b group, Newcastle

Background

Travelscape were commissioned by the b group on behalf of visitTeesvalley to conduct concept testing for a proposed range of advertising media with regards to the visitTeesvalley visitor destination campaign. The primary objective of the research was to evaluate attitudes and opinions of the target audience towards the visitTeesvalley short break, day trip and event campaign propositions. The research also sought to establish and to measure some general tracking indicators such as awareness, familiarity, perceptions, and recommendations in which to contextualise the media.

The campaign embraced outdoor advertising, TV Advertising, online advertising, the use of events and street teams, competitions and a visitor loyalty scheme. b group set out to achieve the following and these are the attributes that we used to measure the potential success of the proposed campaign.

• An engaging and lively campaign which conveys the personality of the Tees Valley area.
• A campaign with clear calls to action.
• A campaign which gets people taking and involves the people of Tees Valley.
• A campaign with fantastic PR opportunities and measurable results.

Interviews were conducted in the street across the North East of England. Areas were chosen in relation to achievable day trip and short break drive times for potential visitors. Target respondents had to match the profile within those that would visit Tees Valley for an event, day trip or short break. We sought to ascertain unprompted opinion on the area regarding perceptions and propensity to recommend. Visual aids were presented and respondents were asked to agree or disagree to statements linked to the creative remit. We measured the propensity of the target group to sign up for a special offers card. We measured perceptions on suggested improvements and further post recommendation questions.

Outcome

We feel that the results of our work could be used to provide a benchmark for comparisons with future evaluations which could map and inform improvements or otherwise in the success of future marcomms exercises. Being able to carry out such measurements can aid in Visit Tees Valley securing longevity through their ability to perform. Our opinion is such that this is the crux of the research - i.e. how you can change the way people feel about your product. A positive shift in perception is testimony to the advertising message.