Our mission was to raise the cultural profile of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, on a national scale. Having won a competitive tender to do so, we aimed to ignite media interest – particularly from travel journalists – and boost visitor numbers to the area.
We created a campaign inspired by the distinctive qualities of the region’s cultural gems, celebrating Calderdale’s characterful communities and spotlighting its fascinating heritage. By beating the drum for the weird and wonderful within Calderdale, we caught the attention of travel writers across print, digital and broadcast. Encouraging media visits to the area was crucial, so we developed tailored familiarisation packages and pitched them to journalists far and wide.
The result was dozens of first-time journalist visits and strong, positive coverage surrounding Calderdale. Over 100 editorial pieces reached a global audience of 243 million, bagging spots in Lonely Planet, The Times, The Telegraph and key regional outlets. Calderdale was proclaimed “a burgeoning hub for restaurants and independent shops” by National Geographic Traveller.
As for visitor numbers? The campaign delivered record results. Calderdale welcomed over 10% more international visitors, who spent 17% more money and stayed 15% longer, than the previous year. This bolstered the local economy by almost £350-million and supported around 7,000 jobs, carrying the area from strength to strength.
“At the beginning of the project, we were thrilled by getting a piece in the Hull Daily Mail (and, of course, I still am), but by the end we were taking calls from The New York Times and were virtually sponsored by The Guardian for a while there.
Animo PR helped put Calderdale’s cultural offering on the national and international map, giving the media – and through them the public – the inspiration and information that they needed to visit the area.”