Following receipt of a Covid recovery grant from VisitScotland, Visit Wester Ross appointed Whale-like-fish to develop a campaign to attract tourists and encourage them to stay and enjoy the region for longer. The aim of the campaign was to encourage a better quality of visit, rather than people passing through the area for a selfie-stop or overnight as part of a longer road trip.
Whale-like-fish devised the Are You a West Coaster? campaign, which launched in January 2022. The campaign focused on five different types of West Coasters over the course of six weeks and encouraged people to identify themselves as a West Coaster too. The campaign would also tie into the fact that Wester Ross is a UNESCO biosphere; something that in itself makes the area attractive and unique.
Videos were created, in partnership with RedBeard Productions, for a Mountaineer West Coaster, Nature West Coaster, Cultural West Coaster, Foodie West Coaster and Water West Coaster. The videos followed local businesspeople who are passionate about the UNESCO biosphere and are committed to growing a sustainable business and local economy that is in harmony with the natural surroundings, inspiring visitors with a common mindset.
The main campaign video was first to be launched and featured all of our West Coasters saying what they love about the area. This was followed every Friday with subsequent videos featuring interviews with each type of West Coaster: McKenzie Mountaineering, Attadale Gardens, The Bridge Art Collective, Kishorn Seafood Bar and Ewe Canoe.
The videos were shared with media, alongside a press release and stills. The video was also boosted on social media to people who share the same type of lifestyle and interests of the West Coaster featured that week. Followers were encouraged to get involved on social media by sharing their own photos and videos of Wester Ross using the hashtag #AreYouaWestCoaster. Social media influencers were also made aware of the campaign and interest gauged for potential press trips.
Influencer trip or features were secured with:
- Fiona Outdoors
- The Outdoor Adventure Blog
- Adventures Around Scotland
- Tartan Spoon
- Scotland with the Wee White Dug (online promotion following previous trip to Wester Ross)
Coverage was secured in STV News at 6, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Alba, Ross-shire Journal, North Star, Press & Journal, The Herald, The National and Travel Daily.
Following the success of the campaign, it was extended in summer 2022 to feature two new Wester Coasters – the Storyteller West Coaster and the Wildlife West Coaster. The two new videos were launched to media and on social media. A newsletter was also distributed to Visit Wester Ross members explaining the new phase of the campaign and how they could get involved. Window stickers were also created and hand delivered to encourage businesses to get customers and visitors behind the campaign.
Whilst the PR campaign was active, over 85% of visitors to https://www.visitwester-ross.com/ were new, equating to 14,421 users out of a total of 14,681 with a combined number of sessions of 18,854.
A total of 65 pieces of coverage were secured with 577,000 coverage views.
Social media following on Facebook and Instagram also increased over the course of the campaign, with many also sharing their own content using #AreYouaWestCoaster. Facebook page ‘likes’ increased by 662 to a total of 6,868 (7,498 followers). The number of Instagram followers increased by 241 to a total of 1,022 followers.
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Photography/video stills: RedBeard Productions