marketing strategy & action plan for the...

MARKETING STRATEGY & ACTION PLAN FOR THE COMMANDERY

REPORT FOR MUSEUMS WORCESTERSHIRE

MARCH 2014

BLUE SAIL MARKETING STRATEGY FOR THE COMMANDERY

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CONTENTS

1 THE STRATEGY IN A NUTSHELL ................................................................. 3

2 AIMS & OBJECTIVES ................................................................................. 4

3 PRODUCTS & EXPERIENCES ...................................................................... 5

4 TARGET MARKETS ................................................................................... 8

5 POSITIONING ......................................................................................... 12

6 ROUTES TO MARKET AND COLLATERAL ................................................... 14

7 PARTNERSHIPS ....................................................................................... 22

8 MONITORING & KPIS .............................................................................. 24

9 MARKETING ACTION PLAN...................................................................... 26

10 APPENDIX 1: PROFILE OF TARGET ACORN SEGMENTS .............................. 35

11 APPENDIX 2: WEBSITE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT .................................. 37


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1 THE STRATEGY IN A NUTSHELL

This Marketing Strategy sets out how The Commandery should promote itself to attract new audiences and to play a significant role in Worcester’s tourism offer. It covers the period from May 2014 building up to the re-launch of The Commandery in August 2015 and roll-out and consolidation through to March 2017. The Commandery should directly target family, boomer and educational segments living within a 45-60 minute travel time to visit the museum itself and to attend events. Tourist visitors should be reached via tourism organisations working at local, regional and national level. Special interest groups present a new opportunity for The Commandery while weddings and corporate events provide a new product to take to market. With effective, targeted marketing in place The Commandery should be aiming for an increase in paying visitors of 20% year on year. The Commandery should reposition itself as ‘A beautiful and intriguing building at the very heart of the English Civil War’ and all marketing content and communications should use the rich themes and stories this offers. The Commandery must invest in a new brand design, a dedicated website, CRM system and print populated by new and re-purposed content (words and images) to underpin its marketing. PR and digital marketing will be the primary communication channels supported by limited targeted advertising. Working in partnership with other heritage attractions - the Cathedral, Greyfriars and the Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum in particular - will help The Commandery achieve its objectives of increasing numbers of visitors by enhancing the heritage visitor offer. Wider partnership working across the city will be necessary to deliver the vision for Worcester as ‘English Civil War City’. A budget of £53,000 and an additional post of a part-time marketing assistant will be required to deliver the marketing strategy.


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2 AIMS & OBJECTIVES

This Marketing Strategy is designed to align with the proposed investment in and relaunch of The Commandery in August 2015. The aim is not just to drive as many visitors as possible to the Commandery; rather it is about ensuring The Commandery contributes to the wider tourism experience on offer in Worcester and the longer term sustainability for The Commandery through generating income. This gives the following strategic purpose: STRATEGIC AIMS

Ensure that The Commandery sits at the core of the tourism offer for Worcester as the ‘English Civil War City’

Increase income for The Commandery to ensure its sustainability and reduce its reliance on public sources

Maximise the potential of investment in the interpretation and visitor experience which will be offered by The Commandery

OBJECTIVES

Present a clear and compelling proposition for The Commandery which can be used directly by Museums Worcestershire and by its partners and others in promoting The Commandery

Increase income to The Commandery by increasing visitor numbers and spend from targeting marketing at best prospect segments

Develop a small number of partnership initiatives to enhance The Commandery’s appeal for specific markets, extend reach and exploit additional channels

To deliver these aims and objectives the Marketing Strategy is primarily focused on paying visitors. This will mean targeting tourism visitors for the core museum experience and marketing the museum as a venue to events and functions to local and regional audiences who are prepared to pay.


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3 PRODUCTS & EXPERIENCES

Currently The Commandery is promoted as a place that hosts a good programme of events and attracts a predominantly local audience. In order to attract more visitors, and help encourage more visitors to Worcester to experience the city’s heritage, The Commandery must be positioned as a key visitor attraction in its own right delivering excellent experiences which will attract visitors. Here are some suggestions for product development that will give The Commandery this appeal. The Commandery as a Visitor Attraction Investment in interpretation of the English Civil War story of The Commandery will exploit its USP and support the positioning of Worcester as ‘English Civil War City’. The Commandery can then be positioned as a significant heritage attraction in the heart of Worcester. This needs to focus on an intriguing, Grade I listed building with an incredible story to tell. A beautiful building with a bloody past that changed the course of English history - a place at the heart of the English Civil War, where the deciding Battle of Worcester was fought. The museum tells the story - of the battle, the Civil War and the buildings complex history as a hospital, military HQ, factory, college, family home and more - through informative audio-guides, interpretation, hands on exhibits and knowledgeable staff. Events at The Commandery Continue to run and promote the varied and interesting Event Programme at The Commandery starting with a 12-month programme of ‘Liberty and Civil War’ related events from April (Easter) 2015 – April 2016. This should be built into the regular activities with a launch event around the Battle of Worcester and could include Battle of Worcester guest speaker/author events.


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Working with the Travel Trade Attracting the group market will require collaboration with nearby attractions to create a half day and full day programme. This will encourage tour operators to incorporate a day visit to Worcester, with The Commandery at the heart of the visit. The programme should include The Commandery, Greyfriars, Worcester Cathedral and Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum. This combination offers a broad ranging ‘Worcester Heritage’ package. The offer would be enhanced if joint ticketing could be agreed and if one attraction took responsibility to act as single point of contact for Groups booking a day package to the city. Ease of booking and a ‘packaged’ offer is appealing to a busy tour operator. In addition it would be beneficial to nominate Blue Badge guides that can be booked by groups to bring the whole experience together (34 Blue Badge Guides are currently listed for Worcestershire). Working with Special Interest Operators The enhancement of The Commandery’s English Civil war story will have appeal to special interest groups. In the same way that more general interest tour operators require ‘packaged’ product, special interest tour operators will be seeking half day and full day itinerary ideas to incorporate The Commandery, Fort Royal, Civil War Battle sites and medieval Worcester. The current Battle of Worcester City Centre Trail could also be used as part of this package. Developing School & Education offer Additional opportunities around educational experiences might include:

Schools Vouchers - offer all children that visit with their school a discount voucher to bring their parents at a later date Develop teaching material and make easily accessible online to position The Commandery as a centre of excellence for English Civil War history

New Experiences The building of The Commandery is beautiful and intriguing. Using the space is creatively and sometimes outside normal opening hours could open up new audiences and additional visitors. For example:


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Monthly ‘Candle-lit’ tours of the building with Museum Guide or curator. This can be offered exclusively to groups with drinks and canapés at the end in the garden or medieval Hall

Children’s sleepovers in one of England’s oldest buildings – evening workshops and activities such as medieval cookery etc before lights out... Museums at Night initiative with Culture 24 – currently only The Infirmary at University of Worcester participates in this annual event. This could

be a two centre tour with The Infirmary or Worcester Cathedral Wedding packages – gain Civil Ceremony licence to offer small, intimate wedding venue with stunning historic backdrop and delightful gardens

for photos/receptions etc. Encouragingly, a recent report sets out the feasibility and commercial benefits of increasing weddings and civil partnerships at The Commandery. We would strongly support this development and marketing and promotional activity for this strand is including in the Marketing Action Plan in Section 9 of this report.

Corporate Events – work with local companies, Birmingham Convention Bureau and Conference Worcestershire to offer The Commandery as a flexible conference space, as well as unique venue for bespoke evening events such as drinks, talks, tours, dinners etc. (The Commandery is not currently listed on Visit Worcestershire as a conference venue).

Pop-up Cafe in the entrance foyer and near the shop area – outside in summer. It is recognised that the lack of refreshments is an issue at The Commandery for all types of visitor. A simple ‘pop-up- cafe with hot drinks machine and ‘sweet treats’ would be welcome and provide a valuable income stream. Collaboration with a local deli to provide biscuits/cakes would be possible.

Treasure Hunt – children’s thematic trails with something to complete/fill-out. These can be done very cost effectively and seasonally. It also provides good material for social media promotion.


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4 TARGET MARKETS

There is a long list of attractiveness criteria that come into play when selecting best prospect markets– some with higher priority than others, depending on the overall objectives. Building on the research commissioned by Museums Worcestershire (specifically ‘Strengthening Museums and the Visitor Economy in Worcester’), drawing on our knowledge of visitor markets and in discussion with the team at The Commandery we have identified the most important of these criteria as follows:

Good return on investment – Markets with high spend per visit, that are relatively easy to reach and convert

Good product fit – Markets that will like what The Commandery has got to offer, and will repeat & recommend

Good for longer-term growth – Markets that will help strengthen Worcester’s visitor economy and image.

The Commandery currently attracts 20,000 visitors each year of which 12,500 are adults, most of whom are local residents. If the primary objective is to increase income then the priority has to be to attract more day trippers and overnight visitors (which include those visiting friends and relatives) because these are paying visitors. Local residents currently get in for free but, given the imperative for raising income, there are strong arguments for charging (see our Advice Piece on Pricing for more). For the purposes of this strategy - operating within current pricing parameters and the strategic objective of contributing towards the tourism offer of Worcester- the focus is on growing the numbers of day visitors and staying visitors to The Commandery. However it also addresses the development and promotion of additional (paid-for) products and experiences, some of which will have appeal to local markets as well as from wider afield. As The Commandery is starting from a low base we suggest a target of a 20% increase in paying visitors each year is reasonable and achievable. The Commandery has a mix of product offers, for different types of visit, some of which can be targeted directly while some can most effectively be reached through other channels.


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Indirectly target the following with the core Commandery offer

Staying visitors in Worcestershire – via other tourism businesses, Destination Worcestershire and local residents for VFR (visiting friends and relatives)

Directly target the following with (charged for) functions in the Commandery:

Events

Worcester residents

Day trips from within 30-45 minutes travel time

Weddings

Worcester residents

Within 30-45 minutes travel time

Corporate events & social functions

Worcester companies and organisations

Companies and organisation within 30-45 minutes travel time

Directly target the following with the core Commandery offer for:

Leisure:

Day trips within 45 minutes travel time

Special interest groups from UK and USA

Education:

Educational groups within 60 minutes travel time


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For the leisure day trip and staying visitor market we recommend two life stage segments: Families (with children aged 8-14) and Boomers (born between 1947-1960). We have worked with TSE who have produced the ‘Strengthening Museums’ report to identify specific Acorn segments as priority prospects based on the current visitor profile and our analysis of the potential opportunities. Acorn segmentation is based on post-code analysis and each segment can be plotted on a map to show where concentrations are highest at that post-code level. We have identified towns within the 45 minute travel time which have the highest concentrations of target segments and where marketing to leisure day visitors should be focused. All segments are well represented in the Worcestershire towns of Kidderminster, Great Malvern, Bromsgrove, Stourport, Droitwich and Redditch. Families are also well represented in Hereford, Evesham and Pershore. Boomers are well represented in Hereford, Leominster, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye and Stourbridge. Slightly further afield south Birmingham and Solihull are good areas regarding the target segments although it will be more of a challenge to persuade them to travel to Worcester given the nearby wealth of heritage attractions. The table below provides a summary of the best prospect segments for The Commandery where resources (people, time and financial investment) should be concentrated. An understanding of who these people are and what they are looking for will informs the content and tone of voice of marketing communications as well as channels to reach them. There is more detail on the Acorn segments in Appendix 1 and in the free Acorn User Guide.

SEGMENT WHO THEY ARE WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR

Families Flourishing Families Secure Families Prosperous Professionals

Well educated Affluent professionals Time-squeezed Very active lives Experienced and confident Children aged 8-14 Live or on holiday within 45 mins

Interesting and worthwhile experiences Quality time spent together Learning, exploration, discovery Authenticity and depth A good day out!

Boomers Wealthy Executives Affluent Greys Prudent Pensioners

Well educated Senior positions Some recently retired Keen on culture and history

Experiences which broaden the mind Authenticity and depth Heritage Rounded experiences including other things to do


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Prosperous Professionals

Well-travelled Discerning – prepared to pay for what they want Live or on holiday within 45 mins

New places

Special Interest Groups Well educated Affluent Interested in history and heritage Some particularly English Civil War and democracy All age groups but typically boomers UK or USA

Immersion and depth Unique experiences Special treatment Personal touch Things made easy Other nearby attractions Parking or information about

Education Groups Teachers School groups of children aged 8-14 Private and state schools within 60 mins

Relevant and engaging experiences Personal touch – great staff who are great with kids Appropriate material Lasting impact On national curriculum Parking – or information about

Wedding planners People getting married who are of independent mind Second weddings Civil partners Prepared to pay for what they want

Something special and different Beautiful backdrop Inspiration and ideas Flexibility Things made easy Dedicated staff contact

Corporate planners Companies Third sector/voluntary organisations

Something special and different Dedicated staff contact Inspiration and ideas Flexibility


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5 POSITIONING

The current positioning of The Commandery is based on the idea of the history of the building and what took place in it over its long life of 800 years. This positioning and its strapline ‘ Peeling Back the Layers’ is no longer appropriate for a USP based on the English Civil War. While a new brand will be part of future investment we recommend the best positioning for The Commandery:

Summed up in a sentence:

- an intriguing historic building at the very heart of the English Civil War, celebrating democracy and liberty

Summed up in a paragraph:

This is real place, a portal to a time that changed the course of English history. It is beautiful building with a bloody past, where the English Civil War began and ended in the heart of historic Worcester. It's a place to learn and be enlightened about a pivotal point in English history - a centre for the understanding of democracy and liberty. There are no 'do not touch' signs here - you'll have the freedom to learn, to roam, to feel, to explore.

Please note, the above text describes the correct positioning for The Commandery, it is not a strapline nor definitive marketing copy. This would be developed as part of the branding exercise.

While the future focus for The Commandery is the English Civil War, the history of the building will continue to provide a third layer which can be articulated as:

During its complex history The Commandery site has functioned as a hospital, military HQ, factory, college, family home and more. Today, The Commandery is an amazing half-timbered building, a warren of rooms that meander from medieval times into the Victorian era. Its jewels are the 14th century Great Hall, with its beautiful carved wood and minstrels’ gallery; the Painted Chamber, where pictures of saints associated with medicine cover the walls; and the now tranquil garden overlooking the battle ground at Fort Hill.


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KEY THEMES AND STORIES

The Commandery offers depth and breadth in terms of the themes and stories which can be used in marketing the museum and contributing to the Worcester ‘Civil War City’ proposition. Here are some of the most compelling:

A real place, a portal to a time that changed the course of English history and laid the foundations of modern day democracy as recognised by US

Presidents

Where the English Civil War began and ended in the heart of historic Worcester – The Commandery within the wider context of the city

The beautiful building with a fascinating past; the intriguing atmosphere of a Grade I listed building and one of England’s earliest buildings; different and varied uses; carved wood; a delicate painted chamber; tranquil garden; ghosts; views over the nearby battle hill

Family history for US residents descended from the 10,000 Scottish royalist prisoners sent to USA after the Battle of Worcester defeat

A centre for the understanding of democracy

The freedom to learn, to roam, to touch, to explore - no 'do not touch' signs here

Colourful characters associated with the building

Legends and myths about the building, its people and the nearby area

The building as a stunning backdrop to a variety of great events

A gorgeous and intimate wedding venue

A quirky and alternative conference venue


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6 ROUTES TO MARKET AND COLLATERAL

This section sets out the channels to market which will be most effective in reaching the target markets and the collateral The Commandery will need in its promotion. A Strong Brand It is understood that The Commandery will commission a new brand design and development as part of the HLF funding bid. This will allow the museum to create a strong identity to permeate all marketing channels, reinforcing key messages about the museum experience. The target markets and positioning statement in Section 5 of this report could be provided as a basis for the design company to work from. Web We understand that there is a plan in place to improve the web presence for The Commandery which involves inclusion on the Museums Worcestershire portal and its own micro-site built on a blogging platform such as WordPress. It is crucial that the new web presence is visually rich, informative, and easy to navigate and most importantly, explains to the visitor what to expect on a visit to The Commandery. The Commandery Marketing Workshop summary contains some good practice examples to inspire and a suggested website content map can be found in Appendix. Here are some principles for optimising The Commandery’s web presence.

The website must inform and entertain. It must be clear, up to date and contain great content

Powerful images are essential to help engage visitors and excite them about the experience including embedded video

Some budget should be allocated to search engine optimisation so The Commandery ranks highly in searches about the English Civil War and Museums in West Midlands

The site should include Twitter and Facebook feeds to keep content lively and up to date, and a Blog should be regularly posted

The site must also include the opportunity to sign up for newsletters and event information to collect data about interested visitors


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Profile on regional and national listing websites. Check all current listings of The Commandery and supply up-to-date information, branding, positioning, images, pricing etc to ensure listings are correct and appealing.

Key national sites include Wikipedia, Culture24, Daysout.co.uk, daysoutwiththekids.co.uk, daytripfinder.co.uk. letsgowiththechildren.co.uk

Local listings include: Midlands’ What’s on (whatsonlive.co.uk); Netmums Worcestershire; Quoakle Worcestershire; Primarytimes.new/Hereford_worcester

Content Beautifully written words, powerful images, short videos and great factual information are essential to have in the marketing toolbox. Material, once created can be repurposed and used across all marketing platforms, both online and offline. We recommend that the development of excellent content should form part of the HLF funding bid:

Words - commission a professional copywriter is to develop great content for a variety of uses. These might include web pages (stories, history, the building, quirky facts and figures, educational information etc) press briefing information, travel trade information. The content should include stories about the building, its past and the people who lived/fought there to create an emotional connection with visitors today.

Images – a full audit of existing images needs to be undertaken to bring all high quality, relevant images into one place – possibly an online gallery. A few high-quality, gorgeous images can be far more powerful than many low quality, old or dated images. These should reinforce the key messages about the museum and be highly appealing to the target markets.

Video – a powerful medium, people expect to see video content. Build up a library of short video clips that appeal to the target audiences and schools to unpack the experience at The Commandery and its events. Video can be an especially powerful way to tell stories: it makes engaging and lively content and improves SEO. YouTube research suggests that people that view videos are 85% more likely to buy a product or sign up for a service. (See a short video created by Blue Sail for The Russell-Cotes Gallery in Bournemouth as well as the examples included in the Marketing Workshop Summary Report).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR9n6eFaz94


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Customer Relationship Management As a high priority The Commandery should develop, build and maintain a database of interested visitors who can be contacted regularly with news, offers, promotions and events. We understand that Museums Worcester hold contact information on around 5,000 previous visitors to The Commandery who are Commandery Card Holders. Approximately 1,500 of these are postal addresses and 3,500 email contacts. It is understood some of these could be incorrect or obsolete. We strongly recommend that Museums Worcestershire set up a completely new database to collect consumer contact details across the three properties. We suggest that Museum Worcestershire write to or email all existing contacts to explain that new developments are in the pipeline and that their personal information will be moved across to a new database so they can continue to be informed about developments/events/discounts etc. We suggest they are given an opt-out option. All opted in contacts can then be moved to the new database, and it can be built up from there. This could be an early task for the new part-time digital marketing post. All web pages, social media and competitions should encourage sign-up to the database; and a regular e-newsletter produced and distributed to the new database with details of forthcoming events, developments, special offers and competition prizes. In time this could replace the printed Events leaflet. We recommend a quarterly e-newsletter to subscribers. Some reputable companies that supply e-newsletter services (which are sufficient if you only wish to use the data for emailing product information, newsletters and surveys) include Constant Contact, Aweber and MailChimp. Full CRM solutions which are more comprehensive include Capsule CRM, SalesForce, NetSuite and OnContact Social Social media channels, used effectively, should inform, respond to and entertain followers. They should also drive traffic to the website to encourage potential visitors to make a decision to visit. The Commandery already has a Facebook Page with 425 Likes and a Twitter feed (managed by Museums Worcestershire) with over 5,000 followers. These communication channels can be used effectively to promote events, developments, and increase awareness of The Commandery.


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We suggest that the social media channels continue to be populated on a regular basis, with some additional time being put into reaching the correct target market, following trends – particularly around the time of the opening of the Civil War Centre in Newark, making contact with special interest organisation and operators. Additional tactics include:

Using ‘fan-gated’ competitions on Facebook to increase Likes and drive traffic to the website (these are where you have to Like the page before you can see the competition entry details)

Setting up a You Tube Channel for The Commandery to host all video footage of the museums and events, with links from the website and other social media activity. This may be a more practical option for Worcester city as a whole or for the 3 museums of Museums Worcestershire

As part of the Worcester offer using Pinterest for collating images into themes and stories, for example Civil War board, individual events etc as well as a specific page for The Commandery.

Print At present The Commandery prints approximately 20,000 DL sized leaflets each year. These are predominantly event based and have little information about The Commandery as a stand-alone visitor attraction. They are distributed via Arts and Sports venues across Worcestershire targeting a largely local audience. We recommend moving the focus of the leaflet to promote The Commandery as a visitor attraction in its own right – the building, the story of its past and the visitor experience. These could be distributed locally via other attractions and accommodation and could also be distributed to the post-code areas identified in target markets as well as distributed through magazine/newspaper inserts. Event promotion should be done through social media channels and new CRM e-newsletter and the twice yearly holiday flyer in conjunction with Museums Worcestershire. The new ‘What’s On’ section of the website should have all details of the events and be absolutely up to date.


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A low-priced printed ‘guide map’ of the Commandery would enhance the experience of the audio-guide. A children’s ‘Discovery’ leaflet or ‘Guide’ would provide a treasure hunt feel to a family visit to The Commandery. (The design for this could form part of local engagement for example a competition with design students for University of Worcester or Hereford College of Art to come up with the a series of six leaflets to support the six audio guides). More expensively a souvenir guidebook could be considered with detailed history, stories, maps, images, etc and would be a saleable item on entry. PR & Media To support all marketing activity investment should be made into gaining high quality coverage in key media consumed by the target audience to raise awareness of The Commandery. A carefully planned PR programme to support developments at The Commandery should be undertaken, with a focus on attracting media visits to Worcester, with The Commandery at the heart of the visit. Suggested titles include;

Regional titles in the postcode areas of the target markets including; Birmingham Mail, Birmingham Post, Sunday Mercury, Metro, Solihull News, Coventry Telegraph, Coventry Times, Nuneaton Tribune, Warwickshire Telegraph, Nuneaton Telegraph, Hinckley Times, Loughborough Echo, Herefordshire Journals, BBC local websites; Gloucestershire Echo; Cotswolds Life, Herefordshire Life, West Midlands Life

Special interest titles including; BBC History Magazine, Discover History, Military History, History Today, All About History;

General interest magazines including; Discover Britain, Saga Magazine, , Britain Magazine, Lonely Planet Magazine;

National dailies including; Guardian, Independent, Telegraph and Times

Online blogs/travel websites including; AOL Travel, MSN Travel, TripAdvisor, 501 places, The Weekenders, Green Traveller, The Grumpy Traveller.

Publications and regional titles are always looking to offer their readers something ‘exclusive’ or great competition prizes. Working with local industry partners to develop a series of competition prizes or special offers that can be sold in to relevant titles, is a cost-effective way to promote The Commandery and its partners. If no takers among the media are found, the prizes can still be very effectively used in your own social media promotions and e-newsletter.


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Advertising While a major advertising campaign may be beyond the budget, the following low cost routes are well targeted.

Pay per click - It is recommended to budget for a short intensive pay per click advertising campaign in the run up to the launch of the new exhibits at The Commandery and the MagnaCarta800 celebrations. These can be done through Google ads and Facebook ads or by using a dedicated Ad Campaign company. The cost of Pay per click campaigns are charged at cost and led by you - you set the daily amount you wish to spend and can start and end the campaign at any time. So technically they can cost as much as you have budget for. We would recommend a minimum budget of £500, be targeted in your selection, monitor carefully and learn by doing.

Leaflet insertion – inserting your leaflet into specific targeted publications might be considered in 2015 prior to the launch of the new developments. These should be publications read by the target audiences.

Travel Trade advertising can be a cost effective way of increasing awareness for group travel organisers of your product offer. This would be relevant if a wider Worcester offer could be developed and costs shared.


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WORKING WITH DESTINATION WORCESTERSHIRE, VISIT ENGLAND AND VISIT BRITAIN Working through tourism agency channels will be key to extend the reach of The Commandery and Worcester city to the staying visitor market. The following tactics are recommended. Destination Worcestershire

Headline Worcestershire visitor guide for 2015 with an article on MagnaCarta800 and the democracy story. Offer to commission a copywriter to develop the article and supply high quality images.

Submit an application for Worcestershire Awards for Excellence in 2015 when the new interpretation is complete - or for the major Battle of Worcester event. Prizes are great for PR and profile raising

The Travel Trade Section of Visit Worcestershire website currently has a ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ suggested itinerary for groups. Develop and provide Visit Worcestershire with an English Civil War itinerary and a Worcester Heritage itinerary that can be promoted.

Develop ‘Worcester Heritage’ prize in conjunction with local hotel, attractions, restaurant such as The Glass House to offer to Destination Worcestershire to promote in their publications and online.

VisitEngland

Communicate directly with VisitEngland to tell them about The Commandery.

Tactics should include; sending short but high quality content – words and images for the VisitEngland website; engaging with them through their social media channels(https://www.facebook.com/EnjoyEngland , https://twitter.com/VisitEngland and http://www.youtube.com/user/enjoyenglanduk ; inviting staff on a familiarisation visit and working with PR team to encourage them to including Worcester in UK press trips; encouraging Katie Rowe – VisitEngland blogger – to write about Worcester in 2015; submit an article of the VisitEngland Military History themed section about the Battle of Worcester and The Commandery; submit entry into VisitEngland’s Hall of Fame – stand on the spot where the English Civil War was ended.

Contacts at Visit England:

http://www.visitworcestershire.org/group-travel/

http://www.visitengland.com/experience/discover-secrets-worcesters-hidden-past

https://www.facebook.com/EnjoyEngland

https://twitter.com/VisitEngland

http://www.youtube.com/user/enjoyenglanduk

http://www.visitengland.com/things-to-do/military-history

https://www.englandshalloffame.com/


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Destination PR Manager, Laura Dewar email: [email protected] and tel: 020 7578 1437

Domestic Web Editor, Pete Leary email: [email protected] tel: 020 7578 1438

Marketing Director, Alex Mawer email: [email protected] tel: 0207 5781426

VisitBritain

Communicate directly with VisitBritain US representative in London to discuss ways of maximising the connection between Worcester and the US Presidents connection

Liaise with VB PR team in London to make them aware of the connection – provide copy and images that can be used

Work via Destination Worcestershire to piggy back on any overseas campaigns

Submit material for the LoveWall VisitBritain – towns and cities

Submit material to VisitBritain for social media channels https://twitter.com/BritainInUSA and https://www.facebook.com/LoveUK

Supply editorial material for Britain Magazine

http://lovewall.visitbritain.com/en/178/cities-and-towns/towns-and-villages

https://twitter.com/BritainInUSA

https://www.facebook.com/LoveUK

http://www.britain-magazine.com/freecopy/


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7 PARTNERSHIPS

We recommend that a small number of partnerships are developed to extend the offer that The Commandery can make. Such partnerships will be both tactical and strategic TACTICAL PARTNERSHIPS

Worcester Heritage Pass - working with other heritage attractions in Worcester and the near vicinity develop a visitor pass which gives entrance to a number of places. The cluster could include The Commandery, Hartlebury, the Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum, Greyfriars and the Elgar Birthplace. The pass would be a means to extend the offer and the length of stay and could be used for half day and full day suggested itineraries for groups and individuals. This would also be an attractive package to promote via local TIC, accommodation providers, Visit Worcestershire and regional media. Conversations with the Cathedral, the NTS at Greyfriars and the Porcelain Museum suggest they are very keen to work collaboratively. The Porcelain Museum appears to have no plans to close).

Civil War and Battle of Worcester - with Worcester Cathedral to develop the War and Reconciliation App that is currently being designed.

Encourage a wider Worcester offer at the Centre of the English Civil War strand. Work collaboratively with the Battle of Worcester Society and other civil war associated sites to ensure great coverage of The English Civil War within the App content and possibly the development of the Civil War trail around Worcester from The Cathedral. This could be promoted through Civil War groups and societies. The Battle of Worcester Society and The Commandery already work in close partnership and this relationship is very valuable. Their colourful battle re-enactments are sometimes the first encounter people have of the English Civil War as an historical event.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

England’s Civil War City - if Worcester embraces the concept of re-positioning itself as the English Civil War City, the Commandery will have central role to play. To deliver this wider branding and marketing of Worcester a greater city-wide partnership will be required. This could be led by the City Council or the BID, who would coordinate funding applications. Partners would include local interest groups, local media, tourism


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businesses and the University. This major destination rebranding would require developing and delivering a longer term marketing campaign. It could lead to a partnership with British Heritage Cities. It could also enable a major English Civil War City campaign to be developed with a large scale sponsor, event and marketing. The activity that might be enabled with this strategic partnership could include:

Attendance at Best of Britain and Ireland Show

Attendance at World Travel Market with other English Civil War attractions

PR at national/international level

Attendance at Civil War events elsewhere in the UK including Newark and Hampshire – could be a pop-up stand or exhibit

Special exhibitions working on conjunction with Houses of Parliament and Civil War Centre Newark

National Civil War Trail

Travel Trade itineraries and familiarisation trips

Attend US travel trade and PR events via VisitBritain to promote Worcester and England’s Civil War City


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8 MONITORING & KPIS

All marketing communications should be monitored and evaluated to assess what is working well and delivering visitors. This should be used to review, modify, drop or re-orientate marketing activity. Strategic KPIs Measured by Tactical KPIs Measured by

Total numbers of visitors Numbers of visitors in target segments Levels of satisfaction Perceptions of Worcester Reason for visit to city Other attractions visited/activities undertaken Time spent in city Total spend during trip

Visitor survey Website analytics

Unique visitors Dwell time

Total spend Spend per head

Ticket sales Secondary spend

Social media metrics Twitter followers Retweets Facebook Likes Facebook Posts Influence

Numbers of groups Income

Bookings Secondary spend

CRM Database numbers Profile of database Responses to mail-outs

Number of school groups New and repeat Income

Bookings Secondary spend

Awareness of Commandery Awareness of marketing comms Awareness of proposition/messages etc

Visitor survey Structured feedback from group organisers, wedding planners and corporate organisers

Numbers of events Numbers attending events in target segments

Event surveys Ticket sales Secondary spend

Print Numbers mentioning in Visitor Survey Interest from local hotels in having


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Number of weddings Income Profit

Bookings PR Press coverage Key messages Press trips

Number of corporate events Income Profit

Bookings AdWord – pay per click advertising Monitor click through rate


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9 MARKETING ACTION PLAN

The Marketing Action Plan below sets out what has to happen when in the lead up to the launch of the refreshed Commandery in August 2015 and the roll out thereafter.

ACTIVITY AT A GLANCE MAY-JUL 14

AUG-OCT 14

NOV 14 -JAN 15

FEB-APR 15

MAY-JUL 15

AUG-NOV 15

DEC 15-JAN 16

FEB -APR 16

MAY-AUG 16

SEP-DEC 16

JAN-MAR 17

PARTNERSHIPS

Tactical partnership with Heritage Attraction Worcester

Tactical partnership with Cathedral and Civil War attractions

Strategic Partnership planning and development

MARKETING COLLATERAL & TOOLS

Audit of images and content

Website architecture development

Develop content requirement plan

Commission copy editor to create content on and offline activity

Content development

Website devpt- content & images Commission Photography

Commission video

New brand strategy and visuals

Website re-skin with new branding


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CRM – database development

2015 Leaflet design and print

2016 Leaflet design and print

Wedding Brochure design – online

Schools leaflet

Leaflet distribution

Audio into Podcasts for website

COMMUNICATIONS

E-newsletter – monthly or quarterly Pay per click adverts

Travel trade adverts

Social media activity Event programme promotion

Pre-launch PR

Blog

Launch event

PR ongoing

Travel trade fam trip

Travel trade liaison Industry familiarisation visits

Liaison with VisitEngland

Liaison with VisitBritain Worcestershire Visitor Guide

Worcestershire Excellence Awards

Destination Worcestershire ongoing liaison and provision of material

MONITORING & EVALUATION


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The first table that follows gives a summary of the budget necessary to deliver the marketing strategy and the subsequent table provides more detail of the marketing activity and its resource requirements in terms of staff time and budget.

ACTIVITY YEAR 1 April 14-March 15

YEAR 2 April 15-March 16

YEAR 3 April 16-March 17

Collateral & tools

Audit of existing collateral & content requirement plan **

New brand development and style guidelines 4500

Web development 3900

Content creation 2500 800 800

Video commission 3800

Print 4800 4800 4800

Database development * * *

Photography commission 1500

SEO 1000 1000

Wedding brochure 1000 1000

Schools brochure 1000 1000

Guidebook production ***

Communications

PR pre-launch and to include ongoing PR activity including press trips 3800

Launch event 3000

Advertising offline and online 3500 2500

Leaflet insertion 500 500

Familiarisation visits 500 500

Social media ** ** **

E-newsletters ** **

Partnership Developments ** ** **

TOTAL £15,700 £25,200 £12,100


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*In-house development at Museums Worcestershire ** -Staff costs *** -To be decided - Priority actions

ACTIVITY STAFF TIME COST NOTES

TACTICAL PARTNERSHIPS

Development of Worcester Heritage Package through the Worcester Heritage Attractions Group. Develop joint or discounted ticketing with downloadable vouchers for individual and travel trade offer.

Yes £500 per partner per year

Contribution towards some kind of joint-ticketing or discount postcard print – this is subject to the scope of the design and print

Developmentof civil war and Commandery presence on the Worcester Cathedral app

Yes £500 one-off cost

Contribution to extension of the App

MARKETING COLLATERAL

Audit of images and content – review existing images, video and copy/content.

Yes

Develop content requirement plan for all channels to include new website sections, stories, thematic information, printed leaflet, travel trade itineraries, travel trade fact sheet, days out website info, VisitEngland website, media fact sheet, consumer advert, travel trade advert etc

Yes This could be outsourced for a small cost.

Commission copy editor to develop content Yes £2500 Initial cost for approx ten days work. Additional days prior to launch in Aug 2015 for press releases and website update


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Commission photography Yes – time to set up photo shoot and organise models

£1500 Allows for two days and processing

Commission video – short promotional video –high content, visually rich for website and social media. Could include wedding info – could be cut with previous event video etc

Yes – time to assist in shoot

£3800 Allows for filming and editing

Website structure & content plan Yes See Appendix 1 for starting point

Develop website architecture £2900 Suggest use of professional agency to set up website architecture so content editing in the future can be done in-house

Populating website with new content Yes Or could be outsourced to web agency

Branding – commission agency to develop a new and attractive brand and style guidelines for The Commandery. This should include website skin, printed brochure layout, schools leaflet, e-newsletter layout, logo usage, colour ways, advert design, exhibition stand design, wedding brochure design, new guidebook design and maps to accompany the audio-guides.

£4500 Suggest that this is done with same agency that assists with website development if possible

Re-skin of website. Once the rebranding is approval, the website can be re-skinned to take on the design and style guidelines.

£900

Search engine optimisation £1000 per year

Needed to increase rankings

Database development – write to Commandery Card holders to seek approval to move their data to new database.

Yes New digital marketing post to assist?

Commission new database creation to be owned and managed by Museums Worcestershire

Yes Cost tbc – depends on whether done in-house or out-sourced

Design, print and distribution of 2015 Museum leaflet for consumers. Yes - Coordination of £4800 Low cost in design as should be


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Delay 2015 print and distribution until May/June 2015 to promote the ‘new look’ Commandery. Suggested print run of 35K

content and images part of rebranding design work. Content written, wider distribution.

Design, print and distribution of 2016 Museum leaflet for consumers. Yes - Coordination of content and images

£4800

Design and distribution of Wedding Brochure Yes - Coordination of content and images

£1000 Online only? Overall suggested layout already including in rebranding design work.

Design and distribution of Schools Brochure Yes - Coordination of content and images

£1000 Online only? Overall suggested layout already including in rebranding design work.

Design and print of souvenir Guidebook for sale in Museum Yes – guidance on content, look and feel.

Depends upon scope desired by Museum Director - TBC

COMMUNICATIONS

Social media – Facebook and Twitter – continue to populate channels regularly – inform, respond, entertain. Use competitions and special offers to increase Likes and drive traffic to the website. Focus social media activity on quirky facts and figures, images, video, special offers and importantly – Event information. Increase activity around trending events such as opening of Newark and re-launch events in Aug 2015.

Yes

Social Media – additional platforms – look into setting up Pinterest and You Tube platforms. This will be dependent upon staff time to populate and quality of material to use on these very visual channels.

Yes

Event promotion – use social media, local PR, website, e-newsletters and database to promote special event programme

Yes

Develop and maintain a regular blog using guest bloggers. Plan schedule for the year and invite Civil War experts, historians, volunteers, curator, manager etc to submit short relevant articles

Yes


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Pre-launch PR activity – issue releases and run a series of press familiarisation visits to showcase The Commandery – new look. Invite targeted regional titles, TV and radio, and some special interest titles. Launch event PR and photo opportunities. Also include special launch event reader offers and competitions

£3800 Suggest this is outsourced to local PR agency with good West Midland and Museums PR experience

Launch event - to be decided by Museum Management team Cost tbc

Ongoing PR activity – supply press material, event information, launch information, app launch information, anniversaries, etc to Visit Worcestershire, VisitEngland and VisitBritain for social media and press trips. Develop relationship with West Midlands titles to attract day visit market from target markets.

Yes – or outsource budget dependent

Pay per click advertising to increase visibility of The Commandery pre-launch with Google ads and Facebook ads or via Ad Word agency. Can set daily costs. Would suggest £500 as a minimum

£2500

Leaflet insertion prior to launch – insert leaflet into targeted publications in key geographical areas

£50 per 1,000 leaflets approximately

Advertise in travel trade publications to raise awareness of The Commandery and the wider Worcester proposition for 2016 tour programmes

From £250 per quarter page advert

Travel Trade familiarisation trip around launch time Yes – inviting and coordinating trip

£500 Seek support from Destination Worcestershire for invites and additional activity

Travel Trade liaison – making contact with travel trade and group travel organisers to increase awareness of The Commandery and Worcester. Inclusion in heritage tours special offer

Yes

Industry familiarisation trips – small events to showcase the new look Commandery to local tourism businesses, accommodation providers,

Yes £500 Refreshments


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Visit Worcesteshire, TIC’s, VisitEngland and VisitBritain

Headline article of Worcestershire Visitor Guide for 2015 – written by copy writer

Yes for liaison with DW Cost including in copywriter time

Entry into Worcestershire for Excellent Awards Yes for submission

Ongoing liaison with Destination Worcestershire to submit material for website, news, competitions etc

Yes

Liaison with VisitEngland to establish working relationship with social media, PR and marketing teams. Supply content for online presence and social media. Submit to VisitEngland Hall of Fam

Yes

Invite and host VE Blogger to visit Worcester Yes Seek support from Destination Worcestershire additional activity and accommodation

Liaison with VisitBritain to establish working relationship with US Office and London representative for USA. Provide copy and images and discuss longer term collaboration, in particular if the English Civil War partnership is developing.

Yes

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Worcester city partnership to reposition Worcester as English Civil War City led by City Council or BID. The Commandery to take a full and active role in driving this partnership forward.

Yes


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Staff requirement. To realistically delivery against the above plan, additional marketing support will be needed in house. It is recommended that funding be prioritised for this and a part time marketing assistant be appointed. The majority of the time in the first year will be developing the marketing collateral and tools, and setting up the tactical partnerships. This time requirement will increase in the second year to concentrate on the communications and marketing delivery for the relaunch and reduce again in year 3. Estimated Staff time required – hours per week: Activity YR1 YR2 YR3 Tactical Partnerships 2 2 2 Marketing collateral and tools 7 12 4 Communications 2 14 8


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10 APPENDIX 1: PROFILE OF TARGET ACORN SEGMENTS

Acorn Segment & Description

Flourishing Families

These are high income achievers successfully juggling both jobs and family. Amongst this type are some people more likely to regularly read, comment on and write blogs. Long established and frequent users of the internet, they will research and purchase a variety of goods online. These families might well research topics online including, financial products, household utilities, sports equipment, eating out and entertainment. Ownership of smartphones, iPads and tablet devices is higher than average. Paid for content and apps for these devices tends to focus on music and multi-media, with a wider range of free apps being downloaded to phones.

Secure Families This group comprise of home-owning families living comfortably in stable areas in suburban and semi-rural locations. People are employed in a wide range or occupations including middle management and clerical roles. They enjoy leisure activities including golf, eating out and gardening. Generally household incomes are a little above the national median. The proportion owning a smart phone is above average. Internet use is fairly average with a few going online quite frequently, perhaps for games or to download films or music. While they may research purchases online fewer than average actually buy online. Papers such as the Daily Express or the Daily Mail might have good readership amongst this type.

Prosperous Professionals

They are well educated and include a mix of families, couples, singles and some retired. They read the major broadsheets and have a cosmopolitan outlook, being interested in theatre, the arts, and classical music. They are technologically sophisticated, and regularly use the internet for organising their leisure, finances or household services. More likely than most to own an iPad or similar device, they may use it to access content relating to travel, news, weather and to play games and, less frequently, access social networks or read blogs. Social networking may be more business focused than personal activity for these people.

Wealthy Executives

Wealthy Executives are middle aged or older people, with many empty nesters. They are well educated individuals with high levels of academic qualification. Most are employed in senior managerial positions or run their own businesses. These are consumers with money and the space to enjoy very comfortable lifestyles. Many subscribe to a range of magazines and will read the Financial Times, and the broadsheet papers. They tend to be frequent users of the internet, generally more for practical than entertainment purposes such as shopping and keeping up with current affairs, although many will also read the broadsheets. Modern technology such as DAB radio, iPads or tablet PC’s, portable media players and smartphones are highly likely to be owned.

Affluent Greys

Affluent Greys tend to be older empty nesters and retired couples. They are more likely than the general population to be interested in culture and arts. They are more likely to read newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph, the Times, the Mail and the Daily Express. There is a mix of people who use the internet quite frequently and others who rarely go online. A few might own iPads but generally these people do not make extensive use of new technology.

Prudent Pensioners

Prudent Pensioners are predominantly of retirement age, but are far from inactive. They show a marked propensity to be members of bodies such as the National Trust. Many have an interested in fine art and antiques, or have hobbies such as photography or arts and crafts. While not avid


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users of new technology a number will own iPads or other tablet devices. While many do not use the internet there are also a similar number who are very active online. Some typical interests of these people might be wine, antiques, cultural events, walking and photography. Readership of the Times and the Telegraph is much higher than average.

Source: Strengthening Museums & the Visitor Economy in Worcester, TSE and the Audience Agency 2014


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11 APPENDIX 2: WEBSITE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

Home Page Stunning images on slider

Can have special features within the slider e.g. key event promotion – object of the week – spotlight on – curator’s blog

Plan a Visit Events / What’s on? Learning & Discovery Venue Hire Newsletter sign up Data

capture

Social media feeds Twitter

Facebook YouTube

Contact Us

The Museum Event Calendar Teachers

information/Schools Weddings

Our video/our brochure

Audio guides – snipped

in podcasts Corporate

Pricing and opening times

Historical information Pop-up Gallery

How to get here Amazing facts and

figures – fun and quirky

Groups & School visits Links to other useful

websites and Civil War Sites

Shopping & Eating at The Commandery

Image Gallery

What’s nearby? Worcester information,

other attractions, places to eat

Blog

Civil War Trail Map

Disclaimer: All information and analysis supplied by Blue Sail Consulting Ltd and our sub-contractors is supplied in good faith and represents our professional judgement based on the information obtained from the client and elsewhere. The achievement of recommendations, forecasts and valuations depend on factors beyond our control. Any projections, financial or otherwise, in this report are only intended to illustrate particular points of argument and do not constitute forecasts of actual performance.

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