HISTORIC WORCESTERSHIRE

CLIENT

We were commissioned by Visit Worcestershire to create an all-round multi-platform creative solution to support the launch of their new initiative – Historic Worcestershire.

THE BRIEF

The Historic Worcestershire campaign told the story of a county whose impact on history is far greater than many people realise. While other destinations are well known for their heritage offer, Worcestershire’s stories have often gone untold despite their national and international significance. This campaign changed that.

Visit Worcestershire uncovered a range of fascinating stories from across the county, from Malvern’s influence on the literary worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, to Redditch producing 90% of the world’s hand-sewing needles, and Worcester Cathedral being the final resting place of King John, who signed the Magna Carta.

Collaborating with a working group of local museum representatives and historians, these stories were then organised into four main themes to shape the campaign narrative: Royals & Rebels, Democracy, Creatives and Industry.

Spark Media was brought in to lead the creative and video approach. The campaign started as a multi-platform piece built around a hero film distributed across the website, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, alongside social content on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, as well as a TV ad. It then grew into more activity as it gained momentum.

OUR SOLUTION

THE CHARACTERS

We chose figures who best represented each theme, including King Charles II and Oliver Cromwell for their links to the Battle of Worcester and the Civil War, which also gave us a strong platform to extend the campaign for the conflict’s 375th anniversary. Composer Edward Elgar embodied the county’s creative heritage, while Lea & Perrins reflected its history of industrial innovation through the creation of Worcestershire sauce. These characters became the central thread running through the campaign.

Getting the casting right was crucial. We needed talent who not only resembled the historic figures but could also bring plenty of character to the roles. Our Producer, Georgia, nailed it and teamed up with the fantastic Cotswold Costumes to source historically accurate outfits. Our fantastic makeup artist handled wigs, moustaches and finer details that helped make the characters feel instantly recognisable and stand out against modern-day settings.

HERO FILM

For the three-minute hero film, we developed a concept around the idea that “the past is present.” The five characters were reimagined in modern-day Worcestershire, each appearing in full period costume and delivering a dramatic monologue in a historically significant location. At first, audiences believe they’re watching the past, until something modern abruptly interrupts them, such as a hiker, selfie-taking tourists or litter pickers. Their confused reactions break the fourth wall, creating a playful clash of eras.

Our Director, Scott, wrote a comical script, and our animator, Georgia, mapped it all out in a storyboard to keep the shoot organised. We filmed across four days at eight different Worcestershire locations.

Our animators also added animated maps and labels to set the context of each scene in the past before the modern-day interruptions broke through. Finally, our Editor, Michael, pulled everything together in post with sound effects, music, and a colour grade that gave the whole campaign its finished look.

TV AD

We also created a 30-second TVC from the same shoot, which ran across Sky AdSmart, VOD and digital platforms.

SOCIAL CUTS

For social content, we didn’t simply repurpose the hero film. It was planned as a separate strand from the very beginning, designed to work natively on each platform. A “one-upmanship” concept saw the characters go head-to-head, each trying to outdo the other with facts from their themes. Shot vertically during the same production as the hero film and TV ad, the content maintained a consistent campaign feel while adapting tone and style for each channel.

WESTMINSTER PR STUNT

As the hero film took shape, Visit Worcestershire saw the potential of the campaign and expanded the activity with a PR stunt in Westminster as part of the wider launch. King Charles II, Sir Edward Elgar and two knights took to the streets of London to talk to the public about Worcestershire’s history and encourage visits.

With a very quick turnaround to line up with the campaign launch, our Producer moved fast to get permits and filming permissions sorted. To support the activation, our animators designed custom illustrated postcards with a call-to-action on the back to visit the campaign website, as well as branded signs to help set the scene visually.

We captured the stunt in social-first content, from the knights’ GWR train journey to King Charles II’s “get ready with me” reel, alongside public reactions. It was a fun day out in London, spreading the word about Worcestershire (and getting plenty of funny looks walking around with such royalty!).

375TH CIVIL WAR ANNIVERSARY

To mark the 375th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester, we built on the success of the previous campaign and brought back King Charles II and Oliver Cromwell in a new film called Historic Breaks. The film took a travel vlog-style approach, with the two former rivals guiding viewers around key English Civil War locations while also showing how to spend a day out in Worcester today.

THE IMPACT

Overall, this campaign ran across web, social, TV and a PR stunt, with more activity still to come. The characters and stories created for the campaign are now widely recognised and closely associated with Worcestershire’s history.

The story landed strongly across both national and local audiences, with fantastic engagement and positive feedback across channels.

Stakeholder involvement played a big part too, from engagement with the Shadow Cabinet tourism minister and GWR at the London stunt, to support from groups like the Battle of Evesham Society, who contributed knights for the activation, and organisations such as The Commandery, Royal Worcester and Morgan Motor Company, who helped ensure historical accuracy by lending props.

The more people got involved, the more they advocated for the project, strengthening its impact, building local pride and improving destination awareness.

It’s even started to extend beyond Visit Worcestershire, with local businesses getting in touch about bringing the characters into their own events and campaigns, demonstrating the momentum the work has built across the county.

“Another huge thanks is to the fab team at Spark Media who just ran with all my crazy ideas, Scott Barnett just totally got the whole concept and Georgia is the best producer, getting a new TV ad, full launch video, social media clips and our Westminster PR stunt all in hand. The whole team and all the actors used were just fabulous”

– Lorna Robinson, Visitor Economy and Destination Manager at Worcestershire County Council