A TV advert designed to lure tourists to Colchester, Britain’s oldest town, has been screened across all the major Sky channels.
The advert, designed to complement the tourism campaign ‘If Our Walls Could Talk’, showcased Colchester’s heritage and culture through the story of its many walls, from Colchester Castle to St Botolph’s Priory.
It also showed shots of the gardens of the Tiptree Tea Room at the Minories, plus sweeping views of the Firstsite Gallery and the town’s iconic Jumbo water tower.
To deliver the commercial, Visit Colchester worked with SkyAdSmart and Experian to target people who live within a two-hour drive to Colchester and were able to visit Colchester for a day trip or extended stay.
Production cost £10,000 and the airtime cost £30,87, and was paid for by Colchester Borough Council as part of their £2m two-year ‘Better Colchester’ action plan.
The advert achieved 459,651 views during the campaign period, and a further 123,000 views via Visit Colchester’s social media channels.
The advert was predominantly shown during the 8pm-11pm peak-time slot, with Sky entertainment and sports genre channels proving the most popular delivery method.
It has been airing on the big screen at the Colchester United stadium as part of the If Our Walls Could Talk campaign and will continue to do so for the duration of the 2018-2019 season.
Partners across the town have been sharing the advert on social media, including the University of Essex who are using it on their Chinese social media channels which promote the town to a new international audience.
Since the advert aired, according to Colchester Borough Council, the town’s Visitor Information Centre has reported positive feedback from people who have seen the advert, including residents who have commented how proud it has made them of coming from Colchester.
More people are now also interacting with Visit Colchester’s social media channels, with numbers of followers increasing by 14% on Twitter, 55% on Facebook and 40% on Instagram between August 2017 and August 2018.
The Visit Colchester site saw visitors rise 15% over the same period, with its highest ever number of visitors to the site in one month recorded in August 2018.
Cllr Tim Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture and Deputy Leader of Colchester Borough Council said: “Colchester is a town steeped in history and heritage and is open all year round for business, and we must continue to promote this.
“Visit Colchester will use this exceptional resource we now have to promote Colchester as an all-year-round tourist attraction, and work is already underway to promote the town to those looking for an autumn break.”
View the ad at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVjDsdDbhww
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