to promote tourism products to the travel trade, including, Paddington tour (Brit Movie Tours), Paddington Trail with London & Partners The campaign included social media activities using the hashtag #PaddingtonsBritain, the biggest family film tourism social media takeover for VisitBritain to date. Bespoke content was developed for the social media campaign, including an exclusive Paddington ‘selfie’ in front of British landmarks. The social media activity encouraged user generated content (UGC) with the tourism industry sharing their photos of Paddington around Britain. VisitBritain’s Paddington Campaign Objectives Change perceptions and position Britian as a welcoming destination Extend the reach of the GREAT campaign Highlight film locations in Britain Increase exposure for Britain outside of London Increase PR and Social media exposure for Britain using official film Branding in marketing promotions and competitions Work alongside other film partners Create data capture opportunities for VisitBritain use
Source:VisitBritain presentation at Euroscreen conference (2014)
As with previous campaigns, VisitBritain created a series of visual assets as part of the promotion and invited audiences of the film to see Britain through Paddington’s eyes - a lovely invitation to visit the UK. Assets included posters of Paddington exploring British landmarks in a black taxi, Paddington enjoying afternoon tea with marmalade sandwiches and Paddington at the train station he was named after. A series of short soundbite videos with the cast were also developed. Actors such as Hugh Bonneville and Nicole Kidman as well as director Paul King were interviewed with tourism related questions, such as ‘Where would you like to take Paddington in Britain?’ and ‘What do you love most about Paddington’s Britain?’. This is a very engaging way in linking the film to the destination image. Paddington Bear Paddington Station
Discover Britain by train and create your own adventures.
See Britain through Paddington’s eyes. visitbritain.com/paddington
CHRISTMAS 2014
© Paddington and Company Limited/STUDIOCANAL S.A. 2014 Paddington Bear™ and Paddington™ are trademarks of Paddington and Company Limited
Another first for the Paddington campaign was the fact that VisitBritain received poster branding in the background of the film. This product placement for Britain included posters on the London Underground and on London’s iconic double-decker buses featuring in the film. Again, a unique way in engaging new audiences. VisitBritain also linked its campaign to Paddington products for tourists to engage with such as the new Paddington tour by Brit Movie Tours (britmovietours.com) through to the Paddington trail from London & Partners (www.visitlondon.com/paddington), the tourism board for London. The Paddington Trail was a fantastic visitor experience, featuring over 50 individually-designed Paddington statues. Visitors to the city could find these bears dotted across the streets of London between November and December 2014. Over 350,000 people engaged in the trail, which featured bears designed by David Beckham, Sandra Bullock and Rihanna. The bears were then auctioned and raised £950,000 for charities such as the NSPCC (the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).
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2. CONCLUSION
Paddington. Courtesy of VisitBritain and StudioCanal
2. Conclusion VisitBritain remains a leader in film tourism marketing campaigns and continues its effort to promote the UK through film and television. From Harry Potter to James Bond and Paddington and Games of Thrones to Downton Abbey, VisitBritain has forged links with British icons to promote the UK as an attractive visitor destination. And it doesn’t stop with British and American blockbuster productions, either. The agency recently launched a Bollywood campaign, building on their Bollywood app and inviting Indian audiences to travel in the footsteps of their favourite film stars. The campaign appointed famous Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan as an ambassador and teamed up with travel company TUI to offer ‘Romance in Britain’ travel packages. This is an invitation to experience Britain through romance –a common theme in Bollywood productions. The strong outcomes of these campaigns maximise the benefits of film and television to tourism. They position VisitBritain as a major player in screen tourism and provide added value through a unique marketing strategy. VisitBritain have developed a strong relationship with film studios and the British Film Commission and continue to promote the UK through productions showcasing the best of Britain through the big screen. With a strong film industry continuing to attract successful global film productions as well as high end television series such as Downton Abbey (England), Outlander (Scotland) and Game of Thrones (Northern Ireland), the collaboration between the tourism and film and TV sectors are set to continue a successful screen tourism strategy for Britain.
Links and References BFI (2014) BFI Statistical Yearbook 2014 Accessed on 1 March 2015 VisitBritain’s Film & TV playlist on their YouTube channel. Accessed on 1 March 2015 The Financial Express (2014), VisitBritain partners with TUI to promote Bollywood trails, 12 March 2015 Accessed on 25 March 2015
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