Press releases

Birmingham is to receive a virtual facelift… with the redesign of its official tourism website.
 
Marketing Birmingham is inviting creative agencies to register their interest in pitching for the
redevelopment of www.visitbirmingham.com, which provides information on things to see and
do, places to eat and drink, and where to stay in Birmingham.  It also offers information on
travelling in and around the city and online booking for hotels, restaurants and events.
 
The site, aimed at anyone looking for information on Birmingham including leisure and business tourists and residents looking for things to see and do in the city, has been in place in its current form since July 2005.  The destination marketing agency has decided to review the front end design and content management system that underpins it, to move with the changing face of the city, engage a wider international audience and promote the best of what Birmingham has to offer.
 
Interested shortlisted parties will be required to submit a strategic plan for visitbirmingham.com including project weighting, timescales and budgets.  The project will include hosting, interface design, information architecture, data integration, content management system, content upload and reporting.   
 
The brief will also include a design re-fresh of the corporate website at
www.marketingbirmingham.com, to include structure updates and construction of a content
management system.  Proposals are also required on the application of Web 2.0 technologies to both sites.

Dave Hodgson, Marketing Director at Marketing Birmingham said:  “Online platforms have
become one of the most important elements of any marketing strategy.  The internet is the most popular way of researching destinations and booking accommodation, providing a resource 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  We must ensure that for anyone considering a holiday or planning a business trip, Birmingham is easy to find online and the site must be easy to navigate, with a wealth of valuable and up to date information, as well as a look that engages people and makes them want to find out more.   
 
“Birmingham is a leading European city and we should be leading the way in terms of technology and design.  We want the new look visitbirmingham.com to set us head and shoulders above the rest and position us as setting the standard for others to follow.”
 
Agencies are asked to register their interest and complete a pre-qualification
questionnaire by 5pm Monday 17 December by post to Lisa Smith, On-line Campaign
Manager. Invitation details are obtainable from

lisa.smith@marketingbirmingham.com or telephone 0121 202 5115.

This project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

 Download Websiteredevelopment_en (.pdf 39.26 KB)