Marketing Department

The SVR's marketing function initiates and develops marketing and related PR activities to ensure the Severn Valley Railway remains the best visitor attraction in Worcestershire and Shropshire, maximising awareness and visitor numbers to deliver revenue that will be reinvested in the railway’s locomotives, carriages and infrastructure.

Contents

Marketing Department origins

The original Severn Valley Railway Society included the roles of Publicity Officer and Sales Officer. Over the following years these roles developed into Departmental Managers for Sales and Publicity, with “Sales Department” reports regularly featuring in SVR News during the 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1994 the SVR created a new position of Marketing Manager to “'improve the public face of the Railway, to assist our Commercial Departments to become more attractive to their customers, to improve the public's awareness of the SVR and in so doing to bring in more visitors”. John Leach had previously been employed in a similar role by Flying Scotsman Services.

Marketing Managers

A list of current and former managers is below.

Manager	Dates	Notes
John Leach	Summer 1994 to July 2010	The SVR's Sales and Marketing Manager and first Marketing Manager, John Leach died 29 July 2010.
David Mee	July 2010 to July 2012	David assumed responsibility for marketing matters in addition to his role as Visitor Services Manager.
Clare Gibbard	July 2012 to May 2018	Marketing & Communications Manager. Clare joined the SVR in a part-time role after five years as UK Marketing Manager for the Japanese Mitsubishi Pencil Co.
Victoria Carman	May to September 2018	Interim Marketing Manager
Nicola Davies	November 2018 to 2019	Marketing and Sales Manager
Lisa Palmer	October 2019 - December 2020	Head of Sales & Marketing
Lesley Carr	December 2020 -	Head of Marketing and Communications, From November 2021 the Charitable Trust appointed their own Communications Manager, Loretta Milan (see below).

Between around 2008 and 2011 David Wilcock undertook a role of 'Severn Valley Railway press officer' and 'SVR Press & Media Affairs'. Wilcock founded Steam Railway magazine and was its news editor, though also contributed as a freelance journalist to other outlets such as The Railway Magazine.

Organisation

A Marketing Committee of the Marketing Manager, staff and volunteers was in existence until February 2018 when the marketing function was reorganised as part of a Management Advisory Group structure, with a Marketing sub-group chaired by the Marketing Manager reporting to the Heritage Support Manager.

The SVR(H) organisation chart at August 2020 showed the Sales & Marketing Manager and Head of Communications reporting to the General Manager.

Marketing messages and campaigns

An incomplete list follows.

• 2021: The Great British Staycation for those unable to travel abroad due to COVID-19
• Every journey ends with a memory - current
• SVR TV advert on YouTube
• 2011: Many Happy Returns - when visitors made their first visit to the SVR in 2011 they received a voucher valid for a return visit in 2011 with one free ticket for each equivalent ticket purchased.

Other marketing activities

On train surveys

Volunteers hand out questionnaires to passengers, the responses to which are collated by the railway. The anonymous information helps determine where visitors come from how they heard about the railway, how they judge the facilities, where the railway performed well and areas in which it can improve.

Online survey responses

From Christmas 2019 an online tool, Survey Monkey, was used.

Leaflet distribution

Volunteers distribute promotional leaflets to various locations around the area, including hotels, campsites, pubs and cafes, to raise the Railway’s profile and attract more visitors.

Communications

The communications function has at times combined with marketing and at times been a discrete function.

Communications Committee

A voluntary Communications Committee was appointed by the Guarantee Company in 2015, which does not report to the Marketing Manager. The key aims and objectives include "to develop communications to existing and prospective members through all media".

Communications Officer

A voluntary Communications Officer was appointed by SVR(H) in August 2015, reporting to the Marketing Manager, "to improve the communications flow between different departments, looking at the quality of material and it distribution using appropriate media; for example an internet site or social media." The role predominantly involved updating SVR Live, an official SVR web site for members, shareholders and enthusiasts. This involved announcements and news items concerning matters like locomotive overhauls and infrastructure upgrades and news from various sources, including social media and SVR-related websites. The position became vacant in October 2017, and was not advertised for replacement.

SVR Charitable Trust

The Charitable Trust employed its own Communications and PR manager who was separate from, but worked closely with, the SVR's marketing and communications department. Lesley Carr moved to SVR(H) in July 2020 (see above), when the role was advertised for replacement as a Fundraising Manager – Individual Giving. From November 2021 the Trust appointed their own Communications Manager, Loretta Milan.

External contractors and consultants

Severn Communications

Public Relations was until 2020 undertaken by an agency, Severn Communications Limited. The function moved to the Head of Communications.

Nexus Creative

Website design, website development and search engine optimisation were undertaken by Nexus Creative until the official website relaunch in November 2021.

See also

The Severn Valley Railway current organisation

Links

Severn Communications Limited
Nexus Creative