Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 21/05/2024

Global marketing campaigns | May 2024

The focus of our global marketing campaigns is to move travellers from thinking about a trip or looking at destinations, to inspiration, and ultimately to booking.

We also want to inspire people to consider how their visit can best benefit themselves, the places they visit, and the people they meet.

Our work starts with getting Scotland front-of-mind. We showcase the enriching experiences on offer, epitomised by our natural environment and heritage. According to the Nation Brands Index 2023, a “country’s natural beauty is the most important reputational aspect driving the desire to visit a nation”.

Read the Nation Brands Index 2023 on Ipsos.com.

Scotland features a diverse mix of iconic, wild and spectacular landscapes. These consistently come out as a key motivator to visit, as highlighted in our latest visitor survey. And, with a wealth of outdoor and cultural experiences to enjoy, there’s something to suit everyone, across every region and season.

Browse our latest visitor survey data.

Our marketing seeks to influence responsible travel behaviours. We want to encourage visitors to slow down and really embrace the rejuvenating quality of a trip to Scotland by:

  • highlighting local experiences and flavours
  • uncovering places that are “off the beaten track”
  • encouraging connection with our communities
  • recommending more sustainable transport modes

 

A look back at 2023-2024

Over the last year, our Scotland is Calling campaign successfully promoted visits throughout the year from key international and domestic markets.

Read more about the Scotland is Calling campaign.

  • National Geographic and Disney

    At the heart of the campaign was a partnership with two iconic brands and renowned storytellers; National Geographic and Disney.

    We spotlighted Scottish locations that have inspired Disney stories or provided the backdrops to their films. This embraced the set-jetting trend whilst encouraging visitors to explore their own story and connections with our places.

    Initially launched in the UK and US, we identified an opportunity to extend into France and Germany where these partners had receptive and far-reaching audiences.

    This led to positive results including:

    • 1 million people reached with our videos 
    • 98,400 views of our content 
    • 3:02 minutes on average is spent on viewing our content

  • Culture Trip, Le Figaro, and Hearst

    Content partnerships with these trusted publishers allowed us to reach relevant consumers in their markets with in-depth, quality content. These partnerships brought to life our:

    • local food and drink experiences
    • community-recommended hidden gems
    • slower ways of exploring Scotland by bike or foot
    • unique cultural tales


    This activity delivered:

    • six Culture Trip articles, which reached almost 3 million readers in the US
    • 33,500 page views of tailored French content that could be read in Le Figaro
    • a series of Hearst publication articles, reaching over 1 million people in the UK and US on their social media alone


    This was complemented by brand building videos across Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and connected TV in the US and UK. These videos were viewed 23.1 million times.

  • Expedia and Skyscanner

    Conversion-led activity with Expedia Group (US and UK) saw an increase year on year in gross booking value (USD) of 16% in the US and 7% in the UK. Critically, our activity influenced seasonal bookings. A large proportion of US bookings were for the autumn, winter, and spring.

    Our Skyscanner activity in Germany and France also delivered above target. When it came to searches for Scotland, we saw an increase of 17% in Germany and 15% in France year on year.

  • Partner marketing activity

    Collaborating with partners such as Avanti, Caledonian Sleeper, LNER and ScotRail, we ran joint marketing activity throughout the year.

    This helped to raise awareness of affordable and more sustainable travel to and around Scotland. Beyond this, it also drove attributable uplift in ticket sales for partners and incremental value.

    We worked with Destination Management Organisations and local authorities to shape their visitor messaging and promote their key tourism product strengths.

    In the last year alone, we:

    • engaged with over 80 regional stakeholder groups
    • delivered 15 regional marketing campaigns
    • got over 3.5 million video views
    • got over 440,000 clicks on links to relevant webpages

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