Case study
Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust
Edinburgh is the first UNESCO City of
Literature in a new international network of Creative Cities which
recognises our immense literary heritage, thriving contemporary
scene and aspirations for the future.
The Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust
has been set up to support Edinburgh’s growing literary
sector, and helps audiences get involved with the wealth of
activity that is going on in the Scottish capital. We host a What’s
On guide for literary events and run the very popular One Book –
One Edinburgh citywide reading campaign. All our projects follow
our aims which are: to promote book culture in Edinburgh, to
encourage involvement in Scotland’s literature and to develop
literary partnerships around the world.
How is Edinburgh UNESCO City of
Literature adopting the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
Brand?
We use the Brand logo on our website, and
incorporate it into our reading campaign. The logo appeared
on the covers of tens of thousands of free copies of Robert Louis
Stevenson’s classic Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll &
Mr Hyde in 2007 and 2008.
Working with the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital team we
produced a set of Edinburgh bookmarks that reflect
the City of Literature status. These were distributed
across major events such as our citywide reading campaigns and at
the Kolkata Book fair. This collaboration has saved
both time and money, and working with the Inspiring Capital team in
this way has enabled us to increase our reach and promote Edinburgh
as the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature more widely.
As a UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh is part of UNESCO’s
Creative Cities programme, and plays a key role in inspiring other
cities, as well as our residents, to embrace their
creativity. Being able to use the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
brand has worked to reinforce that message of Edinburgh as a
thriving, creative, cultural and inspiring city.
The Edinburgh Inspiring Capital Brand has enhanced our own
marketing offer in a number of ways:
- we use Edinburgh Inspiring Capital pop-up
stands and Brand materials at our events
- we use Brand photography in presentations and
conferences overseas with other Creative Cities saving both time
and money
- We incorporate the Brand tone of voice and values into our
materials including our free literary walking trail to Edinburgh’s
Literature Quarter
- Working together we have produced bookmarks that reflect
Edinburgh’s City of Literature status, to be distributed across
major events such as our citywide reading campaigns and the Kolkata
Book fair
- our website includes a link to the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
website.
How will you develop your
relationship with Edinburgh Inspiring Capital in the
future?
We intend to continue to work closely with
the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital Brand to promote Edinburgh’s
status across the world as a creative hub and the world’s first
UNESCO City of Literature.
