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Case Studies A Case Study of a Successful Tourism Partnership between Private and Public Enterprise The Seven Wonders of the Weald
The campaign centres on the uniqueness of the Seven Wonders and the fact they are all within easy reach of one another, offering the visitor ample opportunity to experience a variety of different outdoor attractions during a short visit to the area. The seven attractions are: Bewl Water (privately owned)
A launch event was organised and this was attended by the media, the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells and BBC presenter Kaddy Lee-Preston. Two further successful press days were scheduled for July and October the same year, photography was taken, seasonal press releases were prepared, copy was written for the website and exhibition stands were designed. Tourist Information Centres and selected tourism groups were invited to attend the events, as were tourism partners in the initiative i.e. SEEDA, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, and the AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The three press events collectively attracted over 160 regional and national media and, to date, 150 pieces of editorial have been written. We arranged for representatives from the group to speak at the Kent Tourism Conference and competitions were organized in local media to win tickets to visit the Seven Wonders. We have been invited to speak at tourism conferences about the success of this organization despite the limited budget. We worked with a website designer to produce a Seven Wonders website www.sevenwonders.org.uk . This was launched via a press release which resulted in radio coverage and was also written about in the local media and in the travel trade publications.
Travel and lifestyle media contacts are regularly sent information about the Seven Wonders to help secure coverage at a local and national level as well as secure coverage on radio, television and in new media. An example of TV coverage generated is a series on Life TV on all Seven Wonders. We continue to attend regular meetings and keep the group updated on progress. We also work closely with other tourism groups in Kent including the Heart of Kent, Tourism South East and Kent Tourism to maximise awareness of the Seven Wonders of the Weald. During 2008 Royal Tunbridge Wells was invited to become the gateway to the Seven Wonders of the Weald and having accepted we are now able to position the wonders better as it shows how close they are to a major town. Unlike many other partnerships which run into trouble after their first year when funding tends to run out, this is a successful partnership which is now self funding and growing in strength. The extra revenue generated from sales of the Seven Wonders annual pass will help to guarantee the groups future as one of the most successful marketing partnerships in Kent. Press coverage to date since the launch of the Seven Wonders in 2005 is estimated to be in the region of £500,000 when calculated against the advertising equivalent. |
Funded by SEEDA, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Pennington PR was approached in 2005 to launch Kent’s newest tourism initiative, ‘The Seven Wonders of the Weald.’
Our team put together a PR plan and organised a branding workshop to bring out a mission statement and key messages. We also briefed a designer to produce an attractive, recognisable logo and we wrote the copy and arranged the design for a leaflet.
In 2007 we launched a new annual pass offering discounts and free admission to all seven attractions. Extensive press coverage was achieved and competitions were set up to win passes. We have continuing to promote the Pass in 2008 and sales continue to increase as a result of PR coverage. No advertising has been undertaken at this time but flyers and posters are being produced to encourage sales in 2009 in time for the start of the visitor season.