News Article

The North East England marketing campaign was named the ‘World’s Leading Regional Marketing Campaign’ in the prestigious World Travel Awards at the Royal Opera House in London last night (November 13).

The ‘Passionate people. Passionate places’ campaign beat off stiff competition from four other campaigns promoting Catalunya in Spain, Miami in Florida, Poitou-Charentes in France and Saxony Anhalt in Germany.

Developed by regional development agency One North East, the campaign captures the essence of North East England by featuring a range of people who are actively contributing to the life of the region alongside some of the North East’s most iconic landmarks. 

Aiming to create strong and positive new perceptions about the North East regionally, nationally and internationally as a great place to do business, live, work, study and visit, the campaign was launched in May this year.  "Passionate People. Passionate Places" features the very best the region has to offer through its people and the key areas of history and heritage, coast and countryside, city culture and innovative business.

Speaking about the award, Stacy Hall, Director of Communications at One North East, said:

“This is fantastic news for North East England. Receiving international recognition for the campaign at this early stage in its life will really help us to raise awareness of the beauty, variety and many great opportunities our region offers.

“I very much hope that people from across the world who now have a greater understanding of North East England through this award will be encouraged to visit us and experience the ‘Passionate people’ and ‘Passionate places’ of the region for themselves.”

Graham Cooke, President of the World Travel Group, added:

“This is the first year that we have included a regional marketing campaign category in the World Travel Awards. Competition for the title of ‘World’s Best Regional Marketing Campaign’ was tough. However, the strong imagery and clear message really captured the spirit of the North East and, in turn, the vote of the judges. This award is well deserved and I hope that it contributes significantly to raising the profile of North East England in the UK and around the world.

"Voted for independently by travel professionals worldwide, our award winners are having a major impact and influence on the world’s travel and tourism industry. They are the true innovators and benchmarks for our trade, especially in the areas of customer service, technology, operational efficiency, product offering and style.”

North East England campaign adverts are appearing in Saturday and Sunday supplements in the national press as well as in the Financial Times and business sections of the Times and Sunday Times, Daily and Sunday Telegraph. 

Adverts have also appeared at Durham Tees Valley and Newcastle airports, at stations on the East Coast mainline, on the London Underground and on taxis in London and North East England as well as in railway and airline magazines.

The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 and have come to be recognised as the best endorsement that any travel-related product can receive.

For more information please visit www.northeastengland.co.uk

ENDS

For further information please contact Julia Banks, on 0191 229 6719 / 07917 000374 or Debbie Sharratt on 0191 229 6852 / 07801 031095 at One North East.

Notes to editors:

1. Since 1999 the Agency has created/safeguarded 86,607jobs, helped 17, 029 business start-ups and established businesses with specific projects. It has also provided more than 25,821 learning opportunities last year alone. Aimed at adults who are economically active, these opportunities include workplace training courses, home learning and any programme of over 30 hours in length that can help an individual improve their job or career prospects and improve the contribution they make to their business. 
    
2. During the financial year 2004/5 the Agency offered 24 firms £6.995million in Regional Selective Assistance funding – if the grant offers are accepted they will create 1,184 jobs and safeguard a further 640. The grants will encourage the firms to invest £56.833 million into their businesses. RSA Grants have been replaced by the DTI with a new investment product the SFI – Selective Finance for Investment. The new grant will target high productivity, highly skilled projects building on the existing RSA criteria of job creation and retention. During 2004/5 the Agency offered 96 firms £17.143 million in SFI funding – if the grant offers are accepted they will create 2,818 jobs and safeguard a further 1,572. The grants will encourage the firms to invest £122.554 million into their businesses.
    
3. One North East works to improve the conditions for businesses in order that they thrive in the region, grow and create jobs. Good transport links, access to the latest technology, research and development, well-trained staff and sound, simple business support are the key issues that affect the business climate - these are the issues that One North East is charged with tackling.
     
4. One North East is now the Region’s strategic lead agency on: Urban and rural regeneration, Business support, Tourism, Research and Development, Skills and education and ICT and new technologies.
    
5. One North East is leading the regional image campaign for North East England. The campaign harnesses the region’s best assets to position North East England as a great place to do business, live, work, study and visit. Aiming to create strong and positive new perceptions about the North East regionally, nationally and internationally, the "Passionate People. Passionate Places" campaign features the very best the region has to offer through its people and the key areas of history and heritage, coast and countryside, city culture and innovative business. For more information please visit www.northeastengland.co.uk