HTDL helps CVOne ‘try’ to put Coventry back on map

Birmingham-based HTDL has created branding for not-for-profit group CVOne, which aims to promote Coventry as a shopping and tourism destination against regional rivals like Birmingham and Stratford.

The consultancy was appointed to the work, worth in the region of £80 000 in design fees to the group, earlier this year, following a competitive pitch against a number of undisclosed groups.

HTDL has created a strapline, ‘Coventry it’, which will be applied across promotional material over the next year, in addition to a shoppers guide, outdoor and press advertising and direct mail for a Christmas campaign, which is due to launch next month.

The consultancy will also be working on a visitors guide for the city, due to launch in January, as well as an ongoing regeneration campaign.

CVOne was created in April to handle city-centre management and tourism initiatives on behalf of the local authority. It aims to promote Coventry’s dual shopping and heritage offer to a primarily regional audience.

In the past the city has suffered from being ‘sandwiched’ between Birmingham’s retail offer and Stratford’s cultural positioning, according to CVOne head of Coventry and Warwickshire promotions Nicola Leake. CVOne hopes to illustrate that the city is ‘more than just a cathedral’, comments Leake.

‘We want to change people’s perceptions of Coventry and the easiest way to do that is to come and try it, which is where the strapline comes in,’ she says.

According to HTDL creative director Andrew Thornley, the consultancy is aiming to create a ‘more aspirational and upmarket’ positioning for the area, while retaining a humorous slant.

The challenge lay in creating a ‘fresh and innovative’ approach for a ‘generic message’, he adds.

Thornley and art director Tom Shriane led the project creatively.