Challenge
Whilst Scotland welcomes visitors from around the world, inward tourism from the rest of the UK is hugely important to the Scottish economy.
Using VisitScotland’s database of over 3 million existing and potential visitors, our task is to convince holidaymakers to visit Scotland more often, and maximise the ROI of VisitScotland’s limited direct marketing budget.
Solution
Before we set our hands on any sketch pads, we looked at the data. We found that regular visitors were almost three times more valuable to the Scottish economy than occasional visitors. So, a new strategy was born: coax the casual visitors up the loyalty ladder to become more frequent guests.
All we had to do then was make each of them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Using keen data insights, flexible print processes, and a seemingly endless list of incredible things to do and see in Scotland, we’ve created a series of campaigns that could be deeply personalised and specifically tailored to push each recipient’s hot buttons.
Is it easy? Heck, no. A typical print campaign for VisitScotland includes up to 750 content stories, featured across 15 different creative versions. That’s a lot of meticulous planning and hard graft. But the real question is, is it worthwhile? Well, you be the judge...
Result
One in five people who receive our direct mail campaigns respond. Our average response rate (20%) blows the industry standard (4%) clean out of the loch. The campaigns average an additional £185 million to the Scottish economy each year, delivering a whopping ROI of 605:1.
The campaigns have also racked up numerous awards, including Best Retention campaign at the IDM Awards, Best Direct Mail at the Travel Marketing Awards, and Best Direct Campaign for two years running at the Marketing Star Awards.
" The campaigns average an additional £185 million to the Scottish economy each year, delivering a whopping ROI of 605:1. "
Karen André
Business Development Director