Sunderland's City of Surprises wins Gold

Sunderland City Council has won a prestigious award for a campaign that shows the best of what the city has to offer.

The city council was awarded Gold in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Northern PRide Travel, Leisure and Tourism campaign of the year for its 'City of Surprises' campaign.

The campaign aimed to raise Sunderland's profile as a destination for day trips and weekend stays, in a bid to support retail and leisure businesses that have been hard-hit by the pandemic. The campaign was fully funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) as part of their Welcome Back Fund.

It ran across the city and Visit Sunderland social media channels throughout the summer and autumn of 2021 and was an integral part of the city's tourism recovery plan.

The City of Surprises campaign coincided with the launch of a new city brand co-created by Sunderland City Council along with a range of stakeholders from, and with an interest in, the city, including Sunderland Business Partnership - a collective of 50 businesses - Sunderland Business Improvement District (BID), Gentoo, the University of Sunderland, Sunderland College and Sunderland AFC.

The new look has been used in a range of materials, both in the city - on hoardings and signage around Sunderland - as well as on promotional material such as the City of Surprises campaign to attract visitors and investors.