An ingenious marketing plan
City marketing has become very popular in recent years, but marketing one's home town is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, one of the most successful promotional campaigns dates back to the 19th century.
A city name like no other.
Situated just off the northwest coast of Wales is the very picturesque island of Anglesey. Though home to many scenic villages, one in particular garners a lot of attention: That village is called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
The village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – though commonly referred to by the locals by its original name Llanfairpwll – boasts the longest place name in Europe and one of the longest in the world.
Loaded up with 58 letters, the Welsh name translates as 'St Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio by the red cave.'
The name dates back to the 1860s, when a local committee was set up to ensure that the village of Llanfairpwll profited adequately from the rail traffic crossing over the Britannia Bridge – a rail crossing just a stone's throw from the village, which joined the mainland to the island.
Following the Britannia Bridge's completion in 1850, Llanfairpwll's potential for growth became apparent. Thanks to an active and engaged community, amongst whose clever ideas was the ingenious PR stunt of renaming the place Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the village began to grow.
Tourists did indeed stop to satisfy their curiosity about the bizarrely-named village. Incoming craftsmen, traders and merchants started to set up shop around the railway station, which soon developed into a new part of the village – the Lower Village.
A golden age ensued. Between 1850 and 1914, a post office, two schools, several pubs, a brewery, a hotel, and no fewer than 12 grocery shops opened up in the village. The population rose from 385 inhabitants in 1803 to 961 in 1889, making it one of the few villages in all of Wales to witness a population increase during this time.
The onset of World War I signalled the end of Llanfairpwll's boom days. After the war, the village – like many of its counterparts around Britain – faced mass emigration and unemployment. It wasn't until the 60s that the village began to show signs of new life again.
Building and development began again and over the next thirty years, the population grew, exploding from 1,172 in 1961 to 3,101 in 1991. The population has been hovering around the 3,000 mark in recent years, with the latest census figures listing 3,040 inhabitants.
Though the village may not be the hive of activity it used to be, tourists still stop to have their picture taken next to the sign: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.