A special Christmas campaign celebrating the passionate people behind Orkney’s food, drink and creative products has just been launched on Orkney.com.
The From Orkney drive aims to encourage online shoppers to buy Orkney goods by sharing the stories of local makers and producers, highlighting just how much care, love and attention goes into their work.
A series of short films featuring five islands business owners talking about their inspiration, processes and own plans for Christmas, will run on Orkney.com and across social media channels over the next few weeks, with supporting digital advertising.
Blogs showcasing the stories behind other crafts and food and drink businesses from the islands will also be published as part of the festive campaign.
The campaign was devised by digital marketing agency, NB Communication, in collaboration with the team from Orkney Marketing, a joint Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Orkney Islands Council (OIC) initiative.
All the featured businesses are either members of Creative Orkney or Orkney Food and Drink – sectoral groups that receive backing from OIC and HIE through Orkney Marketing.
Ruth Kirkpatrick, HIE area team leader for Orkney said: “With the From Orkney campaign we’re looking to make a human connection between local makers, producers and their customers in the busy and competitive festive shopping period. Of course, the aim is to give businesses within the Creative Orkney and Orkney Food and Drink stables a festive boost, and we very much wanted to convey the sense that buying something from Orkney will be a meaningful experience, given the pride, care and passion of our local makers and producers.”
Kristopher Leask, chair of OIC’s Development and Infrastructure Committee, said: “Every product from Orkney has a fascinating personal story behind it, but our food, drink and creative people don’t always have the chance to share those stories with online shoppers. Our hope is that this thought-provoking campaign will strike a chord with those looking for authenticity, originality, and quality in their Christmas gifts, with the added value of understanding how much positive impact their purchase has for the maker, producer, and the local community.”