TOP TIPS FOR A TIP TOP DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGN

27 June 2018

Visitor attractions, seaside resorts, councils and tourist authorities, a whole host of stakeholders need ideas when it comes to attracting new visitors to their destinations.

 

While you’d hope that the destination will sell itself to a degree, there’s always a job to be done to reach new audiences and get the ongoing support it needs to stay competitive.

 

We’ve worked on a variety of campaigns of all shapes and sizes over the years, but they all have a clear target audience, strategy to reach them, creative ideas and buttoned down measurement processes in common.

 

Here’s how we suggest you think about a destination marketing campaign that could have the potential to be award winning:

 

  1. Start at the beginning – who’s the audience, where are they coming from, how far will they travel, when do you want them to come, what media do they consume, what will appeal to them?
  2. What’s the creative hook? Do you need a tentpole moment in time or is it ongoing press office tactics?
  3. Make sure you visit the attraction yourself before coming up with the ideas to really get under the skin

 

In terms of how to get the best coverage from press office tactics:

 

  1. Seeing is believing – the best coverage will only come after media have seen the destination with their own eyes
  2. Make sure they get the best experience – every journalist is different so adapt the proposition/press trip accordingly. They will need new reasons to visit the destination and a news hook. Guide them through the experience rather than just listing endless options for them to choose themselves. Think about added extras too – can they meet the team? Go behind the scenes? It’ll help them really get under the skin of the destination
  3. Time the visits carefully – The journalist will need to visit in advance of peak season and the coverage needs to land when potential guests will be considering what to do that summer or winter. This might mean out of season visits for some attractions, so will need to tailor their itineraries accordingly
  4. Be on call – most press trips will take place across the weekend so make sure you keep an eye on phone calls/emails to iron out any last minute snags
  5. Utilise exclusivity and maximise media touch points – give key contacts the first look at attraction/destination, and break down the various stories into chunks to give media numerous reasons to write (and keep writing) about the attraction. Pick out your key new news and focus on this

 

We’ve loved working for a host of visitor attraction over the years from our award winning campaign for Blackpool where we created the world’s biggest beachball  to launching the UK’s first Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester and Madame Tussauds Blackpool and a host of stunts and news stories for Chill Factore, Great Northern Warehouse and the National Football Museum.

Want more information? Contact us here

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