As yet the marketing of Denbighshire as a tourism destination is not a statutory service (like highways and refuse collection for instance) therefore we get a very small budget with which we have to do a lot, we work in partnership with Wrexham and Flintshire as the North Wales Borderlands partnership so we can draw down match funding from Tourism Partnership North Wales.
We went to great lengths in 2009 to adapt the North Wales Borderlands marketing campaign in line with current marketing trends. We had seen a decline in brochure pick up rates, and also a decline in the amount of businesses who wanted to advertise in the North Wales Borderlands brochure. The general feedback from businesses in Denbighshire was ‘that most people book via the website’ so they mainly wanted a good web presence. General tourist research supported this view that most people were using the internet to search for and book their holiday accommodation.
The North Wales Borderlands partnership was also looking at a cut back in the grant we had previously received from Visit Wales for posting the brochures out so we had to address this lack of funding.
After going out to tender for the campaign we went through forty submissions before we awarded the tender to Tangible- who designed the brochure as well as the other areas of the marketing mix. They had a wide range of expertise within their team and good experience raising the profile of ‘Dumfries and Galloway’ who shared a lot of similarities and the same challenges that we have in the North Wales Borderlands.
With all this in mind we decided to opt for a smaller brochure driving people to a good website with enhanced advertising for those businesses which saw the benefit of being a part of the North Wales Borderlands destination marketing campaign.
The design creative of the brochure was based on a ‘Narnia’ theme hence the map on the back and the ‘wander and wonder’ strapline. It indeed captured the imagination and had one of the highest pick up rates that we had ever experienced and was higher than many of the other marketing areas in Wales. We have taken on board the problem of not having a ‘real’ map this year and have included one on the inside map cover with map grid references next to the listings within the brochure. We could not include everyone’s business website address as the whole purpose of the booklet is to signpost people to the website which gives a much larger picture of what the destination has to offer.
Some businesses have voiced the opinion that not everyone has a access to booking on line. Denbighshire does pay for the running of two Tourist Information Centres in the County. This is highlighted on page 10 of the brochure. Staff there have a very good knowledge of the area and can book accommodation for the needs of anyone who does not have computer access.
This year budget we will continue to improve the website and have invested in a Search Engine Optimisation programme. The cost for a businesses wishing to have an enhanced listing on the website is £125 plus vat( less up to 20% discount for STEAM participation) and is great value for money when you consider everything else that lies behind the campaign constantly driving people at a higher level to visit the area and stay a while.
The brochure for 2010 has a similar look with the World Heritage Site on the front cover. The 65,000 print run will be distributed carefully to all the Tourist Information Centres in Britain, to Chester via the Chester Partnership and to a very targeted audience. The attractions booklet will be out by Easter.
We also sponsor on line banners, competitions and fam trips to the North Wales Borderlands as well as investing in £5000 Visit Wales campaign to further distribute the brochure.
Should you wish to take out an enhanced accommodation listing on the North Wales Borderlands website please call 01824 708236.
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