Creation of Marketing Materials for Visit Swale - A1019

The council uses an economic impact assessment of volume and value to measure performance in the visitor economy. In 2019, it was used to provide a clear direction on visitor economy priorities and there were 5.4m visitors to Swale with the sector generating £232m to the economy of Swale, supporting 5,307 jobs. The pandemic in 2020 caused disruption to the visitor economy with 3.3m visitors to Swale with the sector generating £102m to the economy of Swale, supporting 3.264 jobs. Swale saw the smallest decline in total visits of any district across the county (39.4%). In 2021, the assessment showed an encouraging picture of recovery as domestic tourism returned, albeit not to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. There were 4.6.m visitors with the sector generating £173m to the economy of Swale, supporting 3,884 jobs.

Further assessment will demonstrate the resilience of the visitor economy sector in Swale, and it is envisaged that the economy will return to pre-pandemic levels of performance. Investment made in tourism product through the Welcome Back Fund has added value through extensive marketing and promotion initiatives in particular. The return of the larger events and increased confidence amongst visitors, linked to the desire for short breaks and longer holidays including the exponential rise in Airbnb properties, will continue to support improved economic performance.

Building on the sector’s recovery journey and in support of the extensive tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in Faversham, Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey, Swale Borough Council is inviting Expressions of Interest to quote for the creation of a photo and videography library and a suite of downloadable marketing materials (in PDF format format) for promotion via the web portal Visit Swale. A link will be provided to allow business use of materials.

This contract will respond to the findings shared within the ‘Shared Story Toolkit’ and address the shortcomings identified by partners - the range of quality and quantity of images and other marketing resources available.

The successful bid – individual or a consortium approach - will assess and identify key areas of focus recognising the core strengths of Swale’s multi-faceted tourism products through its diverse destinations – Faversham, Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey including the surrounding areas. Photography and videography need to reflect the unique character and distinctive geographic destinations within the area and support the promotion of Swale’s destinations year-round visitor offer and reflect those key target markets (age, gender etc) contained with the ‘Shared Story Toolkit’ using models and destinations which reflect the brand, Visit Swale.

Building on the area’s core ‘strengths’ – rural, marshland and coast, heritage, festivals and events, food and drink and arts – you will identify key locations obtaining any necessary permissions where necessary, work with our local businesses to schedule photo shoots, engage models ahead of creating a comprehensive digital library primarily for use on the Visit Swale web portal, its social media channels (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) as well as cataloguing for other promotional marketing materials. Local businesses will be encouraged to support the project by offering their venues, activities and staff as appropriate to showcase all that Swale has to offer to residents and visitors

The digital library, comprising outstanding quality images will also be made available to key partner organisations working alongside Visit Swale such as, Visit Faversham and Visit Sheppey to support and enhance the brand development. The image library will be made available to all businesses within sector through the Visit Swale B2B site and Swale Means Business web site to add-value to their own marketing materials; it will also be made available to other strategic partners, upon request, in developing area-based projects profiling and promoting destinations, attractions and events throughout Swale.

Examples of key locations and types of businesses to be included.

Key areas that the image library should illustrate are as follows:

• Accommodation – Hotels, B&B’s, self-catering (including exclusive glamping destinations), camping and park resorts etc
• What’s On – scheduled events throughout the year reflecting ‘place’ and heritage
• Food & Drink – restaurants, cafes, pubs, street food (street markets), delis, fish & chips, locally sourced produce and other local delicacies
• Explore – landscapes & seascapes, activities (walks – newly created England Coastal path, cycling, horse riding, sport etc), marshes, AONB, nature reserves, beautiful locations, villages & towns, historical sites, etc
• Discovering Swale – guided tours, experiences, free days out, itineraries such as 48 hours in…..
• Connectivity with other towns and proximity to London also Southend by the ferry route from Queenborough.

In addition images need to cover the changing of the seasons and all that the borough has to offer, for example this could include bluebells, blossom, fruit season, open gardens, annual key events.

Images need to have longevity, enabling them to be repurposed, for inclusion in a wide range of different marketing materials and for a range of campaigns both seasonal and specific.

In addition, you are invited to set out costed proposals for a range of new marketing resources – using photography to support the hugely popular ‘Discover Swale’ photographic guide, within the identified budget resource and during the contract period set out below. These materials will build on the initial popular photographic guide.

This work will be supported by a series of short videos appealing to a wide range of residents and visitors keen to visit, explore, experience and enjoy all that Swale has to offer. Videos (YouTube versions) will be uploaded to the Visit Swale web portal and integrated into social media posts.

The contract shall commence on 1st August 2023 and terminate on 28th February 2024. The council may extend the opportunity for a further 1 year. The bidder/s who submit/s the most economically advantageous quotation will be awarded the contract. Funding is provided as part of the Governments UK Shared Prosperity programme administered by Swale Borough Council, the third year of which is still to be confirmed. The contract will therefore initially only cover the periods during year two. Marketing materials will be expected to reflect the support of the sponsoring partners as set out above.

Swale Borough Council will be required to submit regular monitoring returns, which demonstrate positive economic performance within sector. When asked, the contract holder will be required to provide regular (monthly) reports of progress to support wider monitoring and evidence of the final tangible output – the photo and video library and suite of marketing materials.

Individuals or organisations quoting for this opportunity must be able to clearly demonstrate a track record of operating and delivering work both within this sector, as well as working to standards set out by the relevant strategic bodies such as Visit England/Visit Britain.

Expressions of Interest and the Request for Quotation (RFQ) documents must be submitted/uploaded on the Council's e-tendering portal. The closing date for submission of Expressions of Interest and the closing date for the RFQ is 12:00 noon on 21/07/2023.

The maximum / ceiling price for this contract is £45,000.