VisitScotland Ancestral Brand overview Gillian Swan, Ancestral Marketing Manager 1
Mar 26, 2015
VisitScotland Ancestral Brand overview
Gillian Swan, Ancestral Marketing Manager
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Definition of Ancestral Tourism
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• Size of the potential target market
Circa 50 million people globally claim Scots ancestry
In 2009 an estimated 179,000 long haul visitors undertook ancestral research activities; the
value of those visits generated £102m for the Scottish economy.
• Ancestral tourism supporting sustainable growth
Seasonality – year round visitation and good regional dispersal
Ancestral tourists stay longer and spend more on average - Scotland’s (overseas) ancestral
tourists will stay 11-15 days and spend around £730/head*
High propensity to repeat – 97% of Scotland’s ancestral visitors say they will return to
Scotland on vacation in the next 5 years*
• Growing ancestral tourism towards 2014 and beyond
Opportunities exist within the strategic Focus Years programme to building on the legacy of
2009 and further grow the volume and value of tourism in 2014 and beyond.
*DTZ Pieda Ancestral Tourism Scotland Survey 2004 and TNS 2007 and 2009 long-haul conversion surveys
Ancestral Tourism – the Scope of opportunity
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• Affluent Boomers – 45+ (skews 55+)
• Predominantly long-haul ‘familiar’ markets US, CA, AUS, NZ
• High disposable income, time rich, online savvy
• Culture and heritage interest
• Ancestry is a primary motive for visiting Scotland, but not the sole activity
•Core segments:
o Clan Interest
o Family Historian
o Scotland Aficionado
Target Audience
AncestralScotland
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Ancestralscotland.com website (circa 160K user sessions p.a.)
AncestralScotland bi-monthly e-newsletter; 35,000 recipients worldwide
Database of 3,500 Scots Interest Organisations - ‘Gatekeepers’ (bi-monthly e-newsletter)
Life is Like consumer marketing campaign and Facebook activity
VisitScotland’s Ancestral Welcome Accreditation
Overseas Highland Games activation – attendance by SCOTSagents and ‘Whisky Live at the Games’
Partnerships and strong working relationships with key Ancestral Tourism stakeholders, including, ScotlandsPeople, Local Authorities, Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
Promotion of ancestral themes to VisitScotland SCOTSagents globally
PR Programme
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VisitScotland’s hosted journalist visit programme welcomes over 200 international journalists visiting per annum
Over 410 pieces of Homecoming-related coverage were received during 2009. Many of these had an ancestral focus and the legacy of Homecoming goes on, with coverage continuing throughout 2011 and 2012.
Homecoming Scotland coverage reached an audience of 291,592,366 and generated an amazing £14,402,684 of PR value
Dedicated ancestral newsletter to media contacts based in Diaspora markets, bi-monthly basis.
The Focus Years
Food & Drink 2010/11 Active Scotland 2011 Creative Scotland 2012
Natural Scotland 2013 Homecoming 2014Commonwealth GamesRyder Cup
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The Winning Years
What is the Growth Fund?
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• Marketing fund for constituted groups • Supports collaborative marketing activity to bring additional visitors to your area -
regional, national, or international• Marketing projects should last c.12 months• Award is 50% of total project cost – from £5,000 to £65,000• 25% private sector cash• Monthly application panel• Dedicated Growth Fund Advisor
www.visitscotland.org/growthfund
What is eligible? What is not eligible?
Marketing projects designed to bring visitors to the area
•Regional as well as national and international marketing
•Marketing materials e.g. leaflets, pop-up displays, video footage, posters
•Website development
•Event & exhibition attendance
•Core or repeated marketing activity•Event marketing (see EventScotland)•Product development•Capital costs e.g. plasma screens
Marketing that targets locals and visitors already in the area