27 November 2006

Millions get the message after Wirral's Open Championship commands positive media attention

Wirral's hosting of the most successful Open Golf Championship ever staged in England gave the region a positive media profile worth millions of pounds, according to new research published today.

The survey of how British based broadcasters and publishers reported the event staged at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake in July, reveals that overwhelmingly positive messages about the region and the event reached huge audiences in the UK alone.

The Mersey Partnership (TMP), Wirral Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) commissioned today's report, which was prepared by International analysts TNS Media Intelligence.

Key findings include:

• The value of UK newspaper space devoted to coverage exceeded £4.2m
• As well as hole-by-hole coverage of the Championship, UK Broadcasters devoted more than £1.25m worth of airtime to events at Hoylake
• 92% of UK TV and Radio coverage monitored was positive
• The region's Tourism offer was the key issue communicated in broadcast coverage
• TV commentators broadcast a total of 27 minutes of positive comments about the event and its location
• England's Golf Coast secured valuable exposure

TMP, Wirral and the NWDA wanted to assess how staging the event influenced perceptions and opinions of the region. To achieve this, TNS Media Intelligence were briefed to monitor coverage dealing with all aspects of the event other than the Championship itself.

Martin King, Director of Tourism at The Mersey Partnership, said: "After winning The 2006 Open, Tiger Woods described it as one of the best Championships ever staged, and there is no denying that it was. What this research does is help us all understand the enormous added value brought to Wirral, Merseyside and the wider Northwest by staging a truly world-class event in such a successful way."

He added: "Really positive messages and images portraying the attractiveness of this part of Merseyside filled the airwaves and pages of our newspapers for more than a week.  These findings tell us the real value of that exposure - but this is only the start of the good news. We have not yet assessed the international impact. The same images and messages were beamed all over the world. The total value of the positive exposure in terms of international media profile is almost immeasurable. And the even better news for us as a destination is that we can look forward to the similar levels of interest in 2008 when Sefton and  Royal Birkdale hosts The Open once again."

All coverage monitored was classified under a range of topics which included Art and Culture; Economic Development; Employment; Engaging the Community; Business Growth; Inward Investment; Tourism, Transport and Regeneration.

Martin King added: "Breaking the coverage down like this underlines just how valuable the spin offs from an event like this are. For example, the fantastic planning and delivery of the public transport arrangements by Merseytravel made a huge contribution to the positive messages. That's as important to a day visitor travelling by train from Southport as it is to a potential investor from outside Merseyside who sees our region's integrated transport infrastructure."

Emma Degg, Head of Tourism and Marketing for Wirral Council said: "This report confirms that The Open Championship in July firmly placed Wirral on the national and international map.  The partnership effort that delivered these outstanding results is a credit to all concerned and we are now working hard to ensure that Wirral continues to reap the benefits of the greatest championship ever staged."

Peter Mearns, Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA said: "The positive coverage generated by the Open will not only benefit Wirral and Merseyside, it will also help to strengthen the image of England's Northwest and cement the great reputation that the region has for hosting major events. Developing sport is an excellent way of improving the image, economy and tourism potential of the Northwest."

The report concludes: "The region enjoyed high impact exposure during breaks in play when the coverage focussed on areas surrounding the course and commentators provided positive comments about what was being shown. "

TNS Media Intelligence studied 113 individual items of broadcast coverage and almost 800 separate newspaper articles.

Ends 

Notes to editors

A summary of the TNS report can be viewed in the Press Room at www.merseyside.org.uk
For further media information / interviews contact:

Tony Storey  / The Mersey Partnership 0151 237 3944 /  07796 268386 tony.storey@merseyside.org.uk 

The Mersey Partnership (TMP) is a unique alliance representing more than 420 businesses - including household names such as United Utilities and Jaguar / Land Rover.  TMP members represent manufacturing and trading companies, six local authorities, government agencies, universities, media organisations and professional agencies.  Together we are campaigning for the Liverpool City Region as a great place to live, work, invest and visit.

TMP has three main areas of activity:
Economic Development - co-ordinating Merseyside's economic development activity
Investment - bringing new business into Merseyside and encouraging growth
Tourism - promoting Merseyside's tourism assets to increase visitor numbers

The European Regional Development Fund under the Objective One programme supports TMP for Merseyside