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.[1] 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.[2]
Marketing Managers
A list of current and former managers is below.
| Manager | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| John Leach | Summer 1994[2] to July 2010 | The SVR's Sales and Marketing Manager and first Marketing Manager, John Leach died 29 July 2010.[3] |
| David Mee | July 2010 to July 2012 | David assumed responsibility for marketing matters in addition to his role as Visitor Services Manager.[4] |
| Clare Gibbard | July 2012[5] 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 |
As of September 2018[update] the position is vacant.[6]
SVR Charitable Trust
The Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd employs its own Communications and PR manager who is separate from, but work closely with, the SVR's marketing and communications department.
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.[7]
Marketing messages and campaigns
An incomplete list follows.
- Every journey ends with a memory - current
- SVR TV advert on YouTube
Other marketing actvities
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 perforned well and areas in which it can improve.
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.
Internal communication
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."[8] The role predominently 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.
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".
External contractors and consultants
Severn Communications
Public Relations is undertaken by an agency, Severn Communications Limited.
Nexus Creative
Website design, website development and search engine optimisation are undertaken by Nexus Creative.
See also
References
- ↑ SVR News 11
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SVR News 113
- ↑ 'Public face' of Severn Valley Railway dies, Kidderminster Shuttle, 2 August 2010 (Retrieved 16 September 2018)
- ↑ 'New faces in Severn Valley Railway’s management team', Shropshire Tourism website, 7 November 2012 (Retrieved 16 September 2018)
- ↑ SVR News 180
- ↑ SVR News 203
- ↑ SVRLive
- ↑ SVR NBI