Eastbourne Pier Business Case
Project Application
Please complete each section below referring where necessary to the explanatory notes at
Appendix 1. Please limit your response to 4 pages plus any additional spreadsheets etc. for
financial details and timetables etc.
1. Project Title. Lead organisation and contact details including partner organisations.
VisitEastbourne and Destination Marketing Plan – Annie Wills, Tourism
Development, Heritage & Catering Manager. xxxxx.xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
2. Objectives.
Describe the project in terms of the aims/objectives, outcomes and
outputs. Explain why the project is needed and who will benefit from it. See note 1.
Visiteastbourne.com
Destination Marketing and investment in VisitEastbourne will allow Eastbourne to be
promoted to new audiences through additional and new marketing tools. VisitEastbourne
website currently receives in excess of 22m page views per year and although the
website is a great platform to promote the resort, further enhancements will allow
improvements to navigation, functionality and potentially interoperability with other
websites and providers. In particular, the new website would be accessible from all
devices including various sizes of tablet and mobile phones and touch screen display
units, increasing access to the site from new audiences and visitors during their stay.
Using the new tools to create themes and itineraries will provide new products and ideas
for a more targeted marketing approach to new audiences. Using experiences as a
reason to come, rather than business listings, will provide better inspiration for new
visitors and also reflect the current website marketing strategy of VisitEngland. The main
objectives from the campaigns will be to increase spend to both the Council through
website bookings and to the wider economy of Eastbourne through increased visitor
spend. Potentially converting day visitors into overnight stays.
Destination Marketing
Although Eastbourne receives 4.8m visitors per year, a targeted marketing campaign
particularly to an overseas audience will give Eastbourne the opportunity to increase its
share in domestic and inbound markets. A destination marketing campaign through-the-
line will raise awareness of the resort’s product encouraging first time visitors and
develop loyal, repeat visitors for the future. A brand strategy and brand campaign will
also secure Eastbourne’s USP and position next to competitor resorts.
3. Strategic Fit.
Explain how the project will contribute to local, regional and DCLG
objectives. See note 2.
Additional visitors to Eastbourne and additional visitor spend will add to the prosperous
economy and in turn will create additional jobs within the resort. The expansion to the
VisitEastbourne website will drive footfall and bookings through the website and will
increase income to the accommodation providers in Eastbourne. Furthermore with the
attractions pass included this will potentially drive footfall to the attractions in and around
Eastbourne again adding to the prosperous economy. A brand and marketing campaign
will further increase visitor footfall (overnight and day visitors) ensuring we develop new
audiences which will also increase the economic impact of tourism in Eastbourne.
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4. Interdependencies. Who has been consulted and involved in the development of the
project. Will the project link with and add to other local projects and initiatives? Explain
the linkages and how they will be maximised.
The project will benefit a number of key partners and the enhancements
suggested to VisitEastbourne are compiled from feedback received from our
users. A brand development strategy and marketing campaign to increase
Eastbourne’s share of the market was highlighted as an urgent requirement as
part of the 2012/13 Visitor and non-visitor survey from TNS.
Key partners such as the Eastbourne Hospitality Association and South Downs
National Park will be consulted further to work in partnership with the
developments to VisitEastbourne and also our marketing strategy to maximise
impact and to ensure there is synergy with our partners work and objectives.
We work closely with the EHA which has hoteliers, attractions and other
businesses within its membership, as a result of consultation with them we have
already instigated new products such as the Daily Bulletin, however due to lack of
funds the digital offer is still limited. The proposed work will improve the digital
offer and al ow better sharing of VisitEastbourne data amongst businesses,
boosting their own trade.
5. Achievability and Options Appraisal. Are there any other options for meeting the
project’s objectives that have been considered and ruled out?
Due to the increasing use of tablets for web browsing, VisitEastbourne can no
longer keep up with the mobile travel er. Since the website was last built, tablet
usage alone has grown from 0% to 41.4% of the UK population (Source: Statista)
and according to ABTA, holiday bookings via tablet have almost doubled in the
last year alone.
The current desktop website cannot perform properly on a touch screen system,
therefore a website which responds to desktop, tablet and mobile devices is
essential in reaching potential visitors and in providing essential information to
those who have booked, in order to maximise their spend in the resort. Simply
revamping the current website is not an option, it requires a full rebuild to ensure
it is accessible to new technology.
Eastbourne’s level of repeat business is high, so attracting new younger
audiences via digital methods is a high yielding investment, providing a return to
the resort for many years to come.
6.Affordability, Cost Benefit, Cost risks, Added Value. Provide details of costings including
development costs, breakdown of capital costs, on-going revenue costs, match funding
and income/profit estimates. Explain how the project will deliver good value for money;
identify cost risks and any potential for added-value
. See note 3.
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VisitEastbourne – TOTAL COST = £100k – Breakdown of costs below
Rebrand and Update - opportunity to update the navigation and functionality of
VisitEastbourne in a responsive design to suit all mobile devices and touch screens and
upgrade the back office Destination Marketing System to allow interoperability with other
booking engines
– incorporating social media and user generated content across
the website, showcasing videos, bloggers, reviews and photos from visitors like those
shown on TripAdvisor.
TOTAL COST = £50K
Eastbourne App – around me mapping showing attractions, events and businesses
using DMS data, Better knowledge of what’s around their location will increase visits to
businesses.
COSTS = £13k.
Trail App – guided tours or suggested walking tours itineraries for film locations,
heritage sites and downland walks to increase participation in walking holidays, attract
film fans and heritage visitors. Maximise National Park and seafront as a resource.
Provides a more reliable source of downloaded information in areas of nearby National
Park which have poor network coverage for internet browsing.
COSTS = £11K,
Attractions Pass – encourage visits to more businesses with 1 day, 2 day or 3 day
passes, system allows the attraction to automatically redeem money from each visitor.
Provides value for money campaign hook and connects other Sussex attractions to the
Eastbourne offer.
COSTS = £6k
Build Your Own Holiday Package – create your own itinerary with accommodation and
attractions paid in one go. Offer uniquely packaged holidays. E.g. cycling would target
new audiences for Eastbourne which aren’t currently serviced by tour operators.
COSTS
= £20K
Destination Marketing Strategy £400k
Brand marketing campaign to communicate Eastbourne’s USP through-the-line including
promotional literature, national press, online, outdoor, radio and TV utilising the full
media mix rolling out new brand to raise awareness of Eastbourne as a tourist destination
and its USP to attract first time visitors to the resort and gain a greater share of the
market.
Creative development: £50k
Media spend: £350k
Campaign breakdown: A 4-6 week high impact campaign which is highly visual
targeting domestic and inbound markets planned for Spring 2016 utilising a
variety of media:
Outdoor: include a large
outdoor presence in the form of fully liveried taxis, rail
advertising at the termini and stations along the Southern Rail London to Eastbourne
route. We could extend the presence with train cards on the trains themselves. In London
we would have Tube cards across the Circle and District line which is connected to most
of the main termini – London Victoria being of most importance. To target day trippers
and also short breaks.
£250k
Outdoor continued (optional): The ratecard cost of a fully Livered cab for one month
is £5,550. The cost of cabs goes down with volume and the campaign length. Have
negotiated rate of £1,550 per cab for two months or £2,200 for three months. (costs
included in the above)
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Radio (optional):
Radio is a brilliant medium for a broad spectrum audience. Have
planned Classic, Smooth and XFM with a plan for 4 weeks. 30 second breakfast ad slots.
This will be more relevant for day trips.
£20k
Print Media: Print activity would include National Trust magazine which comes out 3
times a year and has a circulation of well over 2 million and an audience that is engaged
with travelling in the UK especially to areas of outstanding natural beauty. The Metro and
the Evening Standard offer a large reach to the day tripper/short break within the
catchment area.
£52k
Online: Al activity is underpinned across an
online programmatic trading platform
which is split into categories targeting demographics; families and empty nesters. More
detailed targeting once primary and secondary audiences are agreed as part of the brand
consultation work. Added to this is Facebook and Youtube both of which allow us to
target these audiences in a very granular way.
Twitter will be used to gain exposure to
an audience already connected with other key seaside destinations.
£48k
Online continued (optional)
Digital Visitor Campaign: Digital visitor will source a brand partner for the prize and
seed the competition with key bloggers. The idea we had a while back was a quiz style
competition based around things you might not know about Eastbourne e.g. National
Park gateway but creative can be decided after brand development work.
£15k
Tourism South East/Visit England: Buy in to marketing initiatives available which
would be match funded
£25k
TV (optional) Highly targeted and cost effective
TV advertising via Sky’s AdSmart
platform. Can apply the following targeted layers as an example:
• London and the south, both male and female
• Day trippers and UK holiday makers
• Families, Adults and Young professionals
• Coastal walkers
• Customers interested in the outstanding natural beauty
• Interested in outdoor activity
Allow £70-100k for production
£150k media spend
A 400k budget would allow for the outdoor campaign, online and print media. Other
options have also been included that would be good options as budget attributed to each
can be adjusted. £50k would have to be allowed for creative development.
For a budget of £200k, the weight of the campaign would be halved but similar media
used. Allow £30k for creative and £170k for media spend.
NB: To have any impact with TV over half of the budget of £400k would go on this alone
with little supporting campaign activity and is not advised unless we are able to secure
additional budget.
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Benefits
It is anticipated that investment in VisitEastbourne wil deliver 10% additional
website users in year one.
The Destination Marketing Strategy will be targeting new audiences. Currently
Eastbourne benefits from 4.8m visitors per year.
TOURISM DAY VISITS
Trips
Spend
Total 2013
4,100,000 £111,230,000
Total 2012
4,020,000 £109,230,000
% Change
2.0%
1.8%
It is anticipated that this will rise by 10% in both visitor numbers and spend, it is
expected a % of the current day trip market will be converted into overnight
visitors.
Overal , an estimated 695,000 staying trips were spent in the Borough in 2013, of
which around 633,000 were made by domestic visitors (92%) and 58,000 by
overseas visitors (8%). Compared to 2012, domestic overnight trips dropped by
5.7% whereas visits made by visitors from overseas increased by 6.9%.
Once the marketing campaign has been delivered we are predicting an increase in
visitor numbers for 2016 taking the total to 725,000 staying visitors, with the
same % increase in visitor spend across all sections of the hospitality industry,
accommodation and food and drink. We would like to predict an increase in
overseas visitors and would expect the numbers to rise from 8% to 15%
The average spend per tourism day trip in the South East was up slightly
compared with 2012 at £32.39 per trip (£30.77 in 2012), and comparable with
the average for England as a whole (£33.59). With the investment in
VisitEastbourne we believe this will increase the day visitor spend by raising the
awareness of things to see and do through the Apps and GPS navigation, we are
predicting the average spend to exceed the national average.
7. Delivery timetable. Provide a project delivery timetable with key milestones. Can the
project be delivered in the projected timescales (Marketing projects 18 months; Heritage
Projects 3 years)?
Project
Timescale
Milestones
VisitEastbourne Upgrade
January – June 2015
1. Agree brief for upgrades
and obtain final quotes
from test the market place
for alternative suppliers as
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an options appraisal.
2. Agree and write content
for the website
3. Roll out and promote to
VisitEastbourne users
Eastbourne App
Jan - April 2015
1. Agree brief for mapping
and app content
2. Write programme and
add content
3. Deliver the App to the
market place, through PR
and Social Media marketing
Trail App
Jan – May 2015
1. Agree brief for mapping
and app content
2. Write programme and
add content
3. Deliver the App to the
market place, through PR
and Social Media marketing
Attraction Pass
Jan – June 2015
1. Agree brief for the pass
system ensuring
compatibility with the end
user
2. Write programme and
add content
3. Deliver the App to the
market place, through PR
and Social Media marketing
Holiday Package
Jan – June 2015
1. Achieve ABTA bonding.
2. Agree content brief and
write programme and
content
3. Deliver the itinerary
planning packages through
promotion.
Marketing Strategy
October 2015 – March 2016 1. Work with media agent
to agree marketing plan
that covers a spectrum of
media, ensuring that there
is a route to monitor and
capture results.
2. Consult with key
stakeholders to ensure
creatives and content
meets expectations
3. Finalise timetable for roll
out of marketing plan,
utilising key dates within
the Winter of 2015.
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4. Measure results of
strategic marketing
campaigns, ensuring
agreed CPR is met.
8. Risks. What are the main risks associated with the project?
See note 4.
The risks are negligible as we have been aware of the need to upgrade and enhance the
VisitEastbourne website, the suggested list of enhancements are collated based on
feedback from users, both stakeholders and visitors.
9. Exit strategy. Explain how the project will be financially sustainable in the medium to
long term.
All of the items listed are one off expenditure and do not require an ongoing resource or
an ongoing revenue budget. VisitEastbourne already generates an income to Eastbourne
Borough Council as well as the wider economy of Eastbourne. The enhancements to
VisitEastbourne will allow further income generating opportunities to be exploited
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Appendix 1
Explanatory Notes
1. The grant has broadly been allocated to support the tourism regeneration of
Eastbourne and mitigate the impact of the fire. Consider how the project will
address a proven need; stimulate regeneration and renewal of the town and
complement existing plans and projects.
2. How will the project contribute to the DCLG Vision and local objectives; see
DCLG Business Plan and EBC Corporate plan at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/fil
e/7510/CLG-Business-Plan1.pdf
http://www.eastbourne.gov.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=210648
&type=full&servicetype=Inline&filename=/corporateplanrefresh1415pdf.pdf
3. Is the project unlikely to be achieved without grant support? Can the project
deliver a good return on investment and Value for Money? Will the project
create burdensome legacy revenue/operational costs? Will the project lever in
additional investment and resources? Has there been an allowance for inflation
and contingencies?
4. Consider the following;
a. would the project be achieved without grant?
b. will the project significantly disadvantage other aspects of local
economy?
c. is the project likely to have broad based political and community
support?
d. is the project legally, technically and practically deliverable?
e. if planning permission is required, is this likely to be approved?
f. will the project be economically sustainable?
If you would like support in completing the application then Paul Quanstrom is
available to assist. Paul’s contact details are:-
Email:
xxxx.xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Phone: 01323415375/07977502582
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