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Marketing Update December 2016
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Advertising: 2017 City Marketing Campaign launches next month
PR: Christmas features large in PR coverage
Website and Digital: Unique visits to our website up +4% on 2015
Travel Trade: The 2017 Travel Trade Guide has landed
Photo Competition: Winner and runners up are announced
Marketing Services: Find out how we can help you
Advertising
City Marketing Campaign launching January 2017
Our New Year City Campaign positions Salisbury as the perfect short break destination. The campaign includes a lead generated digital flyer, targeted e-newsletters, printed mailer, 6-sheet rail posters, social media activity, digital advertising, competitions and PR. Keep an eye out next month for news on how it's all going...
PR
Press Releases
The following press releases have been sent out since the November Marketing Update:
Westbury
Discover more in Wiltshire this Christmas
VisitWiltshire has been working with the Wiltshire Times and Gazette & Herald on a series of reader offers featuring our partners. The latest in the series is for 11th hour Escape Rooms - view it here. Look out for the next one - a Wilton Classic and Supercar offer - later this month. If you would like your event or attraction featured for free please contact Florence with details of your offer.
Online Coverage
An excellent article by travel writer Sarah Baxter entitled Walking in (stone) circles: my modern-day pilgrimage to Stonehenge featured in The Telegraph and included the VisitWiltshire web address. The Telegraph website has 8.8 million monthly unique users.
Bloggers
More coverage has been received from blogger Becky Fixel, this time of Rollestone Manor. Becky's blog has a reach of almost 37,700.
Website and Digital
Social Media
Social media is a great way of optimising and driving traffic to your website, as well as engaging with visitors. VisitWiltshire uses Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, You Tube and LinkedIn.
Gold partners are able to feature their Twitter and Facebook feeds on their own entries – please contact Emma for more details.
Twitter
As at 2 December we had around 19,200 followers - an increase of 17% compared to last year
Since the start of November, reach per week has averaged around 74,000
Facebook
As at 2 December, likes totalled over 12,700 - an increase of 33% compared to last year
Since the start of November, reach per week has averaged over 46,000
Instagram
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As at 2 December, followers totalled over 5,250 - an increase of 166% compared to last year
Since the start of November, reach per week has averaged around 2,550
We regularly publish Instagram stories when out and about
VisitWiltshire Website
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We received over 104,300 unique visits to our website during November, an increase of 4% on the previous year. Of this, 66% is via mobile devices.
Top referrers for November included: twitter.co.uk, facebook.com, visitsouthwest.co.uk and wiltshire.gov.uk
Top content pages (excluding the main Home page) included: Fireworks, Christmas, What's On, Competitions and Things to Do
Top product pages included: Festival of Lights, Rotary Spireworks, Chippenham, Bradford on Avon Fireworks and Stourhead
Visit Salisbury Website
We received over 28,600 unique visitors to the Salisbury site during November (this figure is included in the unique visits above). Of this, 63% is via mobile devices.
Top referrers for November included: salisburychristmasmarket.co.uk, facebook.com, twitter.co.uk and christmasinsalisbury.co.uk
Top content pages (excluding the main Home page) included: What's On, Christmas in Salisbury, Shopping, Things to Do and Food and Drink
Top product pages included: Christmas Lights Switch On, Salisbury Christmas Market, Salisbury Charter Market, Salisbury Christmas Lights Switch On, Salisbury Park & Ride and Salisbury Cathedral
Blogs
The following blogs have been added to our website since the last marketing update:
A pre-Christmas visit to Calne
Walking in the footsteps of Poldark in Corsham
Top places for winter walks in Wiltshire
Spotlight on Julie Cooper, Skydive Netheravon
Don those wellies and explore Wiltshire this autumn
Money saving ideas for Christmas in Wiltshire
Unique gift ideas for Christmas Presents from Wiltshire
Canadian canoe excursion at Devizes Marina Village
Apps
All our partners have an entry on the Wiltshire App, giving visitors and potential visitors an additional platform to find your business. The apps can be downloaded for FREE as follows:
Wiltshire: Apple and Google Play
Salisbury: Apple and Google Play
To encourage your visitors to download and use the apps it would be great if you could include details of how to do this on all your communications - eg websites, confirmation emails etc.
Videos
Stunning new aerial film capturing the beautiful county of Wiltshire was launched in July on www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/videos
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The first of a three part series, incorporating Wiltshire’s Timeless branding and aligning with VisitBritain’s Countryside is GREAT campaign, was the film entitled ‘What view did you wake up to this morning?’
The second video in the series, entitled 'Wiltshire has been a special place for a very long time', was launched to coincide with the start of our autumn marketing campaign. As at 2 December it had received over 186,000 views and reached almost 795,000 people.
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Both videos give visitors to Wiltshire a bird’s eye view of the county’s breathtaking countryside and iconic views, including the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge and Avebury.
If you would like us to supply versions of the videos with the end slate personalised for your business, prices start from £150. We can also help arrange filming of your business for you. For details of either of these options, contact Fiona.
Please share the videos on social channels and add to your own website to help showcase our wonderful county (if you are unsure of how to do this, just email Emma).
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One of the benefits of being a Gold Partner is the opportunity to include a video on your own entry on the VisitWiltshire website. If you haven't already done so and you have a video you would like to add, please email Emma with the YouTube URL.
E-Newsletters
The following e-newsletter has been sent out to consumers since the last marketing update:
Enjoy the festive season in Wiltshire - enter to win a musical break in Bradford on Avon
The VisitWiltshire database now stands at over 80,000 names... and everyone who has signed up is interested in Wiltshire! If you would like your business to feature in one of our regular e-newsletters we can include you for just £110. Contact Fiona for more information
Keep us in the Loop
We are always looking for fresh, new, inspiring content, so please keep us up to date with all your news. Please email Emma with the details.
Travel Trade
2017 Travel Trade Guide
The 2017 Travel Trade Guide has now been printed and delivered - take a look at the digital copy here.
All the information within it has been compiled with the travel trade in mind, from ideas for ‘Refreshment Stops’ and group-friendly ‘Places to Stay’ to details of ‘Incentives and Offers’. The‘Inspirational Itineraries’ section has suggested routes on a variety of themes, while ‘Special Interest Tours’ and ‘Book a Wiltshire Tour’ (new this year!) showcase an exciting range of ready-made ‘bookable’ packages.
The guide will be mailed out to around 4,000 travel trade contacts on the VisitWiltshire database in mid-December.
Strategy
The 2017 trade strategy has now been finalised in conjunction with the Travel Trade Group for action later this year and next. If you require a copy please contact Florence.
Travel Trade Package
VisitWiltshire has a Travel Trade Package for those interested in targeting the groups/travel trade market. Three levels of participation are available – please contact Florence for further details.
Consumer Publications
The 2017 Visitor Guide is currently with the printers and copies are expected mid-December - a digital version can be viewed here.
This publication is A4, perfect bound, 68 pages, with a distribution of 50,000 (a mix of hard copies and digital). It is targeted mainly at staying visitors.
Distribution will be to named individuals via a lead generation campaign, via Tourist Information Centres around the UK, through exhibitions at home and abroad and at selected stores in the South West.
Artwork for the Visitor Map will be signed off very shortly, with delivery during the first half of January. A digital version will be available soon.
This publication is A5, fold out, 32 pages with a distribution of 200,000. It is targeted mainly at day visitors.
Distribution will be via Tourist Information Centres around the UK, through exhibitions at home and abroad, via selected attractions, hotels, B&Bs, pubs, camping and caravan sites in Wiltshire and the surrounding area, via selected supermarkets, motorway service stations and park & ride sites and through the London People at Work Network.
Photo Competition
The results of our 2016 photo competition have now been announced.
We received a record number of entries and were extremely impressed with the high standard of photos submitted, which covered an enormous range and variety of topics and drew inspiration from all four corners of the county.
VisitWiltshire’s ‘Timeless’ branding highlights the fact that Wiltshire has been a special place for a very long time, a magical place where you feel close to the land and the sky. You can sit on the downs at sunrise or sunset, see how the light changes the mood, and imagine others admiring this same spectacle for thousands of years.
As part of the judging process we were looking for images that reflected this timeless branding and would inspire people to visit our beautiful county.
With its big skies and moody atmosphere Krzysztof Dac's winning shot of Cley Hill fitted the Timeless Nature theme perfectly.
Of the two runners up, the magical feel of Chris Moody's Silbury Hill was entirely in keeping with our Timeless Wonders theme
While Peter Daltry's image of Devizes Crammer was an excellent example of Timeless Places.
All three tie in with the idea of Wiltshire as calming, comforting, refreshing. A place that puts back what the rest of the week takes out, so that when you visit Wiltshire you can just press pause and let time stand still.
Coverage of the winners was received in the Swindon Advertiser.
Marketing Services
Do you need any help with marketing services - such as leaflet production, photography, social media or travel trade activity? If so, please contact Fiona for more information.
to add an item to your Itinerary basket.