The brand was launched in March 2018 to change perceptions of Paisley through storytelling and to position the town as the visitor gateway to wider Renfrewshire.
It responded to a requirement for a marketing strategy for the town and to establish a new brand identity, deliver a ‘What’s On in Paisley’ function, build visitor events and encourage people to discover Renfrewshire.
The brand was developed following ten months of research, interviews with area stakeholders, including business leaders, Scottish Enterprise, VisitScotland and Glasgow International Airport, and the activation of a digital conversation ‘What’s our Story’—a far-reaching community engagement campaign.
Conversations took place with communities and leaders across Renfrewshire and drew on their expertise and experience. The engagement was driven locally by the Paisley Daily Express and by media across the UK to maximise awareness and coverage. Over a thousand people contributed ideas, stories, images, videos, music and poems and the campaign reached hundreds of thousands on social media.
The finalised brand was endorsed by VisitScotland, and permission was granted to enable the Council to undertake visitor marketing. This signalled a partnership with VisitScotland which has lasted more than six years.
The research findings outlined overwhelming support from key stakeholders, partners, and local people for a Paisley brand, given its profile and location as a hub for Renfrewshire and the rest of Scotland.
“It is fantastic to see Paisley’s tourism transformation continue with the launch of this new brand and website.
The town is home to popular attractions, such as Paisley Abbey, Paisley Museum, Coats Observatory and the Sma’ Shot Cottages; a rich and fascinating creative history and a packed programme of exciting events.
The 2021 UK City of Culture bid was an important part of the journey to raise global
awareness of Paisley’s internationally significant heritage.The new Paisley website continues this effort, sharing Paisley’s story with visitors old and
new. Tourism is a vital part of the local economy, creating jobs and sustaining communities.”Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland Chief Executive 2018
Strategic alignment
Marketing and brand activity has been funded since 2018 through the Future Paisley programme, with the programme and funding coming to an end in April 2024.
This activity has contributed to several strategic outcomes:
- Paisley: The Untold Story (2014)
- Renfrewshire’s Visitor Strategy 2017 to 2021
- Renfrewshire Council Plan (2017 to 2022) —Reshaping our place, our economy and our
future. - Renfrewshire Council Plan (2022 to 2027) —Place: working together to enhance wellbeing across communities.
- Future Paisley Step Change 1 —Radically change Paisley’s image and reputation, and three Strategic Outcomes:
- Increased civic pride
- Paisley positioned as a destination of choice
- More people visit Renfrewshire attractions and events
Why develop a brand for Paisley?
Development of Paisley was a response to Paisley: The Untold story and a critical element of Paisley’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid. It fulfilled a commitment, led by the Council, to change perceptions of Paisley and significantly increase visitor numbers in the lead up to and during a UK City of Culture year. It was deemed an important tool to re-position Paisley in the eyes of the media and to encourage visits to the town during the closure of its main cultural venues, building new
audiences and confidence in the town’s offer ahead of venues reopening.
The brand was to be combined with a new event (and event bidding) strategy, to encourage people to think differently about the town and to sample Paisley in different ways. Several new products were developed—major outdoor events such as Paisley Halloween Festival and Paisley Food & Drink Festival, new cultural programming and a series of tours and trails that capitalised on Paisley’s built environment.
The brand has consistently promoted a different perspective of Paisley and raised the profile of the
wider region for visitors. Campaigns targeted local people during the pandemic and encouraged residents to take advantage of the attractions and activities on their doorstep.
Investing in the brand
Paisley activity was funded by an assigned Council budget and Future Paisley funding. The total budget investment in Paisley since 2018 is £460,852. This includes £124,300 Future Paisley funding and a funding award of £56,000 from VisitScotland in 21/22.
The planning, development and implementation of brand activity has been delivered by the Council’s in-house marketing and design team. This portfolio of work has been subsumed alongside corporate marketing and design activity, with temporary uplift to two existing, junior posts to enable increased focus on media engagement and digital content.
Visitor marketing
As work continued to engage national media and influencers to change the narrative about Paisley,
we also turned our attention to encouraging more visitors to rediscover wider Renfrewshire.
Our key aims were to:
- Raise the profile of Paisley and Renfrewshire as a place to visit— showcasing attractions, things to do and places of outstanding beauty.
- Position Paisley and Renfrewshire as a destination of choice for day-visitors —conveying
the ease of visiting the region and the diversity of days out on offer.
The launch of the area’s first ever visitor guide through www.paisley.is provides a one-stop-shop for visitor information and covers all of Renfrewshire.
Positioning Paisley as a gateway to towns and villages across the region, we promote outdoor pursuits and leisure attractions, cultural and heritage attractions, and events.
All towns and villages are promoted, with trip inspiration, itineraries and recommendations from local people.
Since 2018, there has been a consistent approach for visitor marketing which has focussed on four
areas:
- Brand activation – seasonal visitor campaigns, production of marketing materials and
visitor guides, promotion of the council’s major events programme, development of
audience segments, visitor propositions, brand management and insights for campaign
planning. - Transforming perceptions of Paisley – high-impact media campaigns promoting Paisley and Renfrewshire in press, and broadcast media, and facilitating media familiarisation trips.
- Management of digital channels – www.paisley.is and dedicated social media channels, including content creation and paid-for social media.
- Working with partners – VisitScotland, EventScotland and Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce.
Understanding our audiences
Understanding our audiences and developing visitor propositions have been critical to the delivery of successful marketing campaigns. Primary target audiences were people who lived outwith
Renfrewshire.
VisitScotland audiences (Natural Advocates, Engaged Sightseers, Food Loving Culturalists and Adventure Seekers) and ones developed in-house (Family Favourites and Local Advocates) have been adopted and matched to Renfrewshire’s visitor product to allow the development of our visitor propositions. This was also underpinned by work to understand shifts in consumer behaviour following the pandemic.
We have gained a much greater understanding of our audiences, what motivates them and the best way to target and inspire them to visit.