Smart Talking with The Scotch Whisky Experience

In this week’s Smart Talking, we are delighted to talk to Julie Trevisan-Hunter, Marketing Manager of The Scotch Whisky Experience. 

Hi Julie, welcome to Smart Talking. Please tell us a little bit about The Scotch Whisky Experience and what it does.

Julie:  We are Edinburgh’s Scotch Whisky visitor attraction representing almost the entire Scotch Whisky Industry.  Our passion is to engage with visitors to the capital and share with them the story of Scotland’s national drink in an experiential way.

SWE is a 5 Star visitor attraction and has the reputation for being a leader in its field – how does the company maintain its competitive edge?

Julie:  Our company values are; Authenticity, People, Passion, Learning and Excellence and they underpin all of our strategies and activities.

The current economic climate is particularly challenging for businesses, not least for the Scottish tourism industry. How is your business coping with this – any positives coming out of the experience and any advice for others?

Julie:  We have always punched above our weight with the international visitor market as Scotch Whisky is perceived as being so synonymous with Scotland are we offer our tour in 15 languages.  It is a genuine “must see” for a first visit to Scotland.  As a result we are performing really well this year with both European visitors and the new emerging markets.  We have been looking to the future and working hard for the last 5 years with international journalists and tour operators and now that the market is opening up we are reaping the rewards.

Do social media and digital technology have a place in your business?

Julie:  Digital campaigns are key to our marketing and communications strategies and they provide new arenas to engage with visitors, but it is imperative that the digital campaign is integrated with the traditional activity which certainly still has a place.  With most of our visitors making a one off trip from overseas we are limited in ongoing engagement in terms of repeat visits, but that doesn’t stop them from becoming great Ambassadors for the SWE.  Social media and digital opportunities have allowed us to cast the net globally and increase the aspiration to visit so we now see a higher level of planned visits compared to impromptu weather driven decisions!

What’s SWE up to at the moment – any news you would like to share with us?

Julie:  For the past 23 years we have continued to reinvest every year in the visitor experience so there is always a new project on the go!  At the moment our attention is focused on a magical new retail experience which we hope to launch for the 2012 season.  We can’t give too much away, but watch this space!

More recently having looked at visitor trends and behaviour we saw an opportunity to extend our offering into the early evening.  The desire for a guided tour seems to naturally diminish at about 5.30 / 6.00, but people are still looking to make the most of the light summer evenings with something less formal.

We decided to trial opening Amber restaurant and bar all the way through the late afternoon and early evening offering an informal all day menu and of course great whiskies at our bar.  Guests can enjoy a self guided tasting with notes and accompany their whiskies with an amazing range of Scottish “tapas”.  This has been a real success and a natural progression of the experience.

Many thanks for “Smart Talking” with us, Julie, and here’s to a busy summer season. Slainte!

For more info visit: www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk