Marketing

We can help local businesses to market their products (and sometimes services) outwith Orkney.  This may be by assisting with the design and production costs of promotional material, or with attendance at trade fairs.  We can also assist with the costs of setting up e-commerce enabled websites. 

We can also provide advice and guidance to businesses who need assistance marketing their products or services.  This could mean advising on promoting products or services, preparing a marketing plan, producing promotional material, or advising which exhibitions or trade fairs might be suitable for a particular business to attend.

Unfortunately, we are unable to assist tourism businesses with marketing.  Tourism businesses are advised to try to access funding through the Challenge Fund which is aimed at group projects.  More information is available from Visit Orkney.

Orkney Branding
On a larger scale, we established an Orkney Marketing Scheme in 1996 with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund and Orkney Islands Council.  The scheme enabled us to invest larger amounts of funding into joint marketing initiatives which encouraged group marketing efforts.  Some of our greatest successes have been in the food sector where Orkney now has an enviable reputation and a strong brand identity.  In particular, our assistance helped our local food group, Orkney Quality Food and Drink , to take a stronger presence at key national and international trade fairs, helping the member companies to access new markets.  In turn, this has led to significant new employment and investment in the food industry locally.

This scheme also helped to establish the Orkney Craft Trail , the Westray Craft and Heritage Trail and a number of other initiatives in the food, craft and tourism sectors.

From the three Orkney Marketing Schemes which ran successively until 2003, we developed an Orkney Branding programme which is funded by HIE Orkney and Orkney Islands Council.  This scheme aims to develop Orkney as a strong brand across the sectors and encourages group marketing activities and cross-sectoral marketing initiatives.  More information can be found at the Orkney the Brand website.

It is through Orkney the Brand that we have established an Orkney village as an attraction at the Royal Bath and West Show in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.  We are exploring Orkney attendances at a number of other events in 2007, including the Country Living Fair and the BBC Good Food Show, both in London in November.