DIGITAL DESTINATIONS.

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1 DIGITAL DESTINATIONS Dr Philip Alford Bournemouth University #DDBU

2 Digital Destinations project is an ESRC funded research project, delivered by Bournemouth University, with an overarching aim to: capture change in the adoption and use of digital technologies and to develop a strong, competitive local tourism economy. Through increased understanding and use of emerging digital technologies, visitor economy businesses will be in a position to increase their marketing and management effectiveness, and develop new products and services that will provide an enhanced experience for visitors to their destinations

3 The businesses benefited from 4 workshops which covered: Background to on line marketing Individual Business objectives Developing the strategy Measuring impact Reporting outcomes via case studies All course material can be found at All business outcomes and blogs can be found at

4 The following presentation is the case study provided by Castlepoint Shopping Park Castlepoint Shopping Park wanted to move further into the fashion market and be known as a fashion destination to their customer. One of the key objectives to achieve this was to create a personality for the centre and in doing so enhance and show this through their digital marketing. Castlepoint were active in most elements of on-line marketing but required more focus on social media, in particular Facebook and Twitter. Customer relationship management was a critical element to their overall marketing strategy for 2013.

5 Castlepoint Shopping Park DDP Project

6 Agenda Background Social Media Review Social Media Proposals

7 Background Castlepoint is a fashion and home orientated shopping park located in Bournemouth, Dorset. It offers a unique shopping experience for its customers by having some of the biggest retail stores in the region. Since opening in October 2003, Castlepoint is now the largest shopping park in the UK (Castlepoint, 2013). Having over 3000 free car parking spaces and late night weekday openings till 8pm, Castlepoint is a convenient place for customers to shop in one location The key strategy for Castlepoint in 2012, was to build on the personality of the centre and introduce a more human dimension to it. The aim was to create a more emotive emphasis through PR and the introduction of original and more community inspired events A challenge that Castlepoint currently faces, is being compared to other retail parks, however as part of their strategy for 2013, Castlepoint are looking to move further into the fashion market and be known as a fashion destination to their customers. One of the main aims to achieve this is by creating a personality for the centre. One way they can enhance and show their personality is through digital marketing.

8 Review of 2012

9 Social Media Review Social Media Facebook was introduced in 2012 and has chimed positively with shoppers. The results have been well ahead of expectations with Facebook Likes now standing at 3,258 (end of December) and regular engagement taking place. Notable peaks were Student Lock In Fun Run Olly Murs Seasonal Events

11 Website Statistics

12 Check Ins have reached 15,087 (as at end of December) Rapid increase of check ins during the Student Lock In event. (66 check ins 1/10/12 31/10/12 measured per week)

13 Students For the first time we put a concerted effort into the targeting of students. This centred around a Student Lock In event on the 1 October It gave students targeted discounts and atmospheric benefits in the way of entertainment. It also saw is partnering with Yellow Buses who provided increased bus routes for the event.

14 Student Lock In

15 Student Lock In Statistics 24 retailers and 3 concessions agreed either up to 20%, a special offer, competition or giveaways 1700 students pre-registered for the event In excess of 3000 students turned up on the evening between 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm Car park stats were up 4% in comparison to previous Monday Car park stats were up 18% on the year (please note that last year, the weather was exceedingly hot, therefore car numbers were depressed) Car park stats between 6pm and 8 pm were up from 1539 to 1855 Social Media check in activity on our Castlepoint Facebook page increased by 100 between 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm Our Castlepoint Facebook page had 2,295 fans, 151 talking about it and 13,005 check ins on the day of the event - Our Castlepoint Student Shopping Facebook page had 968 likes by the day of the event and 138 taking about it followers on the Castlepoint Student Shopping Twitter Page by the day of the event Wilts and Dorset Bus Services also increased their passenger numbers during the month of October by 5.33% in comparison to September Wilts and Dorset confirmed that this was due to the uplift in numbers during the Student Lock In event.

16 Situation Analysis

17 SWOT STRENGTHS Convenient High Street Scale of offer (breadth of retail fascias and size of stores) Supermarkets Familiarity and loyalty amongst the core target Safe, secure, environment for families 3000 free parking spaces

18 SWOT WEAKNESSES Difficult to find for a non-user Access problems (now perceived rather than actual) Perceived as too busy Volume of quality catering Lack of some high-fashion or street-fashion brands Lack of covered event space

19 SWOT OPPORTUNITIES Enhanced retail tenant mix More use of segmentation (e.g. students) Further use of social media/digital technology (+Click and Collect) Improve event programme/community involvement Third-party collaboration Giftcard/customer service Customer Loyalty Children s Club/events

20 SWOT THREATS Car-park Resurgent Bournemouth/Poole New developments in Salisbury On-line

21 The Plan for 2013

22 What we want customers to think! It s the most practical place to shop in the region It s friendly and I feel comfortable shopping there The best place for families It has shops and promotions which appeal to me It s increasingly stylish

23 Social Media Objectives To increase awareness of Castlepoint as a fashion destination throught the use of E-marketing, specifically through social media marketing to encourage engagement with their customers online Introduce a Castlepoint Twitter page to increase awareness of the centre through engagement of their customers online and gain 500 followers at year end Launch Twitter with a strong competition to encourage Castlepoint customers who are online to follow the centre

24 How?

25 Digital Introduce TWITTER Continue with FACEBOOK Introduce Pinterest, The main website and the mobile version will be continued in their current form A possible Spend and Win promotion will be developed where prizes can be won via social media based on spend-levels in store

26 Twitter The Facts Twitter has over 100 million active users and 50% of them sign in daily. 55% of them access Twitter via their mobile phone. Every day, 300,000 new users sign up. Over 250 million tweets are posted daily. 40% of Twitter users don t tweet but dip into their timelines to keep tabs on what people are saying. What makes people retweet? Interesting content, humour, personal connection, celebrity status, offered incentive (tangible or viral) or just being asked to please RT.

27 Twitter Student Lock In

28 Twitter Profiles - Bournemouth

30 Twitter Profile Names

31 Twitter Competition Castlepoint Twitter Launched on 4 February with a competition to win 100 for Valentines Day. The results are: 152 retweets 23 mentions Beginning of the campaign 6 followers. End of the campaign 181 followers +2916% increase

32 PInterest PInterest was launched on the 11 April. This is an additional section to Facebook. It is an online pin board that Castlepoint and online customers can use to collect images, whether fashion, food or home wear that inspires them and they want to share amongst Castlepoint Facebook fans.

33 Partnerships We will expand on our current partnership arrangements which now stretch to 60 businesses, Bournemouth Tourism and Bournemouth University Castlepoint has also been selected for a Digital Destinations project

34 For more information on DIGITAL DESTINATIONS contact: Dr Philip Alford, #DDBU

DIGITAL DESTINATIONS.

DIGITAL DESTINATIONS. DIGITAL DESTINATIONS Dr Philip Alford Bournemouth University www.digitalhub.co.uk www.pinterest.com/digitaldest www.slideshare.net/digitalhub ddp@bournemouth.ac.uk @schooloftourism @philipalford #DDBU