About Visitor Elves

Background

Visitor Elves is a marketing service and consultancy, supporting leisure and tourism businesses, founded by me, Kelly Ballard.

As a newbie to tourism and an inexperienced marketing manager working in a large attraction back in 2002, I lacked strategy marketing experience. I had a business degree and follow-up post-graduate courses, but I simply didn’t have the experience in the industry to have that strategic knowledge. 

I paid a respected marketing consultant to help me create a marketing strategy, but they came from a corporate background. It turned out to be of very little help in reality.  Like all industries our offer, customers and approach is very different.  On a basic level, our visitor economy budgets are much smaller. This was the start of my strategic lesson – choose people who knows your industry to get you there faster.  

Twenty years later and continued learning with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Google, Tech Pixies and most importantly listening to some of the best strategic marketing minds in the business, I have honed and refined marketing strategy and delivery practice that I now use to bring to businesses directly and their more junior teams.     

As a result I have worked with many clients who have celebrated successful years through marketing that I have guided or led.  

Now I focus mainly on marketing strategy and planning, pulling in experienced specialists, depending upon the needs of the project.  

Through that time, I have put destinations back on the map, driven footfall to lesser known places, helped launch new experiences and initiatives, and created effective marketing plans for attractions, hospitality businesses, events, local authorities, Business Improvement Districts (BID’s) and many others in between. See my portfolio for experiences and testimonials from some clients I have worked with. Checkout LinkedIn for the most up to date testimonials. 

Loving my Life

I’m always learning and absolutely love tech and digital marketing. I’m often found reading and listening to podcasts about marketing, psychology and human behaviour, which helps both my work and my personal life. Despite a degree and various Chartered Marketing studies, my style is very instinctive.

In 2020, I earned a Distinction in Squared Online Google Digital Strategy and I stay current with the ever-evolving digital landscape through regular CPD training with organisations such as TechPixies, an incredible community for women in social media.

I live in Bristol, where, for better or worse, I married a Bristol Rovers fan. I have two active tweenagers and two cats.

When I’m not working, I love the outdoors and keeping fit.  Pilates, playing Avon league tennis and cycling, I’ve recently taken up mountain biking for the buzz – yep, the last one is definitely a mid-life crisis.