VIRGIN ATLANTIC PUTS THE GREAT IN GREAT BRITAIN

Virgin Atlantic and Visit Britain launch a jointly funded marketing campaign, Great Britain by Virgin Atlantic, marking the beginning of a year-long partnership aimed at inspiring more Australians to visit Britain in 2012 and 2013.

The $1million partnership uses elements of Visit Britain's current 'This is Great Britain' branding and Virgin Atlantic's 'London by Virgin Atlantic' creative to deliver a bespoke multi-platform, integrated marketing campaign. Creative was developed by Virgin Atlantic's creative agency RKYR London and GPYR Sydney, with media planning and buying by OMD Sydney.

Virgin Atlantic and Visit Britain have combined marketing resources to increase the share of voice of both brands in a very competitive environment. Leveraging their strengths both have aimed at creating a campaign that communicates the multiple attractions of the destination in a uniquely Virgin way.

Margy Vary, Marketing manager of Virgin Atlantic says;

"The Union Jack flag is one of the most recognisable brand symbols in the world. To highlight all that's great about Britain, we built a uniquely intriguing flag collage from multiple images of British destinations and icons.

We added the Virgin wit and flair for cut-through, and the crew girl who symbolises the sparkling premium service that we are famous for.

Finally, we seamlessly integrated Visit Britain's core brand elements and logos to leverage the awareness they have already built in this market with the 'Great' branding campaign"

Capturing Australians at the research stage of their travel plans, the Great Britain by Virgin Atlantic campaign is focused around a two phase strategy;

· Driving awareness and interest in the destination
· Closing the sale with great offers on Virgin Atlantic,

The campaign will feature;

· Online primarily with Yahoo!7, SMH and Ninemsn travel sections
· Weekend travel sections of all major metropolitan newspapers
· Radio live reads
· Social media presence on Facebook
· Travel trade media

With the Australian dollar at an all-time high against the British pound, Virgin Atlantic saw significant opportunities in the Australian market to grow leisure traffic to Britain. 2012 is a landmark year for Britain and Visit Britain are the perfect partner to help Virgin Atlantic capitalise on the increased awareness and attention that will be drawn to this exciting destination.

To mark the launch of the partnership Virgin Atlantic launched the joint creative alongside competitive sale fare to London, flying economy from $1507 including taxes.

Through this collaboration, the Great Britain by Virgin Atlantic campaign communicates both organisations' commitment of inspiring Australian travellers to visit Britain not just in 2012 but beyond into 2013.