Visit Scotland, in partnership with insight agency Nunwood Consulting, has scooped three awards so far this year which recognise how successfully it sells Scotland to potential overseas visitors.

The organisations enjoyed success at the Marketing Research Awards 2005 – which took place at London’s Riverbank Park Plaza on 4 July – where Visit Scotland’s pan-European campaign scooped the award for Best International Research Project and the overall accolade for Outstanding Research.

The campaign – which was Visit Scotland’s first major European research project for 10 years – targeted potential visitors in Germany, Spain and France.

It was designed to identify what tourists wanted from Scotland before creating a brand template based on this research.

The campaign was then launched with the strapline ‘Scotland. Welcome to our life’ to reflect the high value placed on social engagement by those surveyed abroad.

The campaign had a significant impact on Scottish tourism and on the economy as a whole, as return on investment for Germany and France increased from £13 for every £1 spent on marketing in 2002 to £25 for every £1 spent in 2004.

In addition, Visit Scotland brochure requests in France rose 126 per cent between 2002 and 2004, while there was a 200 per cent increase in web visits to the French and German gateway sites.

The latest awards follow the partnerships’ success at the first Marketing Excellence Awards Scotland in April, where the campaign won the award for International Brand Development.