How to use the North Coast 500 brand under license
Since its launch in 2015, the North Coast 500 has become something of a global phenomenon. Thousands of visitors have travelled to the North Highlands to experience the beautiful scenery our area has to offer and, last year, the audience reach of our brand was 2.3 billion.
This very significant reach has benefitted businesses across the North Highlands, including our Corporate Partners, and we are proud that what we are doing is having such a positive impact on businesses and creating a real sense of optimism and enthusiasm.
The North Coast 500 didn’t just happen by accident. Sure, the road infrastructure has been there for a long time, but what has become known as the North Coast 500 and NC500 is a concept and brand created by the North Highland Initiative, and now owned, managed and developed by North Coast 500 Ltd. While the NC500 has been ground-breaking in terms of tourism in Scotland, so too has the business model for managing the brand and creating the enormous global audience reach and increase in visitors to the North Highlands.
North Coast 500 Ltd is a privately funded company whose primary aim is to grow the brand, its reach and its positive impact on tourism in the North Highlands, and to deliver outstanding economic impacts for the communities in the North. To do that, it needed to do some other ground-breaking activities, including acquiring the UK and European trademarks for North Coast 500 and NC500. One of the keys to being able to continue to invest in the marketing and audience reach, and therefore the future success of the North Coast 500 route, is the extent to which we can monetise the brand through licence agreements. Our Business Club, Business Partner and Corporate Partners members already enjoy the use of the brand as part of their membership and association with us, and this is something that we would like to grow. If you have a goods or services business and would like to use the North Coast 500 brand, we are here to give you advice and guidance and lead you through our licensing process.
Equally, it is important to understand that it is forbidden to use the registered trademarks North Coast 500 and NC500 without permission. If you are currently doing so, we will be in touch to offer you opportunities to use the brand under license or, failing that, to advise that you will be required to stop using these brands. Unauthorised use does not create reinvestment in the development and audience reach of the route. To date, we have been very successful in both approaches, and we always prefer to work with others to ensure that as many businesses as possible are able to gain from the brand collateral we have created. This is all about boosting the economy and helping to show that the North Highlands is a sustainable place to live, work and grow your business. We hope that you will join us on this particular journey.
For more information on how to use the North Coast 500 brand under license, please contact enquiries@northcoast500.com
