Family Fun domestic marketing campaign

The Tourism South East Family Fun domestic marketing campaign aims to promote the South East as an outstanding family friendly destination for day visits, short breaks and longer holidays through a mix of online and offline marketing to a families who have already expressed a clear desire to take short breaks in the UK.  This annual campaign is now in its sixth year and continues to go from strength to strength.

Target audience

Using Arkenford’s Arkleisure profiling system, the Family Fun campaign targets the High Street segment as the primary audience and the Cosmopolitan segment as a secondary audience. The campaign particularly targets High Streets in London, the South East and West Midlands, aged 30-45 with children under the age of 16.

High Streets are prepared to spend money to receive good service and they like new and different experiences - if they have already been tested and enjoyed by others. They are physically active and appreciate style and fashion, but are followers rather than leaders.

Family holidays in the UK continue to grow

Family holidays are becoming more intergenerational/extended family trips.  Whether it’s ‘Greycations’ or ‘Gramping’, more families have taken to holidaying together to share costs and to develop family bonds.  VisitEngland’s reports from the GB Tourism Survey that holiday trip volumes increased between Jan and Oct 2011 by 5%.  The younger family market grew by 2.2% and older families by 4%. The self catering market from static caravans and holiday parks to cottages and large houses has benefitted the most from the economic recession and the trend to staying in the UK.

Reasons for taking a UK family holiday:

• Strong association with England
• Visiting friends and family
• Multi-generational/extended family
• Sharing and teaching
• Connecting/bonding
• Nostalgia

TSE’s own family research has shown that the campaign generated a total of 97,583 additional trips to the region, and £7,976,083 incremental visitor spend. Average daily spend for overnight visits was £44.61 and for day visits was £55.90 much higher than the day visit spend identified in GB Day Visit survey which was £33. Although average spend varied by type of place from around £27 in visits to villages to £40 in visits to cities and large towns and £44 in visits to the seaside/coast.

Campaign activity

Throughout the period that the Family Fun campaign is live, there is a collection of offline and online activity undertaken to promote the campaign partners. The campaign will launch with a national newspaper supplement in the Mail on Sunday, which will highlight the strength of the South East as a family friendly destination and highlights the wealth of family attractions and associated accommodation available within the region.

The supplement and all online activity drives traffic to a campaign miniguide – www.funfamilydaysout.com – which features partners participating in the campaign and gives readers ideas and inspiration for days out and short breaks with their families.

Online advertorials and competitions featured on key family targeted websites, regular e-newsletter communications to a dedicated family database, and a PR campaign targeting family media are also included in the campaign.

Campaign packages

A range of campaign packages have been set up so that a wide range of partners (destinations, attractions and accommodations) can be a part of the Family Fun campaign. Prices start from as little as £175, TSE partner prices start from £125. and from and range from website only inclusion to a full campaign package with inclusion in the national newspaper supplement.

For a list of campaign packages and prices please download our Family Fun rate card.

All domestic campaigns will undertake monitoring and evaluation, online and offline. This information is important to demonstrate:

•ROI to show the effectiveness of the investment in the campaign and allows comparison of different campaigns.
•The incremental spend provides a good indicator of the economic benefit to the region.
•The Reader Panels show the effectiveness of the messaging through offline activity.
•The end of campaign reports, identify successes and weaknesses.
•Support for partner investment.

Contact TSE

If you would like any additional information about the Family Fun marketing campaign, please contact the marketing team.