CITY OF INVERNESS MARKETING GROUP

The City of Inverness Marketing Group has been formed to develop a marketing strategy for the city, including a city brand. Although tourism plays a major role in the city's economy, as well as that of the surrounding area, there are also many other and different audiences for the Inverness brand, each of which is important to the city's economy as well as its social and cultural structures. These audiences include, in addition to tourists from Scotland, other parts of the United Kingdom and internationally, business investors, local businesses, service providers, media and opinion leaders, government and its agencies and the resident community itself. Inverness, a new city, has set itself a challenging goal. The goal of the strategy is to promote precise but different messages for each audience, with a single brand, that accurately and persuasively promotes the position and values of Inverness, and what it has to offer.

The strategy will include a delivery mechanism that will ensure clear, focused and co-ordinated actions by stakeholder organisations in both public and private sectors that are already involved in promoting their vision of Inverness to their own audiences. The process of developing the strategy is underway and it is expected that the tasks of research, customer segmentation, brand development, delivery mechanism and preparation of a business plan will be completed by late Spring 2003. It will be for the partners associated with the City of Inverness Partnership (individually or jointly) to consider the plan and any appropriate allocation of resources to enable delivery of identified targets.

The City of Inverness Marketing Group comprises representatives of both the public and private sectors. Members of the Group include The Highland Council, Inverness & Nairn Enterprise, HOST, Inverness City Centre Management and Events management, Inverness Chamber of Commerce, Inverness Hotel Association and Inverness Bed and Breakfast Association. Education, transport, events management and cultural interests are also represented. The activities of the Group during the current development phase are jointly sponsored by The Highland Council, Inverness Common Good Fund and Inverness & Nairn Enterprise.

If you would like more information on the City of Inverness Marketing Group or feel you could contribute to the aims of the group please contact Graham Strachan.