Virtual London - The best place to see London online

Virtual London is universally recognised as one of the world's premier online city guides.

Owned by the Earl of Bradford and launched in 1995, Virtual London now receives nearly 2 and a half million individual visitors each year and provides a comprehensive guide to London's attractions, theatres, history, events, tours and accommodation. Virtual London also has it's own e-zine, The London Lantern supplying articles and comment to the desktops of over 30,000 active subscribers.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our client liaison which makes every promotion unique, thereby ensuring that each campaign is fully integrated into the site. This is a core principal on which we have built our business and is one of the cornerstones of our growth.

Because of our level of automation, we are able to ensure that campaigns are implemented and placed online quickly and efficiently. Subsequent changes to any material can be incorporated with a minimum of fuss.

Virtual London's layout is simple and accessible distinguishing it from many other leisure based websites. We are very careful to ensure that our content is presented in an uncomplicated way that renders any promotions particularly eye catching. We are aware that travellers are tired of impersonal mega sites and therefore seek to provide advice, personal recommendations and useful content.

• We reach users who are in the travel planning mindset;
• We reach people who are actively planning to travel to London;
• We reach high spending individuals interested in international travel;
• We offer high profile positions that are impossible to go unnoticed.

London visitor spending is expected to top £8.6 billion this year. That's an average of more than £700 million each month or £23 million per day. (Source - Parnell Kerr Foster: London Trends)

Virtual London attracts visitors from across the globe. The majority of these are from North America followed by Europe. Continuing research indicates that well over 80% of those logging on to the site are actively planning their trips to London. This profile illustrates the benefits of using Virtual London.com to target visitors to the United Kingdom before they arrive.

Advertisers
The advertisers who have used our site to promote their products and services have ranged from small individual concerns (such as family run guest houses) through to major national attractions (eg. London Zoo) and multinational concerns (eg. Virgin Atlantic Airways). All without exception have been exceptionally pleased with the results of their campaigns.

The number of visitors to Virtual London is growing at a phenomenal rate, seen in the number of impressions.
The last six years have seen a continuous and steady increase in the number of people viewing our pages. Over the last year this increase has been rising sharply on a month-by-month basis.

• Total hits: 7,484,315;
• Total page views: 1,616,332;
• Average time spent per session: 4.7 minutes.

Advertisers and media buyers will benefit from the following benefits:

 i. Inclusive Promotions
 Every promotion is received as an individual undertaking. We do not simply feature banner advertisements or basic text and pictures but seek to incorporate the client fully into the site. We utilise a combination of features, editorial, hyperlinks, images and animated items to achieve this.
 ii. Client leasion
 We are very keen to ensure that our clients receive a promotion that exceeds as well as fulfils the original objectives. We work carefully with each advertiser to implement a campaign that is both imaginative and successful. We are always keen to hear suggestions and look carefully at ways in which prospective promotions can be enhanced (for example, by use of salient articles under our News section). Our experienced journalists are available for copywriting and creative writing where needed.
 iii. Search Engines and Portals
 Virtual London features more prominently on a wider range of search engines than any other London site. Contributing factors to this success include the length of time Virtual London has been online (six years), and the fact that we are also listed under the legend 'London Guide'.
 v. Targeted Audience 
Through large responses to online surveys, we know that over 80% of visitors to Virtual London are actively planning their trips to the UK. This overseas audience can be reached best by a well planned and executed online campaign: people logging on to the site are actively looking for help, advice and ideas on what to buy and where to go and how to get around the UK.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC OBJECTIVES
We were asked by Virgin Atlantic to produce a marketing solution that would highlight soon to be announced competitive rates from the US to London; in-flight amenities; perks and privileges attained through using the frequent flyer programme and an awareness of the overall 'coolness' of the Virgin brand. The primary objective was to increase online bookings from the virginatlantic.com website. The secondary objective was to generate Flying Club (frequent flyer) sign ups. The tertiary objective was to increase brand awareness.

Solutions provided:

• Sponsorship of the Virtual London webcam;
• Front page TV screen feature, with alternating images of Virgin Atlantic and the Virgin Flying Club;
• E-zine promotional advertorial delivered to over 30,000 active subscribers;
• Full section under 'Getting to London' provided text, links and high resolution colour images;
• As a lighthearted feature, films showing on Virgin flights were highlighted under our Cinema Review heading with flight numbers included;
• News items from Virgin Atlantic were added to our rolling news feature on the front page;
• A Virgin Atlantic survey was added to the site;
• London From Above was sponsored with a logo, text and a hyperlink;
• Ticker tape across the top of the front screen provided revolving features which included the very latest Virgin Atlantic offers.

7. Contact Details

We will be very happy to discuss general enquiries, technical specifications or specific requirements in confidence.

Sales and Editorial

Virtual London
VIP Internet Limited.
Weston Bank
Weston Under Lizard
Shifnal, Shropshire.
TF11 8JU
United Kingdom
T:- +44 (0)1952 852200
F:- +44 (0)1952 850445