2012 Gold Travel and Holidays

Client Tourism Ireland

How did the campaign make a difference? A fun-filled, five-day online Mystery Tour across rural Ireland showcased the sheer diversity on offer. The campaign saw 90,961 unique views, 9,001 competition entrants and 92,565 social media interactions. Facebook Likes went up 707% and Facebook comments up 488%.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? This real-time Mystery Tour filled the knowledge gap, engaging with thousands of potential visitors and pushing them closer to booking their own trip to Ireland. While potential holidaymakers know the famous stuff (like the Giant’s Causeway and Dublin) they see the rest of Ireland as a ‘green desert’. Research revealed that this knowledge gap is filled with clichés which are insufficiently motivating. So the challenge was to inspire interest and intent to experience Ireland’s wealth of authentic wonders. ‘Soft adventurers’ are keen to try new activities and ‘culture breakers’ are looking to engage with the locals, both things Ireland has in abundance. Social media offered an opportunity to create the authentic, impartial, user-generated content the audience would trust and enjoy.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? A couple went on an interactive Mystery Tour, directed in real-time by the online audience. The campaign launched with emails to the warm database and carefully selected cold lists. A Facebook poll selected our couple, Tyler and Amy. But there was a twist: they had no idea where they were going or what they’d be doing. Instead, each morning Baaarry the black-faced sheep gave them two cryptic clues, which they relied on the audience to solve. They earned points for each solved clue – the more they got, the swankier their last night’s stay would be. The immense level of online help meant they ended up at a 5-star spa. They made Facebook and Twitter posts and blog entries every day, uploaded dozens of movies and photos and interacted live with the audience. There were also daily website polls. Participants could start to plan their trip in detail and enter a draw to win their own tour. The campaign page showed video highlights and invited the audience to book their own tour. Within 48 hours of their return, they were also sent post-tour emails.

Results The campaign has been hugely effective in showcasing Ireland’s rural treasures, helping to populate the ‘green desert’ and increasing the willingness of holidaymakers to visit and explore. Not only has it created a wave of warm feelings towards Ireland, it’s also created a wealth of compelling content and data Tourism Ireland can harness long into the future.

Team Geraldine Sheriff - Art Director, Siyana Hirani - Account Manager, Natalie Ryan - Senior Account Manager, Damien Bouyou - Designer, Lindsey Menzies - Web Developer, Nick Barthram - Senior Planner, Carrie Barrett - List and Digital Media Manager, David Jones - Digital Operations Manager, Lee Hampton - Data Operations Analyst, Mike Taylor - Data Analyst, Ray Morrow - Copywriter, Tim Lines - Copywriter, Ian Bates - Creative Director, Richard Norton - Senior Copywriter