20 September, 2024
Visit Isle of Man has launched a new destination marketing campaign, ‘Extraordinary Isle’, aimed at promoting the Isle of Man as a quality, year-round visitor destination focusing on authenticity and aspirational intent.
The ‘Extraordinary Isle’ campaign is part of Visit Isle of Man’s broader efforts to support the local visitor economy by promoting sustainable tourism and driving visitor growth, as outlined in its ten-year strategy, ‘Our Island, Our Future’.
‘Extraordinary Isle’ and its supporting content and campaigns will depict life in the Isle of Man and showcase the stories and folklore that make the Island such a special and unique place to live, work, play and visit. From its UNESCO Biosphere status to its landscape and people that have shaped the Isle of Man into what it is today, ‘Extraordinary Isle’ aims to provide inspirational content which resonates and differentiates the Island from other destinations, unearthing its distinct and unique Manx identity, heritage, culture, language and community.
Tapping into current industry and consumer trends, ‘Extraordinary Isle’ will also showcase the seasonal tourism product offerings and experiences that are available in the Isle of Man, promoting the depth, breadth and diversity of its offering, all within easy access from the UK and Ireland.
Melanie Allen, Director of Marketing and Communications for Visit Isle of Man, commented:
‘The world-wide destination marketplace is a crowded landscape, particularly with many well-established destinations now looking to shine a light on authentic and experiential tourism. Historically, the Isle of Man, in its own right, is a distinctive and unique destination, but there is a need to cut through the noise and be visible and relevant to both existing and new target audiences.
‘To continue to build further on the traction gained from Visit Isle of Man’s ‘The Extraordinary Story’ campaign, established in 2018, and to be at the forefront of emerging aspirational and experiential tourism trends, the new ‘Extraordinary Isle’ campaign will be strategically positioned to reach our target audiences and drive aspirational intent, changing perceptions and developing long-term relationships with visitors.
‘With a fully integrated local marketing, creative and production team, the campaign will be evergreen, with fresh content being rolled out regularly. Our recent video with Sir Mark Cavendish KBE, which received fantastic traction across our social channels last month, acted as a teaser to ‘Extraordinary Isle’ and aimed to demonstrate a strong foundation of the campaign, which is our people and our community. Our residents and businesses are our biggest assets and so, alongside our seasonal marketing activity, we will also be sharing content of our local ambassadors to inspire visitors to experience the magic of the Isle of Man.’
The first of the ‘Extraordinary Isle’ seasonal campaign videos launched yesterday and focuses on encouraging visitors to experience the Island’s outdoor and adventure offering this autumn. The winter campaign will focus on the Island’s businesses and food and drink offering, providing visitors with an introduction to some of our Island Business Champions, and then spring will showcase the Manx calendar and the Island’s unique and vibrant culture, heritage, arts and music scene.
Marketing activity for ‘Extraordinary Isle’ will be predominantly digital-focused, with elements of PR, influencer and traditional marketing channels utilised to help reach as many of Visit Isle of Man’s target audiences as possible. A toolkit will also be shared with local industry and businesses in the coming weeks, to ensure the brand and its supporting assets can be utilised and amplified in collaboration with Visit Isle of Man’s stakeholders.
Collaboration with the local community is a core pillar of the ‘Extraordinary Isle’ campaign and Visit Isle of Man invites all local businesses and residents to explore and engage with the campaign as it evolves, to help inspire more visitors to enjoy the ‘Extraordinary Isle’. Content will be available to share across Visit Isle of Man’s social media channels. The new campaign video is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ard_wkwepEM