80 Years of Butlin's - Why Anniversary Campaigns Work

Everyone knows Butlin’s. Whether you yourself have fond memories of being there, or your parents and Grandparents have spoken about the good old times spent at the holiday camps – we are all familiar with the traditional English holiday resort.
 
This year, Butlin’s celebrated their 80th birthday. After Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp in 1936 they became the quintessential British holiday – vowing to be fun ‘whatever the weather’ – they went from strength to strength and are still to this day a firm part of British culture.
 
So when we had the chance to work with Butlin’s for their 80th birthday, we were all delighted. This huge anniversary campaign consisted of interviews with radio stations all over the UK, online coverage which consisted of a video and an infographic and TV interviews.

​Radio Coverage 
We gained a vast amount of radio coverage on the Butlin’s campaign. The interviews for radio stations were with the Managing Director of Butlin’s, Dermot King. He discussed at length the history of Butlin’s, and its lasting appeal to families over the past 80 years. This radio campaign gained coverage on BBC radio 4, along with a total of four local BBC Radio stations, Heart Sussex & Surrey and seven commercial stations.  

Online Coverage
Online coverage worked well within this campaign, as it was extremely visual. We decided to take the angle of ’80 Years of the Seaside Break’. We offered news outlets never seen before archive photographs from Butlin’s, along with an infographic, which displayed a timeline of traditional British holidays over the years. We also created a video, showcasing archive footage, and interviews with Dermot King and the Butlin’s Skegness Director, Chris Baron. Amazing coverage was seen on all of the major news outlets, including, the Mirror, the Mail Online, the Express, the Metro and Wales Online.

TV Coverage
The TV interviews set up on our Butlin’s campaign showcased the popularity of Butlin’s across the UK. The coverage spread all over the country on seven local ITV news bulletins, including ITV West Country, ITV Yorkshire and ITV Meridian. Within these news bulletins, some of the reporters visited the camps – showing nostalgic footage from the holiday camps. 
  
Anniversaries provide a great platform for campaigns like this. They work because they provide nostalgia that masses of people can relate to, creating good talking points. British brands, like Butlin’s, lend themselves well to this sort of campaign, as they are subjects that everyone across the UK can relate to, and celebrating them is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness.
 
If your brand has an upcoming anniversary and you are curious what we could do for you, feel free to get in touch at hello@digitalrelations.co.uk or call us on 0207 158 0000.