About the brand
And, is the South West England brand working?
Each year six separate research studies track the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. These have shown that we have helped to generate approximately £28 for the visitor economy from every £1 spent on advertising. We have seen a marked increase in awareness of the region's key industries and people were more likely to have a favourable opinion of the South West after seeing the campaign.
The business perspective
Business people like the use of large companies in the business campaign and find this adds credibility to the region. They respond positively to the use of facts and statistics to back up the business person's quote. The South West England logo is regarded as professional yet informal. In general, thanks to the advertising the region is viewed as having a strong business infrastructure for the 21st century, as well as being an appealing place to do business.
The visitor perspective
Prospective visitors respond very positively to the ads. The campaign is regarded as being attention-grabbing and emotionally engaging and it has a measurable impact on people with neutral or negative views of the region. Recent studies showed sixty-two per cent of participants in the research had taken or booked a holiday in the South West at the time they were interviewed. Sixty-four per cent of them said they were influenced to do so by the advertising campaign.
What's next?
Of course, this is only the start and there is more to do. This phase of the campaign runs to Spring 2009. There are still negative perceptions and misconceptions that need to be altered. For example, some business people still fail to recognise the region's highly skilled workforce and the concentration of high tech businesses that there are here (did you know, for example, the region is home to Europe's largest concentration of Silicon Designers - second only to the USA?).
Research results will continue to be closely monitored and the campaign will be strengthened and enhanced in response to these findings to increase its effectiveness even further.
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