most visited attraction, as ranked by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. The Coca-Cola London Eye, the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, is the UK’s most popular paid visitor attraction. Recent surveys conducted by the Audience Agency show that South Bank’s brand recognition and satisfaction among visitors is as high as 97%, and our website and marketing communications serve an audience of 10.5m million visitors per year. In economic terms, South Bank is one of London’s key drivers for growth, generating over £240m in yearly visitor expenditure and contributing over £2.8m per year to London’s economy.


That sounds impressive. What is the key to this success?...


I would probably pick two main things: a long-term commitment and shared vision amongst our members, and the value of working together, towards common goals and objectives. To paraphrase Greek philosopher Aristotle, I believe that the power of a collective voice, as a whole, is greater than the sum of its parts. Pooling our resources is the only effective answer to getting the recognition we need for South Bank, in the face of ever-growing competition, both at a global scale and within London itself.


South Bank offers a plethora of visitor attractions and things do to, ranging from high-brow, arts exhibitions and classical concerts, to skateboarding nights and face-to-face encounters with sharks. How do you manage to engage with such diverse audiences?...


It can be challenging as the area appeals to a huge variety of visitor groups, each with its own needs and travel motivations. We strive to have a good understanding of who our visitors are, what makes them tick, or conversely, what barriers may prevent them from visiting, and then base our strategies on this insight. Visitor segmentation enables us to tailor our messages and plan our communications around each of the audiences we aim to engage with. Today more than ever, targeting your marketing and communications is crucial, as consumers are bombarded


with content – both online and offline - and it is not always easy for a brand to emerge through the noise, especially if budgets are limited.


You’ve mentioned the need for tailored content, and indeed we are seeing a growing trend for DMOs around the world to evolve their remit, from simply providing visitor information to actively crafting and narrating a destination’s story. Has this been the case for South Bank?...


I think so. One of the biggest industry changes we have embraced has to do with content curation and delivery. We have moved on from substantially being a vehicle that provides basic visitor information and promotes local listings, to acting as the lead source that generates and curates bespoke content, often involving our audiences in the process. Storytelling is a huge part of what we do, and it has enabled us to engage with our visitors at a deeper level, through a two-way communication system.


Has social media played a part in this role?...


Absolutely. We invest a great deal of time and resources in cultivating our social presence and nurturing our digital community. We stimulate the conversation, take part in the conversation, encourage user-generated content which then becomes part of our narrative. For example, we host regular walking tours and events for our Instagram followers, run South Bank- inspired poetry competitions on Twitter, and organise outdoor photographic exhibitions with material submitted by our Facebook community. This approach seems to work well for us. In just under four years, our social community has grown from a few thousand, to over a quarter of a million.


And what are the main challenges you have to deal with when managing a brand like South Bank?...


Despite numbers tell us we’re heading in


the right direction, for us it is important to continuously demonstrate the impact and value of our work to members and local stakeholders. I believe that a DMO’s remit is more far-reaching than putting bums on seats, helping restaurants fill their tables or sending event booking enquiries. There’s a tendency for marketers to focus on short- term results, whereas it is important to try and be more aspirational and inspirational, and never lose sight of the bigger picture.


What makes South Bank a successful destination for the Meetings Industry?...


All of South Bank’s historic landmarks, attractions and arts organisations double as event venues, providing many options for unique events. Through our Convention Bureau South Bank Venues, we target event and conference organisers, building on the area’s reputation for culture and creativity, its central location and excellent transport links. Again, working collaboratively enables us to package our offering in ways that have a stronger appeal to the end buyer. So for example, if someone wants to hold a day conference at the BFI Southbank, we help with transferring their delegates to and from South Bank on a Thames Clippers vessel. After the conference is over, we may offer a champagne experience on the Eye, or a hosted dinner at Skylon. It’s all about collaboration.


Can you share with us one project you are currently working on and are particularly excited about?...


We have quite a few interesting projects in the works, about to go live very soon. Amongst these, we’re working on a rewards programme specifically aimed at those who work, live and study in South Bank – who can sometimes feel excluded from what the area has to offer due to a number of reasons, price being one of them. We’re also working on a new destination website, which will adopt advanced technology such as geo-tagging or intelligent search bots which will provide bespoke navigation experiences to each user, based on their location, interests and usage patterns. We’re developing it with E3Creative, ranked UK Digital Agency of the Year in the Digital Entrepreneur Awards 2016. We can’t wait to unveil the finished product!


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52