SPENDING £15m over three years on a campaign to persuade people that the North-East is a great place to live and work in - and to visit - seems like a lot of money, especially when it is public money.

Inevitably, it prompts the question from some that this sum could be spent in many other, more immediately tangible, ways. How many more doctors/nurses/teachers could be employed? Or by how much could taxes be cut?

We have to reject that argument, and not just for the selfish reason that some of that £15m, albeit a very small element of it, is being spent in the pages of this newspaper.

What the North East England campaign does is to address a fundamental truth about the region. Within the North-East, we are proud and at times even confident about what a great place it is. But, for whatever reason (politeness, inherent modesty?), we wouldn't dream of forcing that view on others. Unless asked of course.

Outside the region, there is a big black hole of ignorance, Notions of the region's now distant industrial past still linger and, shockingly, more than three quarters of those surveyed knew either "nothing at all" or "not very much" about the North-East. Somewhat paradoxically, they do think we're very friendly.

Sensibly, the campaign is being led from within. Local people, well-known and not so well-known, have been asked to shout about why they love the North-East and, importantly, why it works for them. The campaign doesn't just appeal to heart, it is also designed to convinced the hard-nosed. north east england (to use the favoured brand) is a great place to be but it is not just because we are a chummy, easy-going lot. north east england is great. Full stop.