IQ-Magazine-Issue-15

IQ marketing
Destination
Creativity
Rachel Cracknell, destination
marketing expert at Cubiqdesign,
meets some organisations across
the region that are shaking
up the tourism industry
Traditionally, tourist information centres, local councils
and destination management organisations would be the
first points of contact for discovering the best things to do
in a town or city, the best places to stay in an area and how
you would go about getting to a location. But today, more
and more destination marketers, individuals and smaller
organisations are taking some, if not all, of the responsibility
for promoting a place.
A great place with a limited budget for promotion, encourages
innovation and the delivery of destination creativity.
We take a look at three organisations across our region that
are leading the way in promoting their part of the world.
Designing and hosting unique events
Ourburystedmunds is one of over 200 Business Improvement
Districts (BIDs) across the UK. A BID is a business-led and
business-funded body, which provides services within a
defined geographical zone that enable businesses to thrive.
In 2009 the BID (originally named BID4Bury) was voted in
and, under the name Ourburystedmunds, it has played a key
role, with support from partner organisations, in improving
what the town has to offer.
The organisation has six key priority areas for businesses in
the town and these are marketing; safety and security; the
Christmas lights; environment; events and business support.
Each year, Ourburystedmunds delivers a range of events in
the town centre to attract additional visitors. The Whitsun
Fayre over the late May Bank Holiday weekend, the Food
and Drink Festival over the August Bank Holiday and
the Christmas Lights Switch-On during the penultimate
Thursday in November are all organised by the BID team.
Many of these events are now in their fourth and fifth year and
they’ve grown to be eagerly anticipated events in the regional
calendar. These events and supporting marketing campaigns
are not only bringing visitors to the town during the key
festivals, but visitors are also coming back at other times of the
year too.
Ourburystedmunds continues to develop new and engaging
events year after year, and this year, they’ve introduced the
Bury St Edmunds Wolf Trail and the Festival of Sport.
The latest and most exciting project to date is the provision
of the first real ice skating rink in the arc Shopping Centre
this year. This initiative, like everything the BID does, seeks
to improve the trading environment for its members. As
a result, the BID does all it can to increase visitor numbers
to the town, thereby ensuring that local residents, as well as
visitors, benefit.
At the start of the year, Ourburystedmunds commissioned the
design of 26 wolves by local artists for a town-wide activity
trail. Since July, due to popular demand, a total of 15,000
wolf trail guides have been produced and taken by people
taking part. The trail has not only encouraged residents and
visitors to explore the town, it’s also been part of an integrated
marketing campaign to learn more about how people feel
about the town.
Mark Cordell, CEO of Ourburystedmunds, said: “The
BID is now in its second five year term. I don’t think it’s a
coincidence that Bury has grown in stature as a retail and
visitor destination over the past five years, the same period
issue 15 | page 38