YTB ‘Yorkshire Jim’ Saddles Up
The Brief
The Royal Ascot meeting dates back to 1711, and attracts some 300,000 visitors over five days. In 2005, for the first time in nearly 300 years, it was relocated to York whilst the Berkshire racecourse underwent a £185m redevelopment.
Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) appointed Brahm to work alongside the PR teams from YTB and York Tourism Bureau to use Royal Ascot at York as an opportunity to promote the city of York, and the Yorkshire region as whole, to potential visitors throughout the UK.
Our Response
Brahm developed a five-month campaign targeting national and regional print and broadcast media, as well as publications in the corporate travel and incentives markets. The team worked with regional attractions and hoteliers to promote the county as a leading short break destination, using Europe’s biggest racing festival as a hook to promote the image of York and Yorkshire.
Brahm also organised an eye-catching stunt to launch the campaign and capture the imagination of visitors and the media.
The famous chalk-formed White Horse at Kilburn, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, presented an ideal photo opportunity - particularly if the regional landmark had a 150ft jockey on its back!.
The giant jockey – nicknamed ‘Yorkshire Jim’ – was specially designed and made according to the dimensions of the horse and the swell of the land. Brahm worked with the White Horse Association to ensure the ancient chalk horse was protected, and the jockey’s racing colours were registered with the Jockey Club.
The press launch was arranged and a two-seater plane hired to take print and broadcast media into the North Yorkshire skies to view the horse and jockey. A photographer was commissioned to take shots for wider media distribution.
The Outcome
Various TV crews, news agencies and press photographers attended the photocall, resulting in coverage that reached more than 11 million people across the UK. In addition, the story was covered online by sites including BBC News and it was picked up worldwide from New Zealand to the United Arab Emirates.
Joanna Royle, marketing director at YTB, said: “It was an inspired idea. The image of the jockey surrounded by some of Yorkshire’s stunning countryside encapsulated the importance of Royal Ascot at York to the region’s tourism industry in an imaginative and newsworthy way.”
For further information please contact Phil Reed, Head of PR or Ruth Holgate, Business Development Manager, on 0113 230 4000 or email greatoutcomes@brahm.com
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