“Our mission is to help the world fall in love with Scotch whisky,” says Julie Trevisan Hunter, Marketing Director at The Scotch Whisky Experience. To get the message out to the world in the first place, her team relies on digital tourism marketing. “But as a local attraction, our resources are very limited.”
That’s why creating tactical relationships with partners is crucial for The Scotch Whisky Experience’s promotional efforts. Teaming up with an online travel agent (OTA) like Tiqets enables The Scotch Whisky Experience to take advantage of world-class digital marketing tactics specifically for the travel industry.
Our mission is to help the world fall in love with Scotch whisky,
but as one individual attraction, our resources are very limited.”
Julie Trevisan Hunter
Marketing Director, The Scotch Whisky Experience
The Challenge
Managing an international digital presence – with a small team
Scotland has five main whisky-producing regions – Lowland, Highland, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Islay – all of which produce distinct types of whisky. Whisky has always been integral to Scottish culture and is one of the reasons international tourists come to the country in the first place. In today’s always-on digital world, as Pietro Cecchini, Head of Business Development at The Scotch Whisky Experience, says, “You almost have an international presence by default. You can’t stop it, so you have to manage it.”
While the attraction has been around for over 30 years, managing that reputation and boosting awareness with international travellers is still a full-time job for the attraction’s small marketing team. Partners, including OTAs, are also critical to those efforts. But, Cecchini says, “We only want to work with partners who are fair, honest, and supportive.” It’s important to the team to work with an OTA that is savvy and intentional about international digital tourism marketing.
All visitors enjoy a tasting in a glass vault containing the world’s most beautiful and unique Scotch whisky collection.
We only want to work with partners who are fair, honest, and supportive.
That’s where Tiqets is particularly strong. It’s a two-way relationship.”
Pietro Cecchini
Head of Business Development, The Scotch Whisky Experience
The Solution
A digital marketing partnership that goes above and beyond
When The Scotch Whisky Experience partnered with Tiqets, the team was able to boost international digital marketing, innovate quicker, and gather social proof to better promote the attraction to people around the world, on a highly visible content platform.
Tiqets has proved to be the right OTA partnership for The Scotch Whisky Experience for a number of reasons, but above all, as Cecchini puts it, “From my point of view, it’s extremely easy to work with Tiqets. We’re always willing to try new things with the company because we work so well together.”
01
The lift in international marketing
The most important factor in any partner relationship, for The Scotch Whisky Experience, was to increase international exposure while positioning the attraction in the best possible light. As a small business, The Scotch Whisky Experience didn’t necessarily have the means to implement tourism-focused digital marketing campaigns internationally. But by working with Tiqets, they could tap into Tiqets’ existing international audience and established reputation.
They could also tap into Tiqets’ practical resources, including content available to global visitors in 13 languages. “In our team we speak four to five languages,” says Cecchini, “but we don’t cover all markets. Tiqets is a cost-effective extension of our resources. With insights into the global marketplace, you’re also an extension of our sales and marketing.” Simply by being listed on a platform with big international attractions like Buckingham Palace and the Louvre means that “the Scotch Whisky Experience,, is suddenly transformed to a global scale – at no cost to us, but just through our partnership with you.”
Tiqets is a cost-effective extension of our resources.
With insights into the global marketplace, you’re an extension of our sales and marketing.”
Pietro Cecchini
Head of Business Development, The Scotch Whisky Experience
02
The opportunity to get showcased with unique, original, and authentic content
One of the most interesting ways that Tiqets supports The Scotch Whisky Experience is with original content and marketing campaigns. Recently, Tiqets featured the attraction in a dedicated blog post that gave Trevisan Hunter a chance to prove her extensive knowledge and tell the full-colour story of The Scotch Whisky Experience: Scotch Tasting in Edinburgh – Inside the Scotch Whisky Experience.
Then in 2021, the venue won Best Attraction in the UK at Tiqets’ annual Remarkable Venue Awards. This sort of recognition isn’t just lip service. Reputable awards lend credibility to a travel brand, but they’re not all that easy to land. There are plenty of “pay to enter” awards out there, but Cecchini says, “With so many ‘fake’ awards out there, this is the polar opposite of that world.” Plus, Trevisan Hunter acknowledges how important it is that the Remarkable Venue Awards are given out based on real customer reviews: “It’s really important and lovely for us that this award has a foundation in genuine people who have come and visited our attraction and are the right visitors for us.”
Being nominated for reputable awards, featured in blog posts, and invited to participate in panels are just a few of the ways Tiqets spotlights attractions like The Scotch Whisky Experience. With webinars in particular, various venues come together to weigh in on topical issues such as sustainability and marketing innovation. Trevisan Hunter says, “One of the things I really value about Tiqets is that you’re very generous with content. The research and the information you put out gives a different perspective and pulls together a different collaboration than ones we might normally be involved in.”
One of the things I really value about Tiqets is that you’re very generous with content.
The research and the information you put out gives a different perspective.”
Julie Trevisan Hunter
Marketing Director, The Scotch Whisky Experience
03
An agile ability to innovate
The robust content capability Tiqets creates proved valuable to The Scotch Whisky Experience during the pandemic in particular. Most attractions already had marketing campaigns put in place for the year when the pandemic began in 2020, and there was a lot of uncertainty around how long shutdowns would be enforced and when international travel would be kosher again. A lot of marketing campaigns were put in a holding pattern.
But Tiqets was able to provide quick pivots for its partners over the first two years of the pandemic. For instance, the UK Awakens campaign highlighted free virtual experiences with the UK’s top museums and attractions, including The Scotch Whisky Experience.
”The whole campaign was just really positive and complementary to other campaigns we’ve been involved with,” says Trevisan Hunter, who has traditionally had low expectations for marketing partners that couldn’t execute such a swift shift in digital marketing game plan. She continues, “It felt very, very timely in the UK, and because of the type of organisation you are, and that you can work dynamically, it seemed that you turned that campaign around and switched it on very quickly when restrictions were lifted.”
04
The proof is in the social proof
Travelling is very stressful, even without a pandemic in the mix. “People can arrive at your doorstep in a position of stress,” says Trevisan Hunter. “One of the most important things we put in place [during the pandemic] was that every single minute that we were open, there was someone standing on the street with an umbrella saying ‘Today’s rain is tomorrow’s whisky.’” It might sound like a small thing, but that sort of welcoming gesture is one of the reasons The Scotch Whisky Experience is so beloved and successful.
That warm experience comes across to international travellers contemplating a visit when they see social proof – other visitors raving about their visit online. Social proof is important to any travel brand, in fact, and it can be hard to come by. An attraction might be doing a great job with its own social media and other forms of digital marketing specific to the travel industry – displaying visitor reviews front and centre whenever possible and sharing positive social posts – but there’s no guarantee a widespread audience will see them.
Tiqets, on the other hand, has a huge built-in audience and also attracts independent, objective customer reviews. For The Scotch Whisky Experience, that means more exposure and more credibility around the reviews. Cecchini says, “In terms of validation, because you’re a global brand, it adds significant gravitas to the accreditation, which raises awareness and potentially opens the door to more leisure and B2B clients to come and visit. Collectively, it’s a big thing.”
Because you’re a global brand, it adds significant gravitas to the accreditation,
which raises awareness. Collectively, it’s a big thing.”
Pietro Cecchini
Head of Business Development, The Scotch Whisky Experience
A strong marketing message, an even stronger experience
For The Scotch Whisky Experience, keeping the visitor experience strong and the digital tourism marketing message clear has made a big difference in welcoming back visitors after Covid shutdowns. But, having an international OTA as a marketing partner has also been invaluable – especially for small and mid-sized attractions without the deep pockets to reach global visitors on their own.
Want to learn more about how you can partner with Tiqets or use the Tiqets Booking Engine to achieve similar success?
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