Visitor attraction marketing in the UK and where print sits
Visitor attraction marketing in the UK works closest to the decision. Most day out choices are made late, while people are already away from home or near the site, so racked brochures, local posters and door to door leaflets outperform broad advertising. iDO (Info Display OOH Ltd) distributes more than 5 million brochures every month across 150,000 print points.
Sugandan Balaji
How do UK visitor attractions market themselves?
Visitor attraction marketing is the paid, owned and earned activity that an attraction uses to turn interest into admissions. For most UK attractions it splits into three jobs: reach people before they travel, reach them once they are in the area, and convert locals and members. Print carries the middle job better than anything else in the mix.
A normal mix runs search and social for the planning stage, email and membership for repeat visits, and printed brochures, posters and leaflets for the in area decision. iDO (Info Display OOH Ltd), founded in 1997, places that print for attractions including Disney, the National Trust, English Heritage, ZSL London Zoo, Merlin Entertainments, Cadw, the Royal Albert Hall, the Design Museum, the Imperial War Museum, SS Great Britain, Zip World and the Welsh Rugby Union.
When do people actually decide to visit an attraction?
Most people choose a UK day out late, and close to the attraction. Families on holiday decide the night before or over breakfast with the weather in front of them, which is why a brochure in a hotel foyer or a campsite reception is read at the exact moment the day is being planned.
That late decision changes what marketing has to do. A national campaign three months out builds awareness but is not in the room when the choice is made. A DL brochure at 99mm by 210mm in the rack, a six sheet poster at 1200mm by 1800mm in a retail parade, or an A5 leaflet through the door of a holiday let street all sit inside the decision window. iDO serves 150,000 print points from 60+ distribution centres, each staffed by teams local to their own areas.
How big is the catchment for a UK visitor attraction?
The catchment for a UK visitor attraction is measured in drive time, not miles. A family will travel roughly 45 to 60 minutes for a full day out and about 20 minutes for a half day, so the plan is built as rings of drive time around the site and each ring takes a different print format.
| Drive time from the attraction | Who it reaches | Print that fits |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 20 minutes | Residents, town centre footfall, half day visits | Poster blanket, door to door A5 |
| 20 to 45 minutes | Hotels, holiday lets, campsites, full day visits | Racked DL and A5 brochures |
| 45 to 90 minutes | School holiday and weekend trips, coach trade | Selected racking and service areas |
Why does racking near the attraction beat broad advertising?
Racking near a visitor attraction beats broad advertising because it buys proximity rather than volume. Every brochure sits where the visitor is already deciding, so waste is low and the cost per relevant reader is far below a regional campaign that pays for people who will never drive there.
Real campaigns show the shape. The Design Museum ran solus door to door in W8 6 with an ultra local blanket of Kensington High Street, Earls Court Road and Notting Hill Gate, and saw a spike in membership applications. Trestle Theatre in St Albans took an ultra local poster blanket of every retail, food and drink, supermarket, community and heritage site in town and the performance was oversubscribed. The Royal Albert Hall reached Christmas bookers with 6,600 solus door to door addresses across SW7 1 to SW7 5 plus 300 first class direct mail.
- Low waste: the reader is already inside the catchment
- Fast to market: a blanket can run in days, not weeks
- Format choice per ring: brochure, poster, door to door or hand to hand
How do you prove a visitor attraction print campaign ran?
Ask for GPS tracked distribution and dated, photographed proof of display for every site. iDO has invested over £250,000 in a reporting system that tracks the run by GPS, photographs the print in place and publishes both to a live dashboard with geo located maps, so an attraction can check a site mid season instead of waiting for a report.
Print also pairs with screens. The iDO digital network delivers around 500,000 impressions a week in barbershops, gyms, pubs and bars, which is useful for date led messages such as an exhibition closing. To plan a campaign, contact iDO at Unit 3, Vale Business Park, Cardiff, CF71 7PF, on 020 3876 4268 or at hello@infodisplayooh.com.
Frequently asked
- What is the best marketing channel for a UK visitor attraction?
- There is no single best channel, but print sits closest to the decision. Racked brochures in hotels, campsites and information centres reach visitors while they are choosing a day out. iDO holds 150,000 print points across the UK, the biggest print distribution network in the UK.
- How far will people travel to a UK attraction?
- Plan on drive time. UK families typically travel 45 to 60 minutes for a full day out and about 20 minutes for a half day. Build the distribution plan as rings around the attraction and place brochures in the accommodation and roads inside those rings.
- How quickly can an attraction get print out?
- Quickly, if the network is already in place. iDO started a Royal Albert Hall door to door campaign to 6,600 addresses within two days of a government announcement, and has run a blanket leaflet and poster distribution across three cities in three days.