Passionate campaign that rebranded the region

But marketing campaigns are not voted the best in the world because they feature the first thing that comes to mind.

On Sunday, in the plush surroundings of London's Royal Opera House, the Passionate People, Passionate Places campaign was named the world's leading regional marketing campaign at the World Travel Awards.

It is recognition for a campaign which set itself a very difficult task - to challenge conventional thinking about the region which had grown up over generations, and replace images of beer and football with more vibrant pictures of life in the region.

In the six months since its launch, the three-year campaign has won industry plaudits, adorned London taxis and tubes, and is estimated to have been seen by nearly 18.5m people.

However, if it is now considered a major success, it was perceived as quite a gamble when it was launched in May.

When the great and the good gathered at the Seaham Hall Hotel - itself a luxurious sign of the changing face of the North-East - there was a sense that fingers were being crossed behind backs for the success of the campaign.

A previous attempt at using public money to change public perception of the region was judged in many quarters to have been an expensive flop.

Here. Now. was launched in March 2002, at the cost of £2m, by One NorthEast and the North-East Assembly.

Confusingly, the strategy was to spend the first year of that campaign persuading locals that they were here, now, and so should have pride in their own region. Here. Now. was then to be rolled out across the nation over the following two years to persuade the rest of the country of the delights of the North-East.

The campaign, which used images of Elton John, footballer Ian Wright and filmmaker David Puttnam, was eventually dropped as it fizzled out.

So there was a degree of pressure on the team behind Passionate People, Passionate Places - this time backed with £15m.

To get it right, One NorthEast brought in opinion pollsters Mori to test local, national and international opinion about the region.

The findings suggested that while people around the country did not have a negative impression of the region, they lacked information. The campaign team took this as an opportunity to promote positive images of today's North-East.

It also highlighted that both inside and outside the region, the North-East's greatest strength was seen to be its people - followed by its countryside and coastline, history and heritage and vibrant city culture.

One NorthEast therefore hired Newcastle-based advertising agency Different, which came up with the strapline Passionate People, Passionate Places.

A spokesman for the regional development agency said: "It is based on truthful and positive images.

"It has at its heart a very real passion for the region and, most importantly, the campaign has been brought alive through what is possibly our most important asset - the people of North-East England."

Rather than rely solely on traditional skyline images of castles, cathedrals and bridges, the campaign linked places with people - real people living and working in the North-East, with a pride in their region and a passion about their home.

The University of Durham Women's Rowing Team, national champions in their sport, were pictured beneath the World Heritage Site; canoeist Phil McDonagh, a student at the University of Teesside and a hopeful for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, was pictured at the Tees Barrage; chef and hotelier Chris Davy, who transformed The Rose and Crown, in Romaldkirk, into an award-winning country restaurant, was pictured beneath the dramatic backdrop of High Force; Dr Arnab Basu, the Calcutta-born scientist who runs the successful Durham Scientific Crystals, at NetPark, Sedgefield, was pictured at Durham University, where he studied for his PhD.

Each image was chosen to capture the essence of the North-East by featuring a range of people who are actively contributing to the life of the region alongside some of the region's most iconic landmarks.

That, in turn, was designed to create strong and positive new perceptions about the region as a great place to do business, live, work, study and visit.

The ads have been the very public spearhead of the campaign - with more than 50 appearances in the Sunday supplements, The Times, The FT, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent.

Travellers have been specifically singled out for attention - Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley airports have been targeted, railway stations along the length of the East Coast Mainline from King's Cross to Scotland have been singled out for posters, the London Underground and black cabs in the capital carry the message, and there is no escape even once a passenger is settled in their seat, with on-board magazines also exploited.

The campaign also works in a more subtle way - creating a single, simple North-East England branding which appears to be gradually creeping its way into more and more advertising as it is adopted by more and more businesses. It seeps more and more into the public consciousness with its use at events like the recent Seve Trophy golfing event at the Wynyard Golf Course, near Billingham.

To date, say its authors, 18.45m adults have encountered Passionate People, Passionate Places and, in advertising speak, there have been 99 million opportunities to see the campaign. The numbers are expected to soar as the campaign continues over the next three years. In fact, they will have soared in the past week with the coverage of the winning of a prestigious World Travel Award.

Stacy Hall, director of communications at One NorthEast, said: "This is fantastic news for North-East England.

"Receiving international recognition for the campaign at this early stage in its life will really help us to raise awareness of the beauty, variety and many great opportunities our region offers.

"I very much hope that people from across the world who now have a greater understanding of North-East England through this award will be encouraged to visit us and experience the passionate people and passionate places of the region for themselves."