Surgeons’ Hall says Slainte to fantastic media coverage – thanks to just a few hours of time with our PR agency

LIVING in Scotland it’s all too easy to forget what a fantastic culture we have. The food, the music, the dancing … it is all stuff we tend to take for granted.

It was celebrated Scottish lawyer and poet William Edmondstoune Aytoun who said: “Give me but one hour of Scotland, let me see it ere I die.”

Certainly tourists who travel here from around the world love experiencing some of our rich traditions, even if they get only a few short hours to enjoy them.

That’s why Slainte at Surgeons’ Hall – a new Scottish experience evening for visitors to the city –  is expected to be such a huge success. It delivers a thrilling jolt of Scottish experiences in a single evening, with a stunning and historic setting, fine Scottish cuisine, Highland dancing, and outstanding piping and fiddling.

However, first the events and hospitality team behind the venerable, 500-year-old institution had to raise awareness of their new venture and let travel and tourism influencers know it was launching.

So, they turned to Holyrood PR for help putting the name of the new Slainte evenings on the lips of the right people. With just a few short hours of PR time, we exceeded all expectations, with results including:

• At least 17 Items of coverage across diverse target media.
• Created more than 600,000 Opportunities to See (OTS), positive mentions about Slainte
• Reached up to 7500 potential visitors for every £1 spent
• Drove numerous business leads from tourism specialists as a direct result of the PR exposure
• Produced excellent video and photography to support the ongoing promotion of the events

See the full range of the coverage we delivered by checking out this post which explains where articles appeared – and what made them so valuable to the team at Surgeons’ Hall

So how did we go about ensuring this new event made the spotlight?

 ONE – LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT

Time was at a premium – and since Surgeons’ Hall could had but a few hours, we wanted to make sure we made the most of them. From the moment we were informed of the launch, we put in place a well thought out PR campaign aimed at as many target publications as possible.

So, our initial launch release told the story of how more than 16,000 visitors per year would have the chance to enjoy an evening of entertainment at a new event in on of Scotland’s oldest institutions – specificially in the historic Playfair Room.

But we went an important step further, by tailoring the release to make it specific and relevant to three important audiences:

LOCAL
Our initial announcement was in the form of a media release which achieved valuable coverage in local media and caught the attention of Scottish business press. This was important because local people often play host to visitors from elsewhere in the UK and abroad, while Scottish businesses are important customers of Surgeons’ Hall, using its many other venues for conferences and events

SPECIALIST
We then drafted a further version of the release aimed specifically at the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) media, a vital step for reaching the agencies – large and small – which are involved in booking trips and experiences for large groups of travellers and tourists.

HOSPITALITY
A further, tailored version of the media release was prepare  hotel trade publications. This was vital to reaching those in the hospitality sector – since many visitors to Edinburgh and Scotland will look to their accommodation provider to also provide advice and guidance on where they should go and what they should see.

TWO – PREVIEW NIGHT

Part of the Surgeons’ Hall all-important launch strategy was to hold a preview night for travel and tourism influencers from the likes of VisitScotland and Marketing Edinburgh. This preview night would also play host to travel agents, booking agents, hotel concierges, hoteliers and many others involved in the thriving tourism sector across Edinburgh and Scotland

We realised this was more than just a chance to get feedback on the quality of the venue, the food and drink and the entertainment. It was also a chance to secure interviews with genuine sectors movers and shakers – and a further opportunity to achieve coverage in specialist trade media (why have just one bite of the cherry?).

Check our essential guide which explains how the smartest and savviest of businesses benefit from PR campaigns which deliver more bites of the cherry.

Working with Surgeons’ Hall we arranged photo and video shoots before and during the preview night meaning those interested in the story also had access to perfect accompanying images. This definitely worked as coverage mounted.

The story of the successful preview event ran on well-established industry websites including venues.org.uk, Incentivetravel.co.uk, conference-news.co.uk. It then went on to feature twice in the Marketing Edinburgh Newsletter as well as in The National newspaper, Business Insider Magazine and local titles Edinburgh Evening News and Scottish Field Magazine.

Feast your eyes on the impressive galleries of images we captured during the Slainte Preview event – and also check out the video, where tourism movers and shakers give their verdict

Many of the media reports also included photos and video from the evening. Meanwhile the pictures and video will provide value for Surgeons’ Hall for months and years to come, featuring on its  website and in other promotional material, helping potential visitors to get a taste for the event.

 THREE – BUILDING TRUST

Happily  the Surgeons’ Hall team were delighted with the results including the extensive media coverage and the photos and videos.

But what they were particularly delighted with were the numerous business enquiries they received  from tour operators and organisers looking to bring tourists to the evenings – all as a direct result of the PR activity, demonstrating the real value of powerful storytelling.

That reinforced the value of public relations to Surgeons’ Hall, which previously worked with Holyrood PR to enjoy superb results ahead of the planned launch of a new venue, the Prince Philip building and reminded them that our PR agency is dedicated to delivering results which improve the bottom line of the businesses we work with.

Find out how we welcomed Surgeons’ Hall to instant PR results – notching up valuable coverage even before the refurbishement of the new Prince Philip venue was complete

Haste ye back to find out how our award-winning public relations agency could help your business

Time is money  – and we appreciate that you want to make the most of both. That’s why we are the most transparent agency in Scotland when it comes to publishing our rates and charges.

We make every hour count when working on behalf of our clients – delivering superb results in words, picture and video that ensure coverage on paper, online and on air.And as you can see from the Slainte launch case study, those results translate into real business results for our clients.

We’d love to discuss how our PR services could help your business and getting in touch couldn’t be easier. Simply phone us on 0131 561 2244 or fill in the contact form below and we’ll get straight back to you: