AKA, the independent full service media and advertising specialist agency for the Arts, Leisure and Tourism markets, has been appointed by English Heritage to oversee its media strategy, media planning and media buying activities. The account was won following a competitive pitch, having previously been overseen by Carat.

The registered charity cares for over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites around the country including Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall and Dover Castle. Attracting 6.3 million visitors last year, English Heritage turned to AKA – renowned for its expertise in promoting heritage, arts, culture, entertainment, leisure and tourism brands – to drive greater visitor numbers to their historic visitor attractions and significant events programme.

Part of AKA’s remit is to deliver channel-neutral, through-the-line media strategy, planning and media buying for English Heritage sites and events at a local, regional and national level. The account will cover out of home, broadcast, print, and online channels.

Ed Harper, Senior Campaign Manager at English Heritage, cited AKA’s experience in this sector as key to choosing them. “We are a charity and our priority is to care for and conserve some of England’s most important historic buildings. It is vital that the investment we make in media campaigns works extremely hard to help in our mission. We were impressed with AKA’s specialism in visitor attraction marketing and their ideas for engaging with new audiences to inspire them to visit, value and protect these sites for future generations to come.”

Amanda Lewis, Agency Director at AKA added: “English Heritage is an amazing brand that cares for an internationally-important collection of historic sites and artefacts, while providing real value to its members, visitors and the hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren that pass through its doors each year. We’re delighted to be working with such an iconic brand as part of AKA’s portfolio, and will use our extensive knowledge and experience in this sector to drive awareness and visitor numbers to English Heritage’s many and diverse sites around the country.”