A HARRY Styles’ tour to show fans round his home town has been shortlisted for two prestigious Prolific North Marketing Awards 2024.
Harry’s Home Village Tour Tour has been recognised in the categories of Best Tourist and Leisure Campaign and Best Not-for-Profit Campaign.
These national awards celebrate exceptional campaigns, brilliant teams and bold leaders from across the North of England and Scotland.
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The marketing and PR campaign for the tour has been delivered pro bono by Lower Withington based, Calvin Marketing.
Working alongside volunteers from Holmes Chapel Partnership, the team has raised global awareness of the walking tour.
International visitors from as far afield as Bangladesh, Australia and Canada have been welcomed over the summer months.
Harry, now 30, shot to international stardom after his band, One Direction, appeared on a reality TV show, The X-Factor in 2010.
Since then, Holmes Chapel has become something of a pilgrimage site for his global fan following.
The tour takes fans on a country walk through the picturesque landscapes of Holmes Chapel where the pop star spent his formative years.
From the bakery where he worked to the local haunts that inspired his music, the tour offers an intimate glimpse into the world of this global icon.
Karoline Peach, account director at Calvin Marketing, said: “We are incredibly proud of the global impact we have created with Harry’s Home Village Tour.
“Our team has worked tirelessly alongside the partnership to ensure the campaign not only highlighted the charm of the village but also promoted community safety and heritage conservation.
“This recognition means a great deal to everyone involved in delivering the tours, including the wider Holmes Chapel community which has been hugely supportive.
“It reflects the passion, collective effort and dedication of all those involved.”
Harry’s Home Village Tour, a walking tour of the village where global icon Harry Styles grew up, was devised by Holmes Chapel Partnership earlier this year.
Calvin Marketing stepped to deliver an intensive summer project to launch the tours without charging any fees.
Setting a new benchmark for community focussed marketing, Calvin delivered two crucial messages.
The tour aimed to promoting safe walking routes for visitors and protect the iconic Twemlow Viaduct, where pop megastar Harry Styles is believed to have had his first kiss, from further vandalism.
The Grade-II listed Twemlow Viaduct, near the singer’s home village, has become a must-visit destination for fans, many of whom scratch their names into the bricks.
However, Network Rail, who own the site, says this has caused ‘well-meaning’ damage to the 183-year-old viaduct.
As such, it has now been fenced off, with a new purpose-built wall put in place for fans to leave their names and messages of love and support.
The agency’s strategically timed campaign ensured global media exposure.
This included securing TV interviews on NBC America, BBC News, CNN, and Sky News, alongside a raft of further media interviews and feature articles.
Within the first six weeks of the campaign, Calvin secured 885 media mentions, reaching a total audience of 1.9 billion people.
Such has been the success of the Harry’s Home Village Tour this summer, that the initiative has been extended into the autumn with tickets now available for Saturday tours until the end of October.
The Prolific North Marketing Awards 2024 will be held at Manchester United Old Trafford Football Club on October 31.
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