PHWT wins Shakespeare birthplace rebrand work

LONDON - The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns a number of Shakespeare-related property in Stratford-upon-Avon, has hired Palmer Hargreaves Wallis Tomlinson to handle a direct marketing push.

The campaign will include a rebrand for the trust and has the aim of attracting 50,000 extra visitors this year.

Activity will include brochure work, as well as direct mail and local press advertising, with a particular target being those in and around the Stratford-upon-Avon area because research by the trust shows most of its visitors live within a two-hour drive of the town.

Nicola Mills, marketing manager at the trust, said: "PHWT's ideas are a huge departure for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and one that we're extremely excited about. This is a new era for our marketing and we anticipate big results."

Creative work set to feature in the campaign include using Elizabethan-style fonts and muted colours while the copy is set to have a "modern day relevance", according to a statement from PHWT.

The trust owns and runs five houses in the Stratford-upon-Avon area, all with a connection to the famous writer including his birthplace in Henley Street and Nash's House, which was owned by his granddaughter's first husband, the landowner Sir Thomas Nash.