Visit Mid Wales‘s big bite was to establish an identity of its own and use to attract visitors
Wales thrives on tourism, but it’s the Beacons in the south, craggy Snowdonia terrain of the north and the lush beaches of the west that have always been most known. Visit Mid Wales needed to break free from being ‘the bit in the middle’ so engaged S3 to help them change perceptions.
NATURAL STRENGTH
Mid Wales Tourism’s natural strength was its remoteness.
Audience research told us this campaign’s key audience – millennials – lust exploration and adventure; often using holidays for an insight into new cultures, habits and people. However, these urban dwellers didn’t always have the time to go there.
Mid Wales was remote, sparsely populated and quaint in its rural living, helping our strategists spot a gap in the tourism market – a distinct ‘otherworldliness’, but one that wasn’t too far away…
THE SKILLS
S3’s social media specialists planned content that would unearth the ‘Real Mid Wales’ and paint a picture of an unusual, untouched place. The team became content curators, being incredibly selective on what we featured, and how. We created a visual signature for all content; using expert editing processes to create an instantly-recognisable “Ah, that’s Mid Wales” feel.
Having such a clear vision for who we wanted to be was the true strategic power of this campaign and enabled us to achieve the social holy grail: having a super-clear social identity that was specially tailored to our audience.
Content ranged from cinematic videography to high-quality imagery, drone footage to force touch; captured through user-generated content and our own thoroughly researched and meticulously planned shoots across the region. We established a network of on-brand creators to commission as brand partners; gathering content on our behalf in exchange for a modest fee. We secured an influencer Instagram Story takeover at Hay Festival 2018, exposing the brand to 12,000+ new followers, and secured coverage from key partners including Visit Wales.
THE SUCCESS
A new identity for Mid Wales – that inspired more holiday research of the region.
Over 1,000 original pieces of original on-brand content were created by S3’s production team over the course of the campaign – all in the distinctive house style we’d crafted. The content introduced an audience of millennials to the region, sent thousands onto the website to explore and attracted additional visitors to the region.