Hever Castle wanted to move add to their event calendar approach to marketing. While effective at communicating what was happening, it wasn’t creating the level of emotional connection, stand out or premium perception needed to attract new audiences and encourage repeat visits.
The challenge was to create a destination marketing campaign that could work across every season, every event and every audience, while remaining unmistakably Hever Castle. It needed to deliver impact across press, outdoor advertising, digital channels and social media, whilst helping local audiences see the castle through fresh eyes and inspiring families to return throughout the year.
The heartbeat
At its heart, Hever Castle is already the setting of a fairy tale. Turrets, towers, gardens, mazes and centuries of history provide the backdrop for countless family adventures. The challenge wasn’t inventing magic, it was helping people see it again. Many local audiences had become so familiar with Hever Castle that they no longer recognised just how extraordinary it is. What visitors experience as a place of wonder had become everyday scenery for many people living nearby.
This led us to create the campaign proposition, ‘Your story awaits‘.
Keeping in line with the brand strapline ‘Experience to remember’, we positioned Hever Castle as the setting for stories yet to be written. A place where children become adventurers, families become explorers and ordinary days become lasting memories. Inspired by the language and visual cues of classic fairy tales, the campaign blends photography, illustration and ornate typography to create a distinctive look-and-feel where fantasy and reality sit side-by-side. These are not fairy tales as you know them but attainable adventures. Real experiences waiting just beyond the castle gates.
The destination marketing campaign was designed to work seamlessly across a wide range of channels and formats. The campaign was adapted for outdoor advertising, bus liners, press advertising, social media campaigns, digital display advertising, website assets, animated content and visitor communications.
The flexibility of the visual system allowed Hever Castle to continually reinforce the wider brand story. Every execution became another chapter in the ongoing narrative, helping audiences build a stronger emotional connection with the destination over time.
The Impact
The creative successfully evolved communications from event listings and tactical promotion alone to create a more emotionally engaging brand-led approach. It created stronger stand out across paid media, delivered a premium visual identity across channels and provided a flexible platform capable of supporting multiple campaigns throughout the year.
Most importantly, it reminded audiences that Hever Castle is a place where stories are made, memories are created and every visit offers the chance to discover something new. Your story awaits.
