The Client
The present house at Ardkinglas was built in 1907 and is considered to be the architect Sir Robert Lorimer’s masterpiece. Although Ardkinglas House is not open to the public on a regular basis (it is still a private house), a private tour can be booked at any time of the year, and a public tour is available every Friday from April to October. The Woodland Gardens are open all the year round with views of the exterior of the House, with its scenic backdrop on Loch Fyne. The self-catering holiday apartment within Ardkinglas House – the original “Butlers Quarters” can be rented all the year round, with free access to the House Grounds and the Woodland Gardens. The venue is also used for special events, weddings, corporate hospitality and is available for hire throughout the year. It is also used as a film and television location.
The Challenge
The next step for Ardkinglas was to increase their brand awareness within the tourism sector and generate business for their tours and self-catering accommodation, whilst at the same time positively marketing their corporate hospitality business.
Arkinglas selected Kirsty Weir Hospitality because Kirsty could over the dedication to their business on an ongoing business. She had the knowledge, professionalism and contacts within the sector to be able to drive their PR and marketing strategy forward in exactly the way Ardkinglas needed.
The Solution
Kirsty immediately rose to the challenge and put in place a programme of targeted emails to relevant companies, following up sales and marketing leads that Ardkinglas had and used her contacts to facilitate presentations to Visit Scotland. Kirsty was tenacious and worked hard at getting to the people that matter.
The Outcome
As Kirsty Weir Hospitality has been working with Ardkinglas House for less than a year, it is too soon for financial results to be available. However, Estate Manager, Jean Maskell reports that they are delighted with the extensive publicity Kirsty has generated for them. Again, Kirsty’s prevalent contact base is mentioned as being a tremendous asset in promoting Ardkinglas House. Jean Maskell says: “Kirsty has generated a great many leads in a comparatively short space of time. She has integrated our different tourism streams into a coherent PR strategy. We have definitely seen results in terms of increased footfall and accommodation sales.
