VISITBRITAIN SHOWS RESULTS OF ROYAL WEDDING ACTIVITY

• Global audience of over 2 billion people (source BBC) watched wedding ceremony, with VisitBritain content shown by key broadcasters around the world
• @VisitBritain twitter enters the top 1% of influential twitter users (Klout score)
• Love UK VisitBritain’s Facebook page, was the 6^th most “Explosive Page” on Facebook

National tourism agency, VisitBritain, today released initial results of its marketing activity around the Royal Wedding event on 29 April. VisitBritain’s objective was to build on Britain’s enduring appeal – a blend of heritage, pageantry and the contemporary. Capitalising on the global media interest in the Royal Wedding the agency aimed to secure maximum positive media coverage for Britain and increase its engagement with prospective visitors across digital and social media.

According to global internet service provider Akamai, the Royal Wedding was the sixth largest web event in history. Discussions started by @VisitBritain and mentions of Royal Wedding articles on the VisitBritain Super Blog, reached more than 2 million people in 48 hours pushing the Twitter Klout score (the standard measure of influence) over 71, taking @VisitBritain into the top 1% of Twitter users.

LoveUK, VisitBritain’s Facebook page, was the 6^th most “Explosive Page” on Facebook during Royal Wedding week according to All Facebook. In the five- day lead up to and during the Royal Wedding VisitBritain gained 127,546 new fans, almost doubling the Love UK membership to over 255,000, with the content viewed by over 1.3 million people. Sentiment within the posts from LoveUK fans around the world was consistently positive.

Visits to the on line VisitBritain Media Centre and Royal Britain section doubled within a week and many international broadcasters were hosted on trips around the Britain. From the USA, VisitBritain helped Entertainment Tonight to visit St Andrews in Scotland and NBC TODAY with a trip to Anglesey. Combined audiences for these two shows alone were over 10 million

Ideas and content was also provided to the Oprah Winfrey show and our US-based staff appeared as commentators, talking about heritage and pageantry of interest to visitors and locations relevant to the royal couple on numerous Fox News panels in the build up to the event.

VisitBritain staff conducted scores of broadcast interviews with good coverage secured in the key tourism growth markets such as Brazil, from where Olympics rights-holding broadcaster, (Record TV) assisted by VisitBritain dedicated an entire week to covering Britain. All of China’s main broadcasters were in Britain for the week leading up to the 29^th April. The VisitBritain press team assisted press and broadcasters from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France and Italy who made visits here weeks before the day itself, a reflection of the great interest in our culture and heritage.

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain said: “Our strategy was to use the interest in this event – and the ensuing global media coverage – to showcase Britain and boost its appeal to visitors. Our history and pageantry and our ability to welcome and host a global party was seen by millions of prospective visitors around the world.

“This marks the start of our 4-year marketing programme. With events such as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Games in prospect, we want to take a message of warmth, fun and celebration to the world and send out an invitation to visit Britain.”