Case study: Visit Dean Wye
What we did
We overhauled the marketing for Visit Dean Wye, the Destination Management Organisation for the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, designing a new marketing strategy and managing all of their marketing, implementing a significant programme of change which achieved exponential growth for the fledgling brand, raising it from a hidden gem to a contender in the UK tourism market.
Our services included
Strategy and planning
Branding and messaging
Social media
Campaigns
Website management
Content creation
Photography
Advertising
PR and influencers
Email (B2C and B2B)
Reporting and data
Our key achievements
Strategy and planning
When we were first invited as one of several agencies to propose a new marketing plan for the DMO in 2018 we created a strategy entitled ‘Passion, Personality, Purpose, People’. Although we were up against much bigger agencies, we were hired. We quickly developed, implemented and managed our strategy for growing the DMO which included a significant programme of change covering every aspect of its marketing and left it in the strongest position it has ever been in.
Branding and messaging
This was a major focal point of our strategy which highlighted the importance of prioritising a professional, consistent and attractive brand presence across all digital platforms. In 2019 we managed a complete rebrand of the organisation and were then able to develop and implement our strategy, laying a strong foundation for all of our future work.
Social media
We carried out a comprehensive audit and developed new brand guidelines and a social media strategy. We managed the organisation’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and built an engaged community which saw a 1500% increase in engagement on Facebook and Instagram in our first 12 months on a one day per week package.
We achieved over 250% follower growth on Facebook (7k>25k) and 600% follower growth on Instagram (1.3k>10.1k) in under four years.
Marketing campaigns
Including:
My Forest of Dean – A digital campaign aiming to raise the profile of the area to those in the south west of England following the removal of the Severn Bridge tolls in 2019. Included new video (see below) and photo, influencer visits, social media (reach of almost 250,000), PR and advertising.
Leaf Peeping – The UK’s first guide to leaf peeping including a driving route and top ten ‘leaf peeping’ locations (see our blog post here). Our social media campaign was nominated for a TravMedia Award in 2020.
Find Your Freedom – A £35k campaign to promote the area’s unique experiences and businesses. After a five-day photoshoot (see our blog post here) the campaign launched in March 2022 comprising six short films, five new itineraries and a social media advertising campaign.
Escape the Everyday – A Visit Britain campaign to inspire consumers to book a short break by showcasing the breadth of experiences available.
Website management
Project management of a new website design and build (by destination specialists Simpleview) which went live in October 2020. Our focus was on improving the user experience, with simple navigation, and including inspirational high quality images and new optimised, engaging copy which we wrote. Achieved a 47% increase in users in 12 months (350k users): www.visitdeanwye.co.uk.
Content creation
Our passion for the area and understanding of the target audience was conveyed in our content creation and brought huge results. Including web content, blog posts, campaigns, social media copy, optimised copy for key sections of the website and press releases. We immersed our client’s audience in the captivating narratives of the destination, evoking emotions and bringing the magical landscapes and experiences to life.
PR and influencers
Coordinating and managing press and influencer visits including for campaigns, to promote experiences and trails. Coverage including a 10-page spread in National Geographic and this online piece.
Photography and videography
A major part of the role, I took thousands of images and videos for the organisation which are still used across their website, social media and newsletters. You can see a number of our photos on our Photography page here. Also see our social media accounts for our latest photos and videos of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean (links in header and footer).