VISITSCOTLAND UK & OVERSEAS GUIDE Project Summary For the fourth consecutive year, Graphic Partners has worked with VisitScotland on its key publications promoting tourism in Scotland for both the UK and overseas markets. Two guides are produced. One directly targets the UK market whose needs and motivations are different from the overseas market. The overseas publication is translated into eight different languages. Objectives The objectives of the guides are: To persuade more visitors to visit Scotland by positioning Scotland as a 'must visit' destination To convert contemplators into visiting Scotland by producing stunning, aspirational guides To surprise potential visitors about Scotland with the diversity of products available Produce browsable guides with relevant signposts to further information Encourage visitors to travel more widely throughout Scotland and outside the main summer season The major themes which were to be exploited for 2004 included touring, activities, culture, wildlife, food and cities. The Scotland guides had to fulfil two functions: to inform the decided and persuade the undecided. Due to the distribution methods, the guides needed to be a standard size in order to be racked. Both guides had to use the same imagery and editorial content, but reflect the different tastes and perceptions of these markets. The guides needed to be easy to navigate, with strong coding to help people understand the layout. In addition, the guides had to be translated into various languages, which required additional design considerations. Solution The guides clearly communicated the diverse range of activities and landscapes which could be enjoyed in Scotland throughout the year. They educated the reader by eliminating any preconceived ideas about typical seasons and activities within Scotland. Graphic Partners developed a magazine-style publication using awe-inspiring images that communicated Scotland as an experience, using photography which portrayed landscapes, cities, history and culture. As the guides needed to be translated into eight different languages, production costs were a key consideration. The guides were designed so that the black plate would change throughout. This meant restrictions such as no copy could be used over images, none of the background colours could contain black, all headline and body copy had to be black. Each publication had an introductory section giving the consumer a broad overview of Scotland and the main cities, places of interest and activities. Chapters were introduced based on each of the major themes to be exploited for 2004 - touring, activities, culture, wildlife, food and cities. The guides were colour coded by region on a map and through each section so the reader could easily navigate their chosen region. Benefits From independent research undertaken, the design and communication strategy was successful, placing VisitScotland brochures at the top of the 'Most Successful Cover Design' category and ahead of its major competitors for influencing visitor numbers. The research investigated how the guide performed in terms of what the primary need in communication is and what other areas are important. The primary need in communication terms is for traditional/scenery/peaceful values with variety/surprise/active values being important in terms of modernising the image of Scotland and attracting/reassuring a wider range of people. The balance in the VisitScotland guides was found to work well and strongly communicates the class, serenity, variety and welcome, thus conveying a positive image of Scotland. www.visitscotland.com
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