It’s a double victory for Durham Cathedral this month at Adverta’s Head Quarters! Not only have they won Campaign of the Month, they also stole the show in our Photo of the Month competition as well! This winning photo was taken by Lottie; our RAM that handles bus advertising in the North East. It captures the Durham Cathedral bus next to the set for the new Avengers film! Has advertising in the North East ever been so high-profile?!
About Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral is a Christian church of the Anglican Communion and the seat of the Bishop of Durham. It forms part of the Christian heritage visitor trail in the North East. This beautiful building has dominated the city’s skyline for many years. Foundations for this magnificent cathedral were laid back in 1093 and it took 40 years of skilled craftsmanship to complete! The cathedral forms a great part of the Durham community and, not surprisingly, was voted Britain’s best building.
The cathedral completes 1,700 services a year alongside a busy programme of events, exhibitions and learning sessions. Over 700,000 people visit the cathedral each year seeking spiritual and cultural wisdom. Needless to say, Durham Cathedral plays a significant part in the economic, cultural and social life within the city.
The Bus Advertising Campaign
Durham Cathedral wanted to promote their Open Treasure event (Magna Carta and the Forest Charters) that is taking place between 19th June and 9th September this year. This exhibition will display all three issues of Durham Cathedral’s Magna Carta; which is one of the most influential texts in British history. The exhibition will display the only surviving copy of the 1216 issue, alongside further issues from 1225 and 1300. These will also be displayed with their associated Forest Charters from 1217 (one of only two surviving issues) and 1225 and 1300.
This fascinating exhibition will explore the continuing significance and impact of these charters, and what they meant for Durham and the North of England. For more information and booking options, please click here.
In order to do this, Durham Cathedral chose to use Twinliners for their bus advertising in the North East; which is one our newest bus product. These 3-metre adverts cover the solid sections on the side of the bus below and above the windows. With the option to place them on the near and offside of the bus, these adverts capture the attention of both street and road traffic alike.
Why We Love This Advertising Campaign So Much
This cost-effective advertising panel offers the client a great opportunity to use striking visuals; something Durham Cathedral has utilised brilliantly. The black and gold design really stands out against the red and white Scarlet Band fleet livery. The cathedral’s design also features the Sanctuary Knocker, which played a great part of Durham Cathedral’s past. History states that those who had committed a great offence could rap the knocker and be given 37 days’ sanctuary. This time could be used to either plan their escape or reconcile with their enemies. Sanctuary was abolished in 1624, but the knocker remains on the northern door of the cathedral.
Hitting the Big Screen
In recent news, the cathedral received some rather well-known visitors, as filming for the new Avengers: Infinity War movie began within the cathedral grounds. Details of the film have been kept top secret so far, but craftsmen were seen building a stone balustrade in the main nave, along with several green screens and other props being placed around the grounds.
Locals gathered around the set in hopes of seeing their favourite Avengers stars; Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Scarlett Johanson, Robert Downey Jr and Zoe Saldana.
We for one can’t wait to see the next Avengers instalment featuring this beautiful part of British history – Avengers: Infinity War is set to be released in the UK on 27th April 2018.
Thinking About Advertising in the North East?
Buses are on the road between 10 and 18 hours a day, up to seven days a week. That’s a lot of time that your brand or event could be getting in front of your target audience! As well as being in town and city centres, buses also take to the residential areas, increasing the viewing further. We even have some buses that do more rural routes, which suits some of our clients and their needs.
The bus fleets we work with in the North East are Scarlet Band and Stanley Travel. You can open a pdf of the areas covered, by clicking here.
With bus advertising, you are not relying on a prospective customer buying a form of print media and turning the page onto your particular advert. You are not relying on them having the radio or TV on at just the right time to catch your advert. The only thing you have to rely on is us, Adverta, to look after your marketing needs from start to finish and we have decades of experience in doing so.