The winner of this award will demonstrate the creative use of a range of marketing tools to grow their business and increase consumer awareness.

Any methods in the marketing toolbox can be used: branding, business-to-business, direct mail, media advertising, the internet, PR or a combination of all these techniques.

The important thing is that they will have delivered measurable results. At the heart of this success will be well-researched travel markets and clear monitoring criteria to judge results and fine-tune campaigns as necessary.

The Winners: Putting the Coach into Brighton & Hove, Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company

Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company operates a fleet of seven coaches, two 'twin decks' and two 'vintage double deck buses' for corporate and individual hire and a programme of day tours and short breaks.

This operation exists alongside its fleet of 270 buses: thus, the company's overall image is dominated by its award-winning bus activities so that the excellent work undertaken by its relatively small coach fleet can easily be overlooked . The Marketing Project was designed to raise the profile of the coach fleet, increase sales and play an active part in the community alongside the bus activity.

To emphasise the key role the coach fleet plays in the tourist offer of the city, the Company joined the city's Tourism Alliance of all the leading players (around 45) keen to provide the best and most attractive offer for the eight million visitors who come to Brighton every year. Key members  are tourist destinations including Brighton Pier and the Sea Life Centre, the major hotels and retailers as well as the City Council and Visit Brighton. It was found that many of the client base for Day Tours are regular users of the Company's bus network and became aware of the programme through distinct advertising of specific tours through in-bus advertising. This opportunity has since been exploited to the full.

The judges applauded the way that free travel provided on the Company's bus network for travel to the Day Tours boarding point has enabled a much more efficient and convenient departure arrangement for the programme. It was clear that the Company has now firmly established itself among key tourist stakeholders as a major force in the market with its coach fleet and is now a lead partner in coach tourism in the city.

RUNNER UP:     Stylish Coach Hire, Go South Coast

In the past 24 months, Damory, Marchwood and Tourist Coaches have worked to modernise and develop new markets.  The coach companies are based on the south coast and were acquired over a number of years from independent operators by the Go-Ahead Group. Strong partnerships were created between three main areas in the project, visitor attractions, tourism and schools.

The judges were able to see that coach companies have worked hard to create a striking image, make themselves experts in their field and, having won major contracts to operate travel for school groups and developed strong partnerships with attractions, work hard to deliver more than their competitors.

Highly Commended: Nation Expects, National Express

Nation Expects from National Express was a sponsorship campaign involving a specially liveried  coach travelling round the country collecting England's good luck messages for the England Team on the run up to the 2010 World Cup. People were invited to sign the coach and leave good luck videos either online or at the events. The campaign used sponsorship rights including England players to engage customers, staff and media.

The idea was to use the 2010 World Cup as a platform on which to showcase the National Express product, showcase the new Volvo Levante coaches and raise awareness of the broad network of coach services across the UK.  A specially wrapped coach was created as a 10 tonne good luck card for the England team, launched in December 2009. In the spring of 2010 the coach then travelled around the country to 10 locations collecting the good luck messages of the England fans (including celebrity fans).

The result from the campaign and the response from customers and staff was extremely positive. Therefore there are plans to use 'coach tours' in the future. National Express will continue to use coach vehicles to drive awareness and engagement through use of wraps and vinyls.

The judges were impressed by this clever use of PR and sales promotion techniques to raise and maintain awareness of the National Express brand.

… and by whom?

As well as coach operators and suppliers of services to coach operators, we welcome nominations by customers, local authorities and tourist attractions. Where nominations are made by third parties, the nominee will be contacted and asked for additional information. Self-nomination is acceptable.

Criteria and Entry Requirements

The award will be based on the quality of the information supplied. Nominees were asked to:

• Describe the initiative, how it was planned and what targets were set for it.
• State how the initiative was executed, showing the methods used and why
• Give some indication that demand was stimulated and customer access to the product improved
• Supply statistical evidence showing the results of the campaign in terms of patronage, revenue or other appropriate indicators
• State whether the results are likely to be sustainable
• Describe any future plans for further development.
• Supply appropriate examples of the campaign materials that delivered the reported results.