Big lands large ad campaigns for leisure sector
MIDLANDS advertising agency Big Communications has been boosted with two new high profile contracts.
The agency has helped theme park Thorpe Park promote its brand new rollercoaster The Swarm, while it has also designed a campaign for alternative taxi service DriveMyCarHome.co.uk.
For The Swarm, the agency designed a campaign to build awareness ahead of the ride’s opening next spring. The campaign features a series of staged releases utilising digital channels.
The first short pre-teaser video introduces a background story that puts the theme of the ride into context. The video has been posted onto Thorpe Park’s Facebook page.
A microsite has also been launched which announces the name of the ride within a second teaser video. To sustain excitement, the microsite will not be fully functional until a later date when it will include engaging, interactive and user-generated content.
Mike Phillipson, managing director at Big, said: “The work we have done for Thorpe Park at this stage is about raising levels of anticipation for the new ride and we have approached it in a similar way to how you might promote a new movie release.”
Ryan Dixon, the park’s brand manager, said: “The build of a new rollercoaster is always exciting, but with The Swarm we wanted to create an atmosphere of anticipation and intrigue that no other theme park could. Engagement and interaction are a big part of the campaign and we’re really looking forward to the next stage of the micro-site.”
DriveMyCarHome.co.uk is a unique service that enables people to book a driver to get themselves and their car home safely after a drink.
Big’s campaign, We Make Your Car Your Cab, was created by the agency’s creative team of Gareth Hopkins and Richard Newell. It consists of ambient taxi signs produced in tent-card format complete with a magnetic strip that allows them to be fastened to the roof of a car to make it look like a taxi.
The signs are intended for areas of high footfall and each contains a short explanation of the service outlining how drivers who have had a drink can book themselves a personal driver who will arrive on a unique foldable scooter, put it in the boot of their car and then drive them home in their own car.
Mr Phillipson said “We wanted to create an idea that exists outside the pub environment, something that would grab the public’s attention and deliver the benefits of this service in a unique way.”
