Viper Blog Moves To VMCG.co.uk

Thank you for following our recent years of blogs on this website.

The Viper Blog has now moved to a permanent home on our website www.vmcg.co.uk so please do drop by and have a read.

WORLD-CLASS OFF-ROAD CYCLING ACROSS THE SOUTH WEST, helped by Viper!

The South West is set to become a world class destination for adventurous off-road cycling. A total of £7.5m is being invested in developing the activity across the region including funding of £4.6m from the Rural Development Programme for England.

The 1SW initiative with Forestry Commission as lead funding applicant will be developing trails, sites and information across the whole region which will enhance the quality of experience for anyone who wants to experience the fun of off-road cycling. Developments will include purpose built adventurous cycling trails, bike hire facilities, cafes, areas to develop bike handling skills and information on how and where to ride across the region.

Viper Marketing sit on the 1SW executive board because of their communication and mountain biking experience. They are really pleased to see the project secure this money and move to the delivery stage.

Paul Hawkins, 1SW Project Manager says: “The 1SW project will make off road cycling attractive and accessible to everyone, even to those who haven’t ridden a bike for years! The region’s tourism economy stands to benefit greatly with opportunities for a diverse range of businesses, from increased out-of-season accommodation demand to providing specialist services such as guided rides. We will work with local businesses to ensure they maximise their benefit from the provision of this quality adventurous cycling product. Off road cycling in woodlands is enjoyable whatever the weather and provides a fun alternative to beach based activities, particularly outside of the main summer months.”

Stuart Parry from Era Adventures, Polzeath, says: “We run a successful business organising a range of adventure activities, based in North Cornwall. There is a need for more opportunities away from the coast, particularly when the surf is flat and the rain starts! We are very excited at the opportunities 1SW will provide for tourism businesses like us across the region and are keen to expand our offer to include more cycling and cycle training”.

Funding comes from the Rural Development Programme for England, which is partly funded by DEFRA and the EU. The funding is provided as part of a wider project under the Sustainable Rural Tourism Theme, managed by the South West RDA (regional development agency).

Mike Johns of the South West RDA said: “The 1SW initiative is just one project in a far-reaching suite of interlinked investments that are being made through Sustainable Rural Tourism which will have a really significant impact across the whole region.

“RDPE funding devoted to sustainable rural tourism is designed to have a lasting impact on the tourism industry in rural areas through investing in improved access to, and understanding of, the key features and rural heritage of the South West.

“Equally important, 1SW also offers a tremendous opportunity for businesses close to the hubs and cycle ways to engage with 1SW and maximise the benefits for the local economy.”

The National Trust, South West Lakes Trust, the National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and Bristol City Council are all key delivery partners in this project and are excited about broadening their visitor base. The project presents a significant opportunity as off-road cycling appeals to many ‘non-traditional’ visitors to the region’s countryside.

Paul Hawkins adds: “We can’t wait to get both tourists and residents out enjoying adventurous off-road cycling with their friends and families. A quality adventurous cycling product will be a huge boost for the region’s cycling provision and will offer an adventurous riding experience to enable progression from routes like the highly successful Camel and Tarka trails”.

Outdoor Adventure 20 years from Now

I expect we’re all waiting for shiny new kit at the moment. New mountain bikes with 6in of bounce at the back (always room in the garage for another bike!), the latest 3 layer moisture managing water proof system jacket, GPS technology that tracks and plots your every move, handy gadgets you never knew you needed until you had them. Love it! Shiny gadgets go hand in hand with outdoor activity.

I know, I know, we still need to know how to use a compass, your skin’s waterproof and singlespeed bikes with no suspension are well hard. But we’re human. We love to innovate. If we didn’t we’d still be slopping around in muddy puddles. No offence to the caving community. Progress happens and the only constant is change. So, let’s look forward.

January 2030, what will outdoor activity on Mendip look like then?
- Car mileage per trip will decrease because of social pressure and road pricing meaning Mendip will be really busy because of the huge urban populations nearby
- Government intervention to protect AONBs like Mendip will lead to a ‘pay to play’ system - a Protected Landscape Pass will need to be bought
- Access will be severely restricted for ‘wildlife areas’, a direct intervention to balance the urban sprawl. Public access will be polarised; completely no-go areas or open access for foot, bike and horse
- Digital natives will introduce sophisticated ways of enjoying ‘their Mendip’ under the radar of urban visitors. Digital natives are the younger generation which has grown up with digital technologies and is completely at home with them
- You can book yourself into a retreat to retune your mental well-being. Mental health will be a key concern for our aged population
- More people will get lost and hurt themselves. There’s more people out there doing more outdoor activity and a greater percentage are being lulled into a false sense of security by the latest shiny bit of kit. The ‘pay to play’ income will go towards a core of full time Search and Rescue staff supported by volunteers
- Multi purpose outdoor activity play parks will be created in the redundant quarries by private enterprises
- Watching the tide come up to Axbridge because of the ‘managed retreat’ will be really popular from Crook Peak

Let's get active on Mendip to start planning our future. We’re all forced into these relatively small areas or corridors for our activity. We need to spread out more. If you widen a path the impact is spread and damage decreases. It’s surely the same at a larger scale? We don’t need more legislation forcing landowners to allow access. Surely we need some more entrepreneurial landowners to see the opportunities? Let’s put some of those future predictions in place before they are forced upon us.

Mendip Geopark?

European recognition for the Mendip Hills AONB – Geopark status?

Viper Rural will be at an event on Thursday 19th November 2009 at Cheddar Caves and Gorge to consider the pros and cons of applying for Geopark designation for the Mendip Hills AONB.

The European designation is given to areas that have a particular geological heritage and a program of work to promote tourism based on the geology. The area must include sites of geological of particular importance. These may also be of ecological, historical or cultural interest. Local community involvement is essential in prioritising and delivering the cultural and economic revitalisation of the area. Viper are also part of Active Mendip, loads of Active Mendip members rely directly or indirectly on the geology of Mendip to give their punters fun and adventure.

The local economy already benefits from caving and climbing activities and has two major visitor attractions – Cheddar Caves and Gorge and Wookey Hole Caves based on geology interests. There is potential to develop the geotourism further but whether the Geopark designation is beneficial or necessary is to be considered. We're going along to find out what benefits the status brings. Access to European funding? At the very least this will be a great asset to positioning local adventure companies above others. Climb in a Geopark? Descend in a Geopark? Ride in a Geopark? Not many places can say that.

ViperMusic presents Miss Skarlet Album Launch

ViperMusic presents Miss Skarlet, Ryan Inglis and Mark Venus at The
Fleece, Bristol on 19 December 2009

Miss Skarlet debut album launch with 200 specially produced limited edition, signed launch CDs available exclusively on the night. Albums available for download on iTunes from midnight

Ryan Inglis website launch and the ever-popular Mark Venus, at the first ever ViperMusic live gig night. A true Christmas Party not to be missed

Tickets £10 available from the ticket hotline whilst stocks last 02032 399 941

Will Rangers Stay Relevant?

One of the most thought provoking images I created was a before and after shot of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The before shot contained the dry stone walls zig-zagging across the plateau. The after shot had no dry stone walls, courtesy of Photoshop. The difference was shocking; this could be anywhere, this could be everywhere. Now imagine a countryside without Rangers.

The South West Ranger Forum is a chance for these rangers to get off their patch and meet others doing the same job, share some learning and take stock of what’s happening in the world around them. The Forum was hosted by Viper Marketing & Communications this year at Folly Farm and supported by the Countryside Managers Association.

Clearly one of the biggest changes that will happen to the public sector is a reduction in funding. When decisions about priorities are made it’s fair to say that the countryside elements of local authority work are the easiest to reduce. All the more reason for Rangers to be seen and heard. You’ve got to stay relevant these days. If you don’t the whole world rushes on by you and you’re forgotten.

The Scottish Countryside Rangers Association (SCRA) are just about to launch their Continuing Professional Development Programme, with some help from Viper. SCRA are taking it seriously, they’ve got national outcomes agreed and now they’re positioning themselves as well-organised and well-trained and relevant.

Rangers from Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Quantocks, Cornwall and other areas came to Mendip for the Forum with this in mind. They were really keen to learn how digital technology can help them. A lot of them are using digital recording techniques on their patches. Wildlife habitats are mapped using GPS, individual trees are recorded and loaded on to databases etc. But the digital age is changing the way we communicate. Rangers will have to embrace the new tools to be seen and heard.

Fact of the month; there is more bandwidth in You Tube today than there was in the whole internet 9 years ago. This digital malarkey ain’t going away. It’s not about every Ranger suddenly Twittering and having LinkedIn pages though.

The lesson to be learned is that the visitors, us, are adopting this new technology at an ever-increasing rate. I can go for a ride, track that ride on my phone, post the track and photos along the way to a website for others to comment on. That’s a really powerful tool for us, the public, to engage with our countryside custodians. If people complain about the trail Rangers can now respond and open a dialogue, win some hearts and minds. Ignoring the digital age of communication is not an option. Quantock Hills AONB have a very successful Facebook page. The countryside is ‘open’ 24hours a day and so should access to information about these areas.

Most importantly for the future of Rangers looking after our most special areas is that a lot of these new ways of communicating with people are free. Just log-in.

A word of warning though, just because you can do it doesn’t mean you have to. The new social media like Facebook and Twitter are just tools. Do your communication planning beforehand to make sure you’re doing it for the right reason.

It’s not necessary to have big budgets for printing leaflets. A whole new audience is waiting out there who don’t want to access information through traditional means. New communities of people are getting active in the countryside, these communities are just as vital as the ones living in the countryside. In fact they may be the same people. Rangers must stay relevant to the new digital generations.

Viper are running the Digital Ranger course at Folly Farm in December. For more details click here

Marketing Futurology - Emerging Themes

Having just returned from an enlightening day with a room full of post-Graduate Diploma delegates developing their assignments in Emerging Themes I felt it worthwhile to summarise for a wider audience where we collectively felt there was a starting point for exploring the future of marketing.

Marketing Futurology, the study of the effects of emerging trends in markets, is a fascinating departure from the usual tactical, day-to-day focus that marketers endure in the workplace.

When projecting marketing thinking forward into the distant future a range of blue sky ideas come into play but it’s nowhere near an exact science and there are few if any benchmarks from which to rate your thinking.

So taking into account the views from those in the room coming from industries as diverse as avionics, consultancy, finance, telecoms, event management and retail a consistent pattern of thoughts came through loud and clear:

Segmentation - the key to focusing future thinking by establishing a clear process of always remembering the end user of products and services

Prioritisation - get it right and the future is manageable, measurable and potentially profitable at the same time as focusing resource into where it really matters

People Communicating - innovation should enhance the ever increasing ease by which people are communicating, anywhere, anytime and by any means

Consumer Power and Personalisation - looking forward the ultimate segmentation from a consumer’s perspective is 1-2-1. Totally bespoke services for each and every consumer

Blurring of Virtual and Real Worlds - current social networking is the tip of an exciting iceberg with in the future device-independent interaction anywhere, anytime by any medium to enhance human interaction on the terms of the individual

Generation Y - the future today is born of the attitudes, needs, desires and perceptions of those born since 2000.

Corporate Social Responsibility - increasingly important in the drive towards consumer power is the corporate response to their passing on of control to the customer in the relationship.

These are just snippets of a wider debate which for the marketing futurologist can grow and grow into the future itself. The key questions to kick off the debate are:

What keeps us where we are?

What moves us ahead?

What’s the cost?

If as a marketer you aren’t already thinking about these issues… perhaps now is the time, because the future starts today….