~ Tourism Ireland in Great Britain shines a spotlight on Donegal and Derry – part of
~ Tourism Ireland in Great Britain shines a spotlight on Donegal and Derry – part of Tourism Ireland’s autumn promotions ~
Tourism Ireland has launched a new €580,000 campaign to promote Donegal and Derry in the all-important Great Britain market. The nine-week campaign will reach at least 6.8 million people and includes eye-catching digital ads in London’s Waterloo station, as well as at busy roadside locations in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh – with the slogan “two unique places, one amazing holiday”.
Judith Cassidy, Tourism Ireland’s Deputy Head of Great Britain, said: “We are rolling out a new campaign – developed in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, Tourism NI, Donegal County Council, Visit Derry and Derry and Strabane District Council – to promote Donegal and Derry in the all-important Great Britain market. It will run for nine weeks and will reach around 6.8 million people, or potential visitors for the North-West.”
Highlights of Tourism Ireland’s Donegal and Derry campaign include:
- New, specially created pages on Tourism Ireland’s website, Ireland.com, include great itineraries and short break suggestions for holidaymakers travelling with or without a car. The pages also feature good value offers from local tourism operators and from British tour operators – to drive bookings for autumn breaks.
- Digital outdoor ads are highlighting Donegal and Derry in London’s Waterloo station, as well as at busy roadside locations in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh – with the slogan “two unique places, one amazing holiday” – reaching an estimated 2.5 million commuters. These are supported by ads on digital and social channels, with a new short video – click here to view – running on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, the Google Display Network and Yahoo! Mail services.
- Email marketing to the Tourism Ireland database (approximately 98,000 subscribers) is highlighting good value offers; and posts about Donegal and Derry will be shared on Tourism Ireland’s social channels in Great Britain, including Facebook (520,000 fans) and Twitter (over 91,200 followers).
- The campaign includes co-operative promotions with Ryanair and Loganair which will run on a mix of radio, digital channels, social media and broadcast video on demand (BVOD). Activity will highlight attractive fares on direct flights to City of Derry Airport from Manchester (with Ryanair) and from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool (with Loganair). Promotions with easyJet will highlight flights from 13 airports in Great Britain to Belfast.
- A partnership with TripAdvisor includes ads running on the TripAdvisor site and on other social channels, as well as activity with popular British influencers and email marketing. Activity will target TripAdvisor users who have previously visited Ireland or users researching short breaks and competitor destinations.
- A partnership with Travelzoo involves content about Donegal and Derry, as well as special offers from local tourism operators, being promoted to the Travelzoo database of 1.35 million subscribers; activity will be geo-targeted to reach subscribers in proximity to airports with direct flights to Northern Ireland.
- A partnership with Wanderlust (popular travel magazine) will reach 1.8 million avidtravellers most likely to venture off-the-beaten track and come and visit the North-West. Activity will include a digital immersive experience on Wanderlust.co.uk; a six-page article about Donegal and Derry and a one-page advertorial in the magazine; two articles on Facebook; ads in the magazine; and email marketing to 100,000 Wanderlust subscribers. A journalist from Wanderlust will also visit.
- Leading British coach and group tour operators will take part in a familiarisation visit to Donegal and Derry in September.
- Donegal and Derry will also be promoted to British travel professionals – in travel trade publications such as TTG and Travel Weekly and via email marketing to around 1,200 travel trade contacts.
The Great Britain Strategy for Growth – developed before COVID-19 – identified the need to create ‘hub experiences’ with compelling reasons to venture beyond Dublin and Belfast. It identified the need to offer short breaks that are ‘easy – different but not difficult’ and identified that this could be addressed by creating those ‘hub experiences’, which provide reassurance that there are lots of things to see and do, within a two-hour timeframe, in a particular area for a short break – at any time of year. The aim of this campaign is to promote Donegal and Derry as one location that answers the short break needs of British holidaymakers.
The campaign has been developed in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, Tourism NI, Donegal County Council, Visit Derry and Derry and Strabane District Council.