What happens when two destination organisations, a combined authority, a rail operator, and hundreds of tourism businesses unite behind a single, shared vision? For Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, the answer was "At the Centre of It All." While this campaign certainly drove impressive visitor engagement and booking performance, it also established a new model for collaborative destination marketing across the East Midlands.

As we’ll see, it was this ambitious approach that earned this place marketing organisation the accolade of Best Integrated Destination Marketing Campaign at our 2026 EMEA Summit Client Awards.
 

Bringing a region together

Even when promoting a single place, destination marketing can be challenging. However, creating a compelling proposition — one that successfully showcases an entire region — is a completely different matter. Commissioned by the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), "At the Centre of It All" was designed to create the region's first unified tourism campaign, bringing together Visit Nottinghamshire and Visit Peak District & Derbyshire under one strategic platform while preserving the unique appeal of each destination.

But rather than competing against each other for attention, the destinations collaborated to tell the wider story of the East Midlands region. This approach allowed visitors to experience the excitement of being at the "Centre of the Action" in Greater Nottingham or, alternatively, to "Find their Centre" amongst the landscapes and wellbeing experiences of the Peak District and Derbyshire. The result was a campaign that demonstrated how complementary destination experiences can become more powerful when presented through a shared narrative.
 

Turning insight into action

As we’ll see, this proved to be a compelling story, but what particularly impressed the judging panel was the campaign's strategic foundation. The team combined a wealth of information — including visitor data, postcode analysis, and market research — to identify distinct audience groups and understand what motivated their travel decisions. This insight then revealed an opportunity to connect those motivations under a single creative proposition.

This audience-first approach ensured that every aspect of the campaign was rooted in evidence, helping the team reach visitors with relevant messages at the right stage of their journey. For destination marketers, this example serves as a powerful reminder that successful integrated campaigns are rooted in an understanding of audiences — not channels.
 

Collaboration at scale

While this data-backed approach was impressive, one of the standout elements of this winning entry was the extraordinary level of partnership it demonstrated. As a member of the judging panel noted, this was a “great example of collaborative tourism marketing for destinations.”

As part of its execution, more than 500 tourism businesses across the region were equipped with campaign assets, creative resources, and a shared playbook, enabling consistent promotion across hundreds of additional touchpoints. The collaboration extended beyond destination partners to include East Midlands Railway, thereby helping to amplify reach and connect with prospective visitors through additional audience channels.

In their comments, the judging panel also highlighted the complexity involved in coordinating the efforts of multiple Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, a combined authority, a transport partner, and hundreds of businesses within a single campaign framework. Describing it as one of the strongest examples of collaborative tourism marketing submitted in the awards, they praised the campaign as a story “told in a unifying way that clearly delivered results.”
 

Using data to drive performance

But beyond reach and metrics, performance was continuously monitored and optimised throughout the campaign, allowing investment to be focused on audiences most likely to convert. This emphasis on measurable outcomes reflects a growing trend across destination marketing, an environment where data, digital engagement, and visitor insights play an increasingly important role in driving return on investment.

For Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, the strategy delivered results across multiple objectives, including:

  • An overall website traffic target achievement of 138%.
  • Accommodation booking targets exceeded for both destinations. Here, Visit Nottinghamshire and Visit Peak District & Derbyshire achieved 110% and 132% of their respective targets.
  • Experience bookings outperforming expectation. Within this metric, Visit Nottingham and Visit Peak District & Derbyshire reached 102.5% and 132% of their targets, respectively.
  • Nearly 15,000 GDPR-compliant visitor contacts. These were captured between the two destination websites.
  • Significant increases in visitor intent and booking consideration. These were identified through independent YouGov research, with Nottinghamshire recording a 6.6% increase in intent to visit while Derbyshire noted a 25.2% increase in the intention of overnight stays.
     

A winning approach for setting a new benchmark

Data-led and creatively executed, this campaign has generated impressive short-term results. But its greatest achievement is to be found in the lasting framework it has created for the future of tourism in the region.

By establishing a shared regional proposition, aligning stakeholders around common objectives, and using data-driven decision making throughout delivery, Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire has created a scalable model that can continue to support tourism growth across the East Midlands long after the conclusion of this campaign.

Congratulations to Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, winners of the 2026 EMEA Summit Client Award for Best Integrated Destination Marketing Campaign.