Introduced at ITBM World at the end of 2018, the ‘Go Wild’ slogan highlights the abundance of nature-related activities on offer in the forest-covered country while at the same time prodding decisionmakers to pick the decidedly novel destination. The theme has been the linchpin of the ECBs marketing activities since that time, with the organisation’s social media messaging, blog posts, website, trade show efforts and PR activities all falling under its conceptual umbrella.
Among the wins tied to the campaign are a 60 per cent rise in requests made to the ECB – typically enquiries related to meeting space, hotels and programme ideas. Likewise, traffic to the www.ecb.ee the website increased by 25 per cent over the period. The ECB’s social media accounts are also booming, with Facebook followers up 96 per cent over the year, Instagram followers up 162 per cent and LinkedIn connections up a whopping 600 per cent.
In addition to sparking positive coverage in the international press, the campaign received high honours from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) when they granted it their ICCA Best Marketing Award at the closing ceremony of their 58th congress in October.
Even more impressive may be the 25 per cent increase in ECB membership seen since the campaign began, with the City of Pärnu’s decision to join in January 2020 bringing the total up to 36.
Karu noted that the ECB plans to continue the campaign well into 2020, as there are still many more ideas that can be fit into its framework. Additionally, the ‘Go Wild’ campaign will be joined early in the year by a sister campaign, ‘Invite your colleague over!’ The new effort is designed to encourage Estonian scientists and other professionals who are members of international associations to become active in attracting events to the country.
