Durham marketing campaign makes national waves

A marketing campaign promoting Durham to visitors from across the UK has been nominated for two prestigious awards.

Newcastle’s Stark Hartley Atkinson created a campaign for Visit County Durham, the destination management and marketing agency for County Durham, and have now been nominated for a Creative Out of Home Award.

Posters across the country showcased images of the Durham Dales, Beamish Museum and the National Railway Museum at Shildon, amongst other attractions.

The campaign featured on the East Coast mainline, at Edinburgh Waverley and London Kings Cross along with other sites.

Nigel Hartley, director of Stark Hartley Atkinson, said: “To be nominated by our peers for these two awards is extremely gratifying; to be nominated alongside such huge brands makes it even more special. It reinforces our view that you don’t always need a multi-million pound marketing budget to make an impact.”

Melanie Sensicle, chief executive of Visit County Durham said: ’We feel a bit like David going up against Goliath but we are delighted that our campaign is being recognised and put alongside companies that are renowned for their creative advertising. When Stark Hartley Atkinson showed us the campaign concept we liked it immediately and it has been very successful at raising awareness and changing perceptions of Durham.

“We couldn’t have achieved this level of recognition without the support of Visit England and investment from the government’s regional growth fund which has meant that we were able to use out of home advertising for the first time. Just to be shortlisted alongside such stunning campaigns from international brands is a real thrill and just goes to show that a lot can be achieved with a bit of inspiration and creative thinking.”

The campaign is competing against Samsung in the Best Use of 4 and 6 Sheet Posters category and against Whiskas and Guinness in the Best Use of Photography category.

Winners of the award will be announced on November 21.