Rachel Kershaw

VisitEngland’s Torch Relay Campaign

FAN IN A VAN

The IdeaThe Olympic Torch Relay presented a national opportunity.

Destinations and Industry Partners outside of London felt they would not benefit from effects of London2012.

VisitEngland wanted a campaign that would• Highlight the entire country to potential

visitors• Engage fans and followers on social media

channels• Present an opportunity to industry

partners• Raise consumer awareness of

VisitEngland• Drive traffic to the VE site and blog• Generate positive media coverage – of

England and of VisitEnglandRather than send an established blogger on the road, VisitEngland decided to discover its own star – to find England’s biggest fan, to send them out on the road and turn them into a blogger.

Fan in a Van was born.

The SearchVisitEngland’s new Fan in a Van needed to:

• Be a big fan of England (obviously)• Be social media savvy• Be fearless – bungee jumps and eating challenges were on the

menu• Be outgoing and a confident speaker• Be great writer• Be able to take great photos and use a videocamera• Get under the skin of the deepest, darkest depths of England

and find its most interesting characters

A three part search was launched to find a social media savvy England fan:

Part one: writing and photoPart two: videoPart three: meet the expert panel

Social media was used throughout – to advertise the position and encourage entries; to announce the social media platforms; to introduce me as the winner, and to invite fans and followers to name the van that was to become my home for 70 days…

The Winner… Yours TrulyOpportunity of a Lifetime – I saw VisitEngland’s search for England’s No1 Fan on Twitter and had to apply!

A bit about me:• I grew up in Rochdale, live in Newcastle and

have always holidayed at home• I love writing, blogging and tweeting• Even more than that, I LOVE England

After applications from nearly 100 wannabe Fan in a Vans and three selection rounds I was named VisitEngland’s winner!

I hastily organised a sabbatical from my job in Newcastle and hotfooted it to London to spend a week with the PR team before my journey began.

The Journey – from Land’s End to the Olympic Park

Our journey began with the launch of the Torch Relay on 18th May in Land’s End

VisitEngland arranged a press trip with key travel writers and bloggers which kicked started the Twitter activity

I had dedicated social media platforms:

Twitter - @faninavanBlog – visitenglandblog.com/faninavan

I tweeted and uploaded pics on the road, and uploaded blogs regularly, when I could find reliable WiFi!

All I had confirmed were overnight stops. Activities were recommended by VisitEngland and their partners around the country and, increasingly, by our fans and followers.

Over the next 70 days we:

• Drove over 5,000 miles• Stayed in 48 Camping & caravanning Club Sites• Broke down once - and what an experience!

The Results – Industry EngagementKey campaign partners were The Camping & Caravanning Club and O’Connors Campers

Other supporting organisations included:• Heritage Open Days• Historic Royal Palaces• Treasure Houses • Destination Management Organisations across

England

Partners were tagged in tweets and tagged in blog posts and all generated their own social media buzz

A ‘Fan in a Van After Party’ at the Tower of London was the perfect way to thank all our partners and friends of Fan in a Van I met along the way.

The Results – Consumer EngagementOver the 70 days, the campaign gained:

1,300 Twitter followers13,000 page views4,000 unique visitors

Branded campervan, Rosie, raised awareness of VisitEngland and got us lots of waves along the way!

A Facebook competition asked ‘Fans of Fan in a Van’ to send in their pics with Rosie to win a campervan trip of their own!

A radio competition held with Radio Merseyside asked listeners to suggest activities for Fan in a Van for the chance to win a luxury Fortnum & Mason hamper.

Campervan Rally at the end of the campaign was a great opportunity to meet all of our fans – and gain some new ones

At the end of the summer, my blog was voted Best Roadtrip Blog in the Avis Travel Blog Awards

The Results – CollateralDuring the 70 day adventure, I was tasked with building a catalogue of content for VisitEngland:

• 3,000 images for the VisitEngland blog and Flikr account

• Dozens of blog posts

• Nine videos of highlight experiences for the blog and YouTube account

• Hundreds of locals’ recommendations for things to do and see around the country

• Six timelapse videos were produced for use in future campaigns

The Results – Media CoverageFan in a Van generated:

Over 150 pieces of coverageworth over £300k AVE

= an ROI of 10:1

Highlight coverage included:• Double page spread in the Sunday Mirror• Interview on Sky’s breakfast TV show, Sunrise• 16 regional radio interviews• ITV’s Holiday Home from Sweet Home