Visit Britain: Great Chinese Names for Great Britain
VisitBritain aimed to significantly increase Chinese tourist visits to Great Britain. The client needed a campaign that would deeply engage Chinese audiences, making British landmarks feel personally relevant and accessible, thereby boosting tourism figures.
Creative Idea
Chinese citizens were invited to rename British landmarks, reversing historical naming conventions.
VisitBritain invited Chinese citizens to playfully 'return the favor' by renaming iconic British landmarks, subverting historical naming conventions to foster deep cultural engagement and personal connection, resulting in a significant increase in tourism.
Renaming the Empire One Landmark at a Time
300 Million Digital Invitations
The campaign achieved a staggering reach of over 300 million people through VisitBritain’s Chinese social media channels, resulting in 1.3 million visits to the campaign microsite and 27 million views of the launch video. This massive engagement translated into a 27% increase in Chinese tourist visits to the UK during the ten week period. Economically, the initiative was forecasted to add £22 million to the British economy and support 470 new jobs, generating an Advertising Equivalent Value (AEV) of £2.5 million.
From Curly Fu to Pickled Cucumbers
While the campaign lacked a single celebrity face, it strategically leveraged existing Chinese nicknames for British icons to explain the concept. Benedict Cumberbatch was already known as "Curly Fu" (Juǎn Fú) due to his role in Sherlock, while Tom Hiddleston was affectionately called "Dou Sen" (Dǒu Sēn). The public responded with 13,000+ new names for 101 landmarks. Notable winners included "The Pickled Little Cucumber" for The Gherkin, "The Strong-man Skirt Party" for the Highland Games, and "Big White Streaker" for the Cerne Abbas Giant.
Immortalizing Names on Google Maps
To ensure the campaign had a lasting legacy beyond social media, Ogilvy & Mather Beijing and MediaCom China integrated the winning titles into the digital infrastructure of the web. The new Mandarin names were submitted to Google Maps and Wikipedia, effectively "transcreating" the British landscape for future travelers. As Graham Fink, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy Greater China, noted, the project tapped into the unique Chinese cultural tendency to use descriptive nicknames, transforming static monuments into a "co-authored" experience.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
VisitBritain leveraged its authority and digital platforms to facilitate a global, interactive cultural exchange initiative.
Category
Tourism campaigns typically showcase destinations with pre-defined narratives, often lacking direct audience participation.
Customer
Chinese tourists sought authentic, personalized engagement with foreign cultures, desiring a unique, memorable connection to Britain.
Culture
A globalized culture, where digital participation and cultural exchange are highly valued, amplified the campaign's reach.
Company
VisitBritain leveraged its authority and digital platforms to facilitate a global, interactive cultural exchange initiative.
Category
Tourism campaigns typically showcase destinations with pre-defined narratives, often lacking direct audience participation.
Strategy:
Empower an external audience to redefine a familiar entity, fostering deep personal connection and cultural exchange.
Customer
Chinese tourists sought authentic, personalized engagement with foreign cultures, desiring a unique, memorable connection to Britain.
Culture
A globalized culture, where digital participation and cultural exchange are highly valued, amplified the campaign's reach.
Strategy:
Empower an external audience to redefine a familiar entity, fostering deep personal connection and cultural exchange.
Results
The campaign resulted in a 27% increase in Chinese visitors to Britain. This data was sourced from a major airline flying China-UK. The campaign successfully generated significant earned media, becoming a talking point both in China and abroad, with coverage on news outlets like News England, China News.Net, China Daily Europe, ELLESHOP China, CCTV.com English, Sky News, and CNN.
27%
increase in Chinese visitors
Strategy Technique
Reverse Expectations
It subverted the historical expectation of British cultural dominance in naming, inviting Chinese citizens to rename landmarks. This unexpected role reversal created a unique and engaging cultural dialogue.
Creative Technique
Consumer contest
The campaign directly engaged Chinese citizens by inviting them to submit names for British landmarks. This contest fostered active participation and a sense of ownership among the audience.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign's exceptional craft lies in the creation of unique, culturally resonant Chinese names for British landmarks, supported by a meticulously designed digital platform that facilitated widespread public participation and a rewarding user experience.
The ingenious creation of unique, often poetic and humorous Chinese names for British landmarks was the central output, driving engagement and media attention.
The intuitive online submission platform and its robust integration with key Chinese social media channels were critical in enabling widespread public participation and content dissemination.
The campaign meticulously designed the participant journey, from interactive name suggestions to the rewarding recognition of certificates and digital map integration, fostering deep engagement.
The visual presentation, encompassing the campaign's digital interface, certificates, and the elegant display of Chinese names, reinforced its brand identity and cultural appeal.
The magic of the campaign came from the synergistic combination of culturally insightful copywriting, a seamless digital experience, and a thoughtfully designed participation journey.
