Pictured above (l-r): Signature director Steve George and Marketing Birmingham's Dave Hodgson.

Taste of Birmingham, the city's festival of food, is being served up in a through the line campaign worth around £300,000 in media spend.

The food and restaurants event, which runs from 9-12 July 2009, is being run by Marketing Birmingham, the city's destination marketing agency. It is being promoted in a campaign that includes outdoor, regional newspapers, magazines, radio, online and public relations.

Radio station BRMB and the Birmingham Post & Mail are acting as media partners while Signature Outdoor, the city's biggest backlight billboard owner, is supplying space on sites throughout Birmingham, including 96 sheets at New Street Station and along the M6 near Spaghetti Junction.

Creative for the campaign has been designed by Birmingham agency KLM, while PR is being handled in-house by Marketing Birmingham.

Dave Hodgson, marketing director at Marketing Birmingham, said: "We're grateful for help that the city's media is giving on promoting Taste of Birmingham. Partnerships like these are vital in developing Birmingham's brand and helping attracting visitors, both business and leisure tourists who bring in some £4.4bn to the city's economy each year.

"This city has been transformed in recent years, not only physically but culturally. Birmingham now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other UK city outside of London, and building our culinary reputation is a major part of developing the city's brand."

Signature director Steve George said: "We've been a commercial Champion of Marketing Birmingham for a few years now. It's in our interests to help raise the city's profile by supporting events like Taste. The more people and organisations that realise what an economic and cultural powerhouse Birmingham is, the more they will want to promote themselves on the city's billboards."

Taste of Birmingham, which is being held in Cannon Hill Park from 9 to 12 July, is set to attract thousands of fine food enthusiasts and reinforce the city's reputation as a centre of culinary excellence.

Already 17 restaurants, including the city's three Michelin-starred restaurants, and more than 50 exhibitors are booked for the festival. The family-friendly show will also include displays by top chefs, cook off competitions between media and football stars, music and displays. 

Although the Taste of Birmingham has been run in the city for three years, Marketing Birmingham has taken on the show's franchise from Brand Events. It is giving this year's event a distinctly Midland flavour, with an emphasis on regional talent and producers from the Heart of England.

A special launch, Taste of Business, is being held on the evening of 9 July and is set to be the biggest business networking event in Birmingham this year.