Press release -
Millions see Dumfries & Galloway ‘Brilliant Moments’ in tourism campaign success.
Results from VisitScotland’s 2014 destination marketing campaign ‘Brilliant Moments’ a partnership with Dumfries & Galloway Council, Forestry Commission Scotland and P&O, reached nine million people throughout the UK last year. The campaign used beautiful, inspiring imagery of the region and enticing descriptions of what to see and do and places to stay.
Prize draws run throughout last year’s campaign have seen more than 26,000 entries with the help of participating local tourism businesses who offered fantastic prizes.
The Brilliant Moments campaign ran from April 2014 to March 2015 and included a multi-touch point campaign incorporating digital media, press trips, web and social media promotions, radio campaigns and advertising in national media which focused on the Mull of Galloway Trail as just one of the many visitor highlights of the region.
The Autumn campaign included a direct mail sent to 45, 000 households and featured a prize draw to win three nights dinner, bed and breakfast at North West Castle Hotel in Stranraer as well as including a curling lesson on their rink, lunch at Creetown Gem Rock Museum and a Historic Scotland Explorer Pass.
An additional media prize fund was offered to two people and includedtwo nights dinner, bed and breakfast in Langholm’s Eskdale Hotel and a chocolate making class with Abbots Chocolates, as well as afternoon tea at Truly Scrumptious. Winners were also givena special guided tour of WWT Caerlaverock, near Dumfries and aHistoric Scotland Explorer Pass to explore the region further.
Part of the campaign activity included a successful partnership with P&O Ferries and Forestry Commission Scotland. Within this activity Irish journalists were invited on press trips, digital and web marketing activity promoted the region and a prize draw included a two night stay at Kirkcudbright’s Castleview House, P&O ferry tickets, and two day bike hire from the Break Pad bike shop at Kirroughtree Visitor Centre along with free entry to Caerlaverock Castle. The Spring campaign also offered two people the opportunity to win a break to the region enjoying two nights B&B at Kirroughtree House Hotel and a two day tailored cycling or walking experience with Galloway Holidays.
The resulting 26,000 entries have been added to VisitScotland’s database for the future marketing of Dumfries & Galloway.
VisitScotland Regional Director, Paula McDonald said;“The Brilliant Moments campaign has been a great success with the prize draws really standing out in terms of success attracting more than 26, 000 entries from people all over the UK. It has been fantastic to work with so many local businesses throughout the region and with key partnerships such as P&O Ferries, Forestry Commission Scotland and Dumfries & Galloway Council, to leverage excellent incentives and capitalise on the strength of these national businesses operating in Dumfries & Galloway.”
Chair of the Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure committee, Councillor Colin Smyth, said“Building the local economy is the number one priority of the council and supporting tourism is crucial to achieving this. We know that Dumfries and Galloway has so much to offer with a large number of fun, unique and interesting activities and places for visitors to our region to experience and enjoy. Working with VisitScotland on campaigns to bring people into our region allows us to show what we have to offer. The Brilliant Moments campaign is a great example of this. We will continue to work in partnership with local businesses, attractions and with fantastic events and festivals, we will be able to grow our local economy and promote Dumfries and Galloway as a brilliant location with lots to offer.”
Forestry Commission Scotland Marketing Manager, Laura Stewart said;‘Forestry Commission Scotland were delighted to work with VisitScotland, Dumfries & Galloway Council and P&O Ferries on the ‘Brilliant Moments’ campaign. It used stunning imagery of Galloway Forest Park to showcase the region’s great outdoors and I’m sure we’ll be welcoming more visitors from across the UK this summer as a result.’
Topics
- Tourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
