The national tourism agency VisitBritain has launched a global screen tourism campaign titled Starring Great Britain to inspire visitors from the GCC countries to choose Britain for their next trip and to explore more of its regions.
The blockbuster-inspired short film campaign is directed by Academy Award-winning British director Tom Hooper. The film features iconic TV and film moments filmed across Britain, repositioning the country as the main star of the show.
The campaign is running in cinemas across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, reaching audiences when they are most engaged with long-form video content. It also features on large digital billboards in high-traffic locations, from Dubai’s City Walk hub to the Jeddah Corniche.
“Wider campaign activity includes paid advertising across our five most valuable inbound markets – including the GCC countries where the campaign features on high impact digital billboards in locations such as Sheikh Zayed Road alongside branded content across social media and YouTube,” says Robin Johnson, the Global Marketing Director at VisitBritain.
“To boost brand awareness in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, during February we implemented immersive takeovers in the high-footfall entertainment precincts City Walk in Dubai and the Jeddah Corniche in Saudi Arabia, both of which attract large, high value local audiences,” Johnson continues.
Additionally, the campaign will also extend across digital and social media platforms, including Meta, Snapchat, YouTube, and Connected TV.
“‘Starring Great Britain’ will take centre stage in these prime locations across 100 digital screens as well as on cinema screens in the precincts. Geo-targeting functionality on mobile phones will be used to target those in the precincts with consideration focused creative driving ‘visit now’ messaging after exposure to the awareness assets.”
The advertising also directs viewers to a screen-tourism hub on VisitBritain’s global consumer website with itineraries themed around film genres from romance to fantasy, or from action to adventure, encouraging visitors to broaden their itineraries, discover more regional destinations and stay longer.
A digital map links to film inspired locations, attractions and experiences across the nations and regions. A range of resources is also available for travel trade in the GCC on VisitBritain’s trade website, from images inspired by film and TV locations and genres, products available to book through the VisitBritain Shop and itineraries featuring trade-bookable product.
Strategy and concept behind the campaign
The campaign comes as VisitBritain’s screen tourism research shows more than 9 out of 10 potential visitors to the UK would be keen to visit film and TV locations during a trip. The first phase of the international advertising campaign was launched on 20 January and will continue to run until the end of March 2025 in the GCC and is part of a longer-term screen tourism focus by VisitBritain.
“To amplify Britain’s warm welcome with our GCC audience, the campaign creative and content have been produced in Arabic and will be distributed on paid media channels such as Snapchat,” Johnson says.
“These channels have been carefully selected, based on previous campaign effectiveness, to resonate strongly with our target audience. The campaign is in market across Ramadan, prioritising digital platforms when GCC nationals spend an increasing amount of time on digital media at home, seeking travel inspiration and searching ahead of Eid holiday celebrations.”
Starring Great Britain draws on iconic film and TV moments from beloved and popular shows, from Mission: Impossible to Bridget Jones; Spider-Man to Succession; House of the Dragon to Harry Potter; Paddington to Fast & Furious to Mary Poppins Returns and more. The campaign leverages the connection between tourism and film to create a campaign that establishes an emotional connection between the GCC and Britain.
“Films, TV and tourism have a lot in common. They bring people together and they can transport us to new places, experiences and adventures. From exploring our vibrant cities, world-class attractions and stunning countryside, the backdrop to so many iconic filming locations, to enjoying our exciting contemporary culture and hospitality, Starring Great Britain inspires our visitors from the GCC to put themselves in the picture, discover more and book a trip to Britain right now,” says Patricia Yates, CEO, VisitBritain.
“Building on this long-standing film and TV heritage, the campaign concept or brand message ‘Starring Great Britain’ brings Britain to the foreground, highlighting Britain as the ‘real star of the show”. The campaign takes audiences on a journey beyond the silver screen, putting Britain’s nations and regions and their incredible tourism experiences centre stage, inviting international tourists to experience the magic of film in real life by booking a trip,” says Johnson.
Bringing film locations to life with Starring Great Britain
The Starring Great Britain campaign showcases experiences and destinations tailored to the travel interests of the GCC audience. It features on-ground activations in Britain alongside targeted advertising in the GCC.
“We have also been working with international travel trade, media and content creators on ‘Starring Great Britain’ to build momentum for the campaign with activity including film and TV-themed visits (to generate content with press and influencers); targeted engagement; and in-market events,” says Johnson.
“For example, we hosted 16 international content creators on four film and TV genre-inspired (romance, action & adventure, mystery & drama and fantasy) visits across Britain to capture content for the campaign’s launch, which included three influencers from the GCC countries.”
VisitBritain invited tourism businesses, attractions and destinations across Britain to get involved in the campaign by sharing local screen tourism experiences across their own channels using #StarringGreatBritain.
Measuring the success of the Starring Great Britain
The ‘Starring Great Britain’ campaign launched in the GCC on 31 January and in its first two weeks alone generated more than 15 million video views across platforms including YouTube, Connected TV, social and mobile.
“The campaign’s impact will be measured with the VisitBritain Brand Tracker, a primary research study of the target market population who travel internationally. The Tracker measures differences between those aware and unaware of the campaign, examining past behaviour and future intent over 12 months to account for international booking patterns,” says Johnson.
“Through our campaign evaluation on the Brand Tracker, we will determine total return on investment and incremental spend to Britain attributed to the campaign. The impact of press coverage, including reach and key message inclusion, will also be reviewed alongside social media engagement with our influencer campaign content,” Johnson concludes.
