This is Edinburgh

Marketing Edinburgh is the official destination marketing organisation dedicated to promoting Edinburgh as a place to visit, live, work, study and invest.

The organisation, working with various stakeholders across the City, developed a new brand entity that residents, visitors and investors can engage with in order to source information and news about the Capital.

The Challenge:

Marketing Edinburgh recognised the opportunity to create and develop a new brand entity which could be used in order to promote Edinburgh to the world. A platform of which residents, visitors and investors would feel inspired and excited by.

Storm ID were appointed to develop and build the digital presence of This is Edinburgh, through the design and build of a new website thisisedinburgh.org.uk and the provision of a digital engagement strategy, in order to ensure a connected online user experience.

The core focus of the This is Edinburgh website is to serve and support the promotion of Edinburgh on an International level which will enhance the resident and visitor experience of Edinburgh.

The Solution:

Research –

From an initial scoping exercise with This is Edinburgh – which aligned project and business goals – Storm ID began user research, to gain a better understanding of the website audience. The research included a number of User Experience workshops in order to understand how people used the Marketing Edinburgh website and define what the user’s wants and needs were.

Responsive Design –

Once the identification of the audience was complete and Information Architecture agreed, Storm ID began to sketch out wireframes in order to encapsulate all technical requirements and functionality that would enable a smooth and engaging user journey. It was imperative for both Storm ID and This is Edinburgh to provide a connected experience for users across a range of devices. Storm ID therefore ensured a responsive design approach for the website, which in turn meant that the site would be accessible and well presented to the widest audience regardless of where they were or what device they were using.

Technical Requirements –

Alongside the responsive design approach, Storm ID ensured that a number of technical requisites were built into the website which would provide users with the information that they were looking for in a fast and efficient way. These included a search function, newsletter and update sign up option, social sharing buttons and sign posting to the other key Marketing Edinburgh services such as Invest in Edinburgh, Meeting Edinburgh and Edinburgh Film Focus.

Social Hub –

It was important that the new website was as engaging as possible. An online destination that was user friendly and where people could find content that was recommended by and or referred to by those living in or visiting Edinburgh.

The social hub (trending) displays in real-time the latest online buzz and chatter of people experiencing and enjoying Edinburgh, and allows people to share why they love Edinburgh in a variety of ways. Utilising the latest live streaming techniques, the social hub aggregates content from a variety of online sources (including tweets, Instagram photos, YouTube videos, etc.) and displays them on a large mosaic as a collection of visual, interactive tiles.

The Results:

This is Edinburgh website went live on Friday 21st of February. User activity and interactions across the website will be tracked through Google Analytics, metric of which will be deployed back into marketing and campaign initiatives in order to ensure that the target audience is being engaged with at the right time through the right content.

Ultimately it is hoped that this new online portal will provide inspiration and encourage engagement with and across one of the world’s most beautiful cities, after all This is Edinburgh.