Keswick Jubilee
Photo © Rob Grange Photography
Earlier this year Keswick Tourism Association (KTA) approached us with an idea – to mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, they wished to present to Her Majesty a portrait mosaic made up of photographs of Keswick and the Lake District.
Jobs like this don’t come round very often, and its uniqueness really appealed to us. We built on KTA’s initial idea and presented them with a proposal that made the concept viable, marketable and, most importantly, beneficial to them as an association and tourist destination. This included an opportunity to increase their photo library, social media following, and mailing list subscribers, as well as opening the door to potential advertising/sponsorship opportunities for their members within the Portrait itself.
The project had two obvious goals:
- Create a unique piece of artwork to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It was important for this to be a gift from Keswick, and to achieve this we needed to get people involved – local residents and businesses, and the many visitors to the area.
- In turn, promote Keswick.
Phase 1 of the website created awareness of the project, what it was and how to get involved, plus the business opportunities, and a submission form so people could contribute photos.
Website Phase 1 - www.keswickjubilee.co.uk
Traffic was driven to the website over a short time period through a high level of media exposure in the local press, including The Times & Star, The Lake District Herald, The Keswick Reminder and The Cumberland News, as well as a direct request for photographs on BBC Radio Cumbria. Word was also spread effectively via the Keswick Tourism Facebook and Twitter channels, with Twitter proving particularly successful.
The Portrait mosaic incorporates a total of 2,450 photos, which include breath-taking scenery, friends and families enjoying the area, local businesses, attractions and produce. The finished portrait represents a unique image of Keswick in 2012 – the perfect contemporary snapshot captured for the Diamond Jubilee year. The portrait was officially unveiled on 1st June at Derwentwater Foreshore by the directors of KTA and local press.
Unveiling the Portrait at Derwentwater with David Jackson, Chairman, KTA; Linda Furniss, Tourism Officer, KTA; and the Mayor & Mayoress of Keswick
The final website provides a myriad of features and functionality and is fully content managed, powered by WordPress. The portrait artwork can be interacted with via a special interface which allows users to zoom into and explore each of the individual 2,450 photos in detail. Every resident, business and visitor that contributed photos is individually acknowledged. A guestbook provides visitors the opportunity to leave comments and messages to The Queen. Finally, before making its way to Buckingham Palace, the framed portrait will be displayed in and around Keswick at various venues, a full schedule of which is found on the website.
The website is the official source for Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in and around Keswick and the Lake District throughout 2012, so it was important to integrate an events content management system to make the website both usable and easy to update and manage; promoting events over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend and throughout 2012 in Keswick. Each events listing has it’s own individual click through page, with full event details and a location map.
Visit keswickjubilee.co.uk
The Queen’s Portrait has been an exciting and interesting project, and working with Keswick Tourism Association on this has been an absolute pleasure. We’ve also had some great feedback from KTA and many others since the Portrait launch on 1st June:
“Slug & Bull listened to my ideas for the project, and then put together a plan and proposal which reflected not only understanding of the project but added so much more. The website is fabulous and exceeded expectations and both it and the portrait were delivered on time without any fuss – a major task given the scale of the work involved. I could not recommend them more for innovative and imaginative work, first class delivery and great to work with.”
—Linda Furniss, KTA Tourism Officer
“Slug & Bull not only met our criteria but were a joy to work with, ensuring that the project exceeded our expectations by providing detailed planning and attention to detail. The associated website they designed wonderfully captured the spirit of the Jubilee. The finished portrait has been drawing in the visitors, all of which have commented on what a wonderful mosaic it is. I would have no hesitation in recommending them.”
—David Jackson, Chairman, KTA