Visitors to Suffolk spent £1.75m in the county as a direct result of a tourism marketing campaign by Choose Suffolk, according to an evaluation report assessing the impact of the campaign, ‘Come to Your Senses: Visit Suffolk'. The report found that the level of expenditure by days out and short break visitors who were persuaded to come to the county by Choose Suffolk's marketing activity was the equivalent of almost £5,000 a day.
‘Come to Your Senses; Visit Suffolk' was a £100,000 multi-platform marketing campaign that ran between April and September 2009 and was delivered by Choose Suffolk in partnership with Suffolk County Council, the district councils and the tourism sector, including Visit Suffolk Attractions. According to the evaluation report's findings on the economic impact of the campaign it achieved a return on investment of approximately 1:17.
The comprehensive campaign was comprised of a refreshed Visit Suffolk website, extensive wall poster advertising on targeted stations on the London Underground, e-communications via a Visit Suffolk e-newsletter, printed Great Days Out in Suffolk and Suffolk Short Breaks brochures and advertising in key magazines and newspapers.
The report, ‘Come to Your Senses: An Economic Impact Evaluation', was undertaken using DP:UK's suggested industry standard methodology. Alongside gauging the economic impact of the campaign, the report also explored the effect of the campaign's various elements on respondents who had been identified as having had exposure to it. It then sought to ascertain which of these elements were the most influential in persuading visitors to come to Suffolk for either a day out or short break.
Choose Suffolk's Tourism Manager, Alex Paul, commented, "This online survey, the first we have undertaken to test the effectiveness of a tourism campaign, asked respondents who had either visited or booked with the intention of visiting Suffolk whether exposure to the campaign influenced their decision. It found that there was a particularly high recall rate amongst respondents for Come to Your Senses: Visit Suffolk."
The survey found that the most effective elements of the campaign for driving recall rates were the Visit Suffolk website (31%), Great Days out in Suffolk 2009 brochure (23%) and the Visit Suffolk e-newsletter (17%).
Two-thirds of respondents indicated that they had been to Suffolk in 2009 with a further 1% suggesting that they had booked but hadn't yet visited. Alex said, "Of these respondents 22% felt that they were ‘definitely' influenced to visit, with 25% suggesting they were ‘probably' influenced to visit by the campaign. Just under a third indicated that they were ‘possibly' influenced to visit.
In terms of expenditure of respondents during their first visit, the report looked only at those elements of the campaign to which exposure could be accurately quantified. The report found that 9% of the total sample had been exposed to the Short Breaks brochure and calculated that the total 30,000 Short Breaks brochures distributed during the campaign period resulted in an estimated 2,700 decisions to visit, with combined group expenditure in the region of £636,000.
Similarly, the 350,000 Great Days Out in Suffolk 2009 brochures that were distributed during the campaign resulted in an estimated 38,500 decisions to visit with expenditure in the region of £1,132,000.
The report also sought to give an approximate value to the most effective means of communication, in terms of average spend per person for each media channel. It found that those exposed to the Short Breaks brochure spent the most per person (£50.01), followed by the London Underground campaign (£43.80).
Alex said, "This was an holistic campaign, encompassing a variety of communication channels and while print medium is still popular, we're also seeing a shift towards online communication and the effectiveness of targeted activities, such as the advertising at various London Underground stations.
Celia Hodson, Chief Executive of Choose Suffolk, commented, "This evaluation report gives us a clear insight into the most effective channels for reaching potential visitors to Suffolk, while also revealing their patterns of spending behaviour and length of stay in the county. Tourism is extremely important to the county's economy and contributes £1.63bn per year to Suffolk, so it is important that we are targeting our marketing campaigns effectively, as this research demonstrates, and successfully positioning Suffolk as a premier tourism destination.
Keith Brown, Chief Executive, East of England Tourism, said, "It's great to see these results clearly demonstrating how well Suffolk and the rest of the region is performing and delivering a marketing campaign that successfully appeals to target consumers. This report is evidence that a collaborative approach to marketing can bring real benefits to a destination."
James Berresford, Chief Executive, Visit England, commented, "2009 was a great year for tourism to England, and Choose Suffolk's creative approach clearly inspired visitors and boosted tourism to the region. This is an exciting time for English tourism. With the launch of our strategic plan in March we hope we can work even more closely with Suffolk to continue to support tourism to this delightful part of England."
If you would like a copy of the Evaluation Report, please email Alex Paul - alex@choosesuffolk.com
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