Help us keep Edinburgh a top destination for meetings, conferences & incentives

Phase one of the Make It Edinburgh campaign ran for twelve months, ending in October 2018. With the continued uncertainty around Brexit, three of the original funding partners pledged further funds to extend the campaign in 2019. This runs until 31 October 2019 when arguably the real impact of Brexit will hit. We are seeking further funding from across the city, from everyone who has a vested interest in our business tourism market remaining strong (hotels, venues, restaurants, bars, shops, attractions and other suppliers). Together if everyone pledges a small sum (£100) we can reach sufficient funds (£20K) to extend the campaign for six months.

We are fundraising to extend the Make It Edinburgh Campaign for a further six months from November 2019. This money will allow us to continue to keep Edinburgh front of mind with event planners and conference organisers across the UK and Germany. This will be achieved through digital advertising on social media, paid search, PR and relevant trade platforms.

Through the power of crowdfunding, we are requesting that each organization that benefits from business tourism (that’s hotels, venues, restaurants, bars, shops, transport providers etc!) pledges £100 towards the campaign.

Make It Edinburgh is a digital marketing campaign promoting Edinburgh as a destination for business tourism (meetings, conferences, incentives & other corporate events). Launched autumn 2017, the campaign was conceived and originally funded by six key stakeholders in the city.

The campaign was also match funded by the VisitScotland Growth Fund.

The campaign resulted from a collective concern in the city over the impact that Brexit and the possibility of a second independence referendum might have on business event enquiries. Delegates attending conferences, meetings and incentives bring positive economic benefit to the city all year round for a diverse group of companies – venues, hotels, transport providers, bars, restaurants, shops, attractions.

The campaign celebrates the city’s unique position as a centre of excellence, innovation and heritage. For the very first time, Edinburgh’s diverse business tourism offering is presented under a single, cohesive creative and digital strategy. The overarching strapline, ‘Make it Edinburgh’, ties together an integrated campaign that celebrates and promotes Edinburgh’s strongest sectors of industry, while providing compelling reasons to choose Edinburgh for future events.

The campaign created a suite of digital assets for everyone in the city to use – from digital adverts and branded templates through to film stings and pop up banners. The actual campaign uses these assets through a variety of relevant channels: social media (Twitter and LinkedIn); digital trade platforms (such as Conference News, MeetPie and CVENT), paid search and PR activity. The key call to action for all social media activity is #MakeItEdinburgh which has become the de facto strapline for business events in Edinburgh.

The primary target market is UK meeting and event planners based in the UK (London, South East, Midlands, North East & West) and Germany (our largest European market for inbound business tourism).

In the first 12 months of the campaign, traffic on Convention Edinburgh’s website increased 87.6% and 147 enquiries were handled. The campaign has successfully gained traction with local businesses in Edinburgh with the hashtag #MakeItEdinburgh now the de facto call to action for social media activity around business tourism.