With 20 million passengers per year, Virgin Trains East Coast is a key partner in inspiring people to visit the region and our partnership activity has continued to grow this year.
In spring 2017, we delivered our first 50/50 funded campaign in partnership with Virgin Trains East Coast, to inspire more people to visit NewcastleGateshead by train. By combining budgets and resources for our “Hop On It” campaign, we were able to promote NewcastleGateshead to a larger audience as an ideal short break destination.
Through radio, digital and press advertising in our shared target cities of Edinburgh, York, Leeds and Doncaster, we presented a series of messages all based on the proposal of ‘Virgin Trains can get you to the Toon in no time’. Working with a travel partner on campaigns enables us to highlight journey times and how easy it is to get to NewcastleGateshead from the target areas.
Since the joint-funded campaign, we have continued to work closely with Virgin Trains. As our tourism travel partner for 2017/18, Virgin Trains features prominently in our marketing activity for leisure tourism and business events. The train operating company also integrates our destination and events information into its website and email newsletters, keeping customers up to date with what’s happening in NewcastleGateshead, so they can plan a truly memorable visit.
And our joint working will continue to grow, following the announcement in September 2017 that Virgin Trains had signed up as the first premier partner for the Great Exhibition of the North.
Phil Peacock, brand partnerships manager at Virgin Trains East Coast, said: “We’re really excited about the Great Exhibition of the North and continuing our work to promote NewcastleGateshead as a fantastic destination. Working with NGI allows us to have the most up-to-date information to excite and engage our customers about travelling to the North East. The Exhibition will be the biggest event in the UK in 2018 and is an exciting opportunity for us to be part of showcasing all of the innovation that is taking part in the North East.”
If you’d like to find out more about domestic city breaks campaigns, contact shelley.johnson@ngi.org.uk