Nick and Sam's Ireland Roadtrip
Issue 21 | December 2011
Agency
Indicia
Creative Team
Creative Director: Ian Bates ; Creatives: Darren Mower, Richard Norton, Damien Bouyou, Sian Norris
Production Team
Ben Whitley, Andy Irving, James Reed
Other Credits
Group Account Director Cathy Grant ; Account Manager Siyana Hirani ; Senior Planner: Catrina Law;
Date
May 2011
Background
Potential holidaymakers to Ireland know the famous stuff (Giant’s Causeway, Guinness, Dublin) but don’t know how much other stuff there is to enjoy along the way. The challenge was to engage, entertain and educate by revealing Ireland’s hidden treasures and demonstrate how fulfilling a holiday there could be.
Idea
Two intrepid adventurers, Nick and Sam, were sent off on a 7-day adventure, touring Ireland by car. However, there was a twist: the audience decided where they went and what they did.
The entire road trip was live and interactive on Facebook, Twitter and a dedicated campaign page on discoverireland.com. Here Nick and Sam uploaded all their photos and films as they made their way through Ireland. Followers could read and comment on the daily blog and peruse an interactive map of the journey, which was updated as the road trip unfolded.
From the first teaser email to the post-trip insert, the onus was on the delights of discovering both the iconic treasures and the inspiring pleasures of the world’s friendliest nation. The goal: to increasing intent to travel by engaging, entertaining and educating.
Results
The campaign proved a huge success. 50,919 unique visitors clicked onto discoverireland.com and experienced the road trip. 31,102 viewers enjoyed the movies. 11,497 people interacted through social media. 19,531 were inspired to enter the competition.
Discover Ireland Facebook Likes increased by 1,015% and comments on Discover Ireland’s Facebook page went up by 816%.
5,342 people began planning their Ireland road trip by requesting or downloading a brochure.
The average cost per response was just £1.24, a massive 560% reduction on 2010’s figure.
Our Thoughts
Ah begorra! I do love the ancient land of the Celts and could happily sit through this campaign content as one lucky couple takes in the Irish sights. I’m not a fan of the art direction or the cheesy photos, but Jayzuz, Mary and Joseph, what makes this one interesting is that the couple had no say in where they were headed – their entire road trip dictated via crowdsource.
It’s a clever way of showing lots and lots of Ireland, including the clichés.
For the Irish Tourist Board, it can’t have been an easy decision to move from spending money on traditional media to the social arena but I hope they feel it has paid off.