Tourism NI
We’ve Come a Long Way
Jago was tasked with developing a consumer PR strategy to inspire domestic and Republic of Ireland visitors to discover Northern Ireland, increasing stay-cations and driving overnight stays. Our aim was to build tourism momentum for 2019, a year capturing Northern Ireland’s largest event, The Open, and the filming in NI of Game of Thrones final series. The challenge was to focus on destination, simple not sport or screen, bolstering civic pride while Northern Ireland is in the global spotlight.
What was our approach?
With 2018/2019 a pivotal year, celebrating all that is good and the amazing international achievements of Northern Ireland overcoming challenging times of the past, we developed a core concept to drive the PR strategy for both Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland – “We’ve Come A Long Way”.
To ensure Tourism NI was at the forefront of activity in 2019 driving the destination message around The Open, we proposed and implemented a stand-out, original, red-carpet event in January 2019. Timed as the year opens, it emphasised the commitment to delivering an outstanding, destination-centred 2019, and pride in welcoming The Open.
To ensure a lasting legacy, we developed a creative idea to commission a momentous, masterfully edited short film ‘We’ve Come a Long Way’. Incorporating destination, international accolades and new tourism highlights. It was accompanied by a breath-taking score composed by Belfast-born virtuoso pianist, accompanied by the Ulster Youth Orchestra. It was also set to an original, spine-tingling, poem by local poet with prose delivered by famous local voices, Ian McElhinney, Bronagh Waugh, Saoirse Monica-Jackson, Shaun Blaney. The event included an after-dinner panel discussion with BBC presenter, Sir AP McCoy, voice of golf Peter Allis and professional motorcycle racer Jonathan Rea.
What was the impact?
The opening event was attended by 400 media and stakeholders in January 2019. Over 50 media from RTE to BBC, UTV as well as newspapers, magazines, online and social media influencers. There were over 20 live interviews with BBC Newsline 6.30pm news live from carpet. Following the launch event, #TheOpen and #DiscoverNI were trending number 1 and 2 on social media. The video received over 100,000 views with over 10,000 engagements. The Open 2019 was the quickest selling on record with sell-out on Championship Days for the first time in history, delivering more than £100million of economic benefit to Northern Ireland.
