brief:

• launch the first ever Butlins Resort hotel, 'Shoreline', in Bognor Regis

challenge:

• media and consumer perceptions of Butlins were outdated and the launch of a 'contemporary' hotel from Butlins was open to cynicism

strategy:

• Launch Group advised Butlins to hit preconceptions head on by positioning the old against the new under the campaign theme 'From Chalet to Shoreline'. The core concept was a neat piece of experiential: the recreation, by Launch Group, of an original 1930s chalet next to the new hotel which played on the historical angle and served to highlight just how far the brand had progressed

results:

• 88 journalists attended the launch event in Bognor which generated 258 pieces of coverage (off the travel pages and onto the news pages) including 33 national newspapers and 12 national broadcast in the opening month alone
• the tone of the coverage was 100% positive and 'family focused' - and pictures featuring the new hotel and the chalet accompanied the majority of pieces
• John Dunford, Butlins MD, declared this as "one of the biggest PR successes in Butlins' history"

measurement:

• launched on PR alone, the top grade accommodation was sold out four months ahead of schedule and one week post the August launch, the accommodation was fully booked until Christmas. Overall bookings were 18% ahead of target - and coverage on day one alone resulted in £17,000 worth of sales