Snowdogs Contribute £10 Million to Local Economy

Research on the success of the trail has shown the huge economic impact of the Snowdogs

You may remember from Autumn 2016 our nine-week sculpture trail, Snowdogs by the Sea, which saw 44 beautiful Snowdogs and 23 Snowpuppies all around Brighton & Hove. To measure the success of the trail we have conducted in depth research with Wild In Art, our event partner, and we’re very pleased to now share the outcomes. 

Overall, the trail contributed £10.1 million to the local economy, which is an amazing amount! We also saw over 350,000 people visit the trail and more than 14.6 million social media impressions for the hashtag #BrightonSnowdogs.

42% of visitors from Brighton & Hove said that they had visited a new attraction or place as a result of visiting the trail. This is unsurprising considering the total distance walked around the Snowdog Trail was approximately 2.6 million miles or the equivalent of walking around the earth 105 times!

However, most importantly of all, Snowdogs by the Sea raised £310,000 for Martlets and achieved an unprecedented level of awareness, helping us to continue providing life changing hospice care. 

Imelda Glackin, Chief Executive for Martlets, said: “We are so grateful to the Brighton and Hove community for their enthusiasm throughout the Snowdog campaign. The engagement we have seen from individuals and local businesses has been phenomenal.

We set out to create something that would bring life to the city, inspiring people to get involved with Martlets and to connect with the story of The Snowman and the Snowdog – a tale of loss, love, memories and kindness at its heart, which mirrors our work at the hospice. The fundraising success we have seen as a result of the art trail has been incredible.”

What is clear from the research is that the people of Brighton and Hove, across all age ranges, took the Snowdogs to their hearts. One hundred percent of B&H residents said they were proud to have the trail in their area, with 99% of visitors to the trail rating their experience as excellent or good.

Howard Barden, Head of Tourism, VisitBrighton, said: “We were delighted to support the trail as it gave visitors a new reason to come to the city outside of the main summer season. The trail was a great incentive to get people to explore different areas of Brighton & Hove and of course, everyone fell in love with the adorable Snowdogs!” 

The photogenic nature of the Snowdogs meant that the trail came alive on social media, inspiring visitors to fill their social media channels with their personal interactions with the artistic pooches. Over 60% of visitors posted about the trail on Facebook, with Instagram and Twitter the next most popular. Snowdogs also appeared in countless blogs and YouTube videos which really helped generate a sense of engagement and community.

Brighton resident: “I have lived in Brighton for 80 years and I’ve never known a thing that has brought the community together as much as this – everybody is talking about it on the bus, in the supermarket. It’s lovely.”

Excitingly, following the success of Snowdogs by the Sea, Martlets are delighted to announce that they are working with Wild in Art on another special sculpture installation for Autumn 2018. Speculation on what the sculpture will be has already begun….but we aren’t giving anything away until later this year! 

Download the full results of the NGI research