The Challenge:

The Haymarket is a £200m office, hotel and retail development in the heart of Edinburgh’s West End. The site sits adjacent to the beautiful Dalry colonies and a tight-knit community that had a long-standing interest in the development.

The brief was to take the community and its stakeholders on a journey from excavating the site to the development of the new buildings as well as showcasing the benefits tHe Haymarket will bring to the area.

The Solution:

• Establish a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy

• Develop a messaging matrix linked to individual audiences and personas

• Agree a process of communicating that built trust and understanding amongst the audiences

• Develop and facilitate a workshop amongst the community, its stakeholders and the client to create projects that would be engaging and of value.

• One such project was a timeline charting the changes to the area through the decades to what is now an independent, creative and collaborative community. This timeline was illustrated and showcased on The Haymarket hoardings bringing a connection between the new and the new.

• This included a collaboration between the development and Historic Scotland stonemasons at the nearby St Mary’s Cathedral who produced a keystone for one of the buildings.

• The agency also liaised with City of Edinburgh Council on the possible relocation of Bum the Dog statue – San Diego’s Greyriars Bobby – a statue of which was donated to the city and required a permanent home, ideally with a railway yard connection.

“Represent approached the stakeholder engagement project with a thorough understanding of the brief, robust processes and common-sense approach that was as refreshing as it was effective.”

– tHe Haymarket spokesperson