Hills Balfour lands Mayflower 400 countdown brief

Travel PR agency Hills Balfour will kick-start the PR strategy for Mayflower 400, a programme commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage in 2020.

Hills Balfour will partner with 11 destinations from the original voyage to raise awareness of them internationally and drive visitors to the UK to undertake their own “Mayflower pilgrimage”.

The Mayflower 400 programme will leverage the opportunity this anniversary creates through a series of events, public art, community engagements and visitor trails.

Hills Balfour’s team will work closely with local, national and international partners, as well as VisitBritain and UKInbound, to launch the campaign in the UK, the US and the Netherlands.

“We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to drive the Mayflower 400 public relations strategy in this key countdown period,” said Jonathan Sloan, Hills Balfour managing director. “There is so much potential around this historic anniversary and its impact on the UK’s visitor economy.”

Emma Tatlow, Mayflower 400’s national visitor project manager, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Hills Balfour and feel its experience and expertise in both international and UK destination PR will help us put the Mayflower story on the map.”

• Pictured: The Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, by Andy Fox