Ireland Means Business
We recently worked with Tourism Ireland’s business tourism division to promote the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market in Ireland.
Tourism Ireland had set up an offers site, irelandmeansbusiness.com as part of it’s business tourism website irelandinspires.co.uk, which provides deals for corporate events buyers and meeting planners looking to visit Ireland. They had yet to find an effective way to market the website.
We worked with Tourism Ireland to develop an Ireland Means Business blog at blog.irelandmeansbusiness.com to provide quality content that would encourage people to visit the site and engage in conversation about Ireland’s business tourism product.
In order to do this we created a branded Ireland Means Business Twitter (@Ireland_MICE), Facebook Page, LinkedIn group and YouTube channel.
We started blogging straight away, covering topics as diverse as Guinness’ 250th Anniversary to sustainability in corporate events in Ireland. We also went to Dublin to interview some of the most influential individuals in the industry in order to create a series of six videos, which were subsequently uploaded to youtube.com/IrelandMeansBusiness. We released these videos on a weekly basis via the blog, linking from all the other social media outlets.
We also built our Twitter follower base to over 565 by engaging with other Twitter users interested in the subjects of events and business travel, often using the hashtag #eventprofs.
The traffic to the blog increased by 262% in our first month of work, and a further 404% in the subsequent month. The videos have currently accrued a total of 691 views.
Ireland Means Business, part one:
Ireland Means Business, part two:
Dermod Dwyer, Chairman, Convention Centre Dublin:
Cailin Keaney, Sales and Marketing Manager, Aviva Stadium:
Rory the Tiger pays a festive visit to TTG and Travel Weekly
December 10, 2009 by Ian McKee
Filed under Public Relations
Rory the Tiger, Haven Holiday’s mascot, paid a visit to the offices of the two main travel trade publications , TTG and Travel Weekly, today with McCluskeyite Vanessa Ip.
Bearing festive gifts and a helping hand (Rory ended up making the TTG editorial team tea) the visit was much appreciated, and resulted in some great coverage, on Twitter, on the Travel Weekly and TTG websites and in the Travel Weekly print edition.
Haven is part of Bourne Leisure, who employ us for their trade media relations.
View a slideshow of the photos from our Flickr photo stream below -
WTM London 2009: Video Report
At World Travel Market this year we spoke to some key people in the industry about their experiences of the show and their predictions for travel in 2010.
See the footage here:
Jersey Live 2009
September 15, 2009 by Ian McKee
Filed under Blog, Events, Public Relations
Whilst sports tourism is now an established trend, many would say that the next travel niche to explode will be music tourism. There are several kinds of music tourism, and it’s something I’ll post about later as it’s close to my heart – I’d be far more likely to travel for a gig than a game – but here I want to talk about our involvement in the triumphant success that was Jersey Live 2009.
This year we worked with specialist music PR agency Excess Press to bring over a group of key media and handle further media requests whilst out there. In attendance were great music titles Gigwise, Clash, The Fly and French title Les Inrocks.
We also achieved extensive advance coverage, essential in creating bookings, ensuring the festival was regularly featured in the festival round ups and working with tourism partners and media on competitions offering VIP tickets and travel with accommodation.
The line up was quite probably the best in the festival’s five year run, with Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal, the Kooks, Passion Pit and Temper Trap all included in a really diverse line up of dance, rock and pop. Jersey Live have great foresight in booking bands early, regularly seeing them get big in the intervening period before the festival – offering the lucky festival goers a chance to see real buzz acts that are playing much larger festivals elsewhere.
The festival is 10,000 capacity (’boutique’ by general UK festival standards) and was a total sell out this year, the sale of the last few tickets oweing largely to the great line up and absolutely amazing weather – sunshine all weekend. I didn’t think it could have gone more perfectly, until I took the media group to the festival ground by speed boat (our hotel, the Radisson SAS Waterfront is right on St Helier’s marina, and the festival site is close to the island’s north coast) when we were caught up by a school of dolphins who wanted to play. You don’t see dolphins on the way to Reading Festival now, do you?
BBC World Service’s travel programme Fast Track were also there to cover the festival, as part of a feature on music festivals’ effect on tourism. Which brings me to what Jersey Live does for Jersey. The numbers are elusive, unfortunately it is hard to track just how many visitors come to the island specifically for the festival. But in terms of branding what could be better for positioning Jersey as younger, trendier and more exciting than Dizzee Rascal? I caught up with Luke Pritchard, lead singer of the Kooks, in the airport on the way home, he hadn’t been to Jersey before but (as all of the bands that visit for the festival do) he found it a realsp eye opener. He loved it, and would definitely come again.
So you can see for yourself, I caught a lot of the footage from the festival (and the dolphins) on a handy Flip video camera and edited it together for our YouTube channel. The band performing at the beginning and soundtracking the whole video are the Temper Trap, another brilliant new act who came all the way from Melbourne. Have a watch -
The Ocean Hotel – new Butlins spa hotel is the talk of Twitter
It’s always great to have a client be the story of the moment, and today our client is just that.
Bourne Leisure, the company that owns Butlins (as well as Warner Leisure Hotels and Haven), employs us for their trade PR. So yesterday McCluskeyites Manty and Vanessa headed down to Bognor with a number of travel trade press for the opening of the Ocean Hotel – the new Butlins spa hotel. Yes, Butlins spa hotel.
The family hotel is the product of a £20 million investment, and though it follows in the Butlins vein of offering good value, the design led contemporary look is not what is normally associated with Butlins, and the spa is an entirely new proposition altogether. A pleasantly surprised Pippa Jacks (TTG Deputy Features Editor) said in her review that “Butlins has managed to pull off a fun new spa concept like nothing I’d seen before.” Praise indeed!
In an age when news is instantly spread across the web, it’s great to be able to capitalise on being the story of the moment. Fortunately Pippa and her colleagues at TTG are keen Twitterers, so we’ve seen the story spread across the Twittersphere already – all superb added exposure for a great positive story.
Vivid Sydney & Brian Eno
June 10, 2009 by James Allen
Filed under Events, Featured, Public Relations
We worked with ITN Consulting to produce a Video News Release to maximise UK media coverage of the Vivid Sydney festival. The Video News Release included a 3:00 minute A-Roll package voiced by the reporter and a 10 minute B-Roll that included the best sound bites and cutaways from two filming days.
Vivid Sydney, developed by Events NSW in partnership with the City Of Sydney, is the biggest international music and light festival in the Southern Hemisphere. It showcases Sydney as a major creative hub in the Asia-Pacific region, celebrating the diversity of Sydney’s creative industries.
This unique new public festival will transform the city into a spectacular living canvas of music and light in and around the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Circular Quay and the city centre. One of the highlights is Luminous – an annual festival of music, debate, light and performance. Curated by Brian Eno, Luminous features a plethora of music acts alongside public talks and spectacular light and art installations.
The A-roll (audio and video) and B-roll sound bites for radio and online use was made available via an ITN Consulting dedicated webpage from 0600(BST) on Wednesday 27th May 2009. The A-roll and B-roll for television was made available at 2200(BST) on Tuesday 26th May 2009 to UK television broadcasters. A further distribution was made at 0600(BST) on Wednesday 27th May 2009.
The material was edited at Channel 7 News studios in Sydney, approved by our client Tourism New South Wales, fed to London and there, through satellite links, distributed to UK broadcasters and ITN’s international affiliates.
The VNR and Vivid Sydney achieved excellent coverage, specifically in the online fields. Having the video made a huge difference and enabled the websites to take the content and highlight Vivid. Coverage value totaled £1,378,334.
Additionally, the VNR is to be used in a BBC Arena programme on Brian Eno to be broadcast in the summer of 2009.
Some of the coverage is linked to below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8071639.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8068173.stm
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-GB&vid=3da465d8-4a64-4f10-becf-b1da359bdb87
http://itn.co.uk/814fc69b42f22020a387c7a000f7b989.html
http://www.blinkx.com/video/artists-light-up-sydney-opera-house/StYnSFYdtqHAVj3iz8A7Rw
Jamaica celebrates Usain Bolt’s win in Manchester
May 20, 2009 by James Allen
Filed under Events, Featured
The Jamaica Tourist Board in partnership with Real Deals Travel and SuperClubs laid on a celebratory event for Usain Bolt and other athletes, following Bolt’s stunning best-ever time at the Bupa Great Manchester 150m on Sunday (17th May).
After turning the streets of Manchester green, black and gold in support of sprinters Xavier Brown, Mario Forsythe and Usain Bolt, the JTB then got the celebratory party going at Manchester’s Circle Bar for the athletes and their local supporters including footballers Ricardo Gardner, Ricardo Fuller, El-Hadji Diouf and others. Jamaican food and rum punch was provided to the guests, in addition to the opportunity to win two trips to Jamaica sponsored by SuperClubs. Also attending the event was birthday girl and Olympic 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu.
Torrance Lewis of the Jamaica Tourist Board said: “With the inclusion of three Jamaican athletes at this spectacular athletics meet, we were pleased to be able to show our support both at the race and afterwards. I am sure Usain Bolt was as pleased as we were to see the Jamaican flags flying. Yet again, he has made Jamaica proud and I am sure brought Jamaica to the top of the minds of people watching the race.”
Carl Hamilton from Real Deals Travel went on to comment, “We had great success in promoting Jamaica, Real Deals and SuperClubs to the many thousands of people who had come down to view the race. It was a special occasion for Manchester and yet another special race for Usain Bolt and his fans.”
Image above – from left to right: Torrance Lewis (Direct Sales Manager, UK, Jamaica Tourist Board), Ricardo Gardner (Bolton Wanderers & Jamaica Football Team), Usain Bolt, Zoe Bennett (Sales Representative, JTB)
Almond Resorts & Fitness First
May 15, 2009 by Jackie Stainer
Filed under Consumer
On behalf of the premium all inclusive Almond Resorts in Barbados and St. Lucia we have teamed up with Fitness First and the British Heart Foundation to support a massive fundraising campaign for the British Heart Foundation (BHF)– launching with a Fitness First world record for the largest simultaneous spin class attended by Dr. Hilary Jones.
The Million Miles Challenge is a two-month campaign to raise funds to help beat heart disease. Around 35,000 members and non-members are set to be involved pounding the treadmills and clocking up one million miles on cross trainers, rowers and bikes.
To enter the challenge, Fitness First members can pick up a special log card in club for a £2 suggested donation to record their own miles exercised while in their club with Fitness First hoping to break the one million mile mark by the end of June. The health and fitness chain is also encouraging non members to take part by downloading a free 5 day guest pass at www.fitnessfirst.com/million.
Challenge participants will be entered into a prize draw to win a premium, all inclusive Almond Resorts Caribbean holiday for two to Barbados or St Lucia (www.almondresorts.co.uk). Images, web address and Almond Resorts logos are included on promotional material wherever possible.
Fitness First members are being encouraged to fill in their record card achievements at www.bhf.org.uk/fitnessfirst to help reach the million mile target.
We will be keeping you up to date with progress!
Social media can give media FAM trips added value
We helped organise a trip for TTG writer Paul Revel to Budapest at the weekend. Knowing Paul is a keen blogger and Twitterer, before he set off we asked him whether he would be Tweeting whilst away, and whether he would be using any of the trip for blog material.
Apparently he does plan to, and thanks to Twitter we already know he enjoyed Budapest, as do all his followers.
The travel trade media are all flocking to blogs and twitter, understanding it as another method to communicate to their audience (as well as building their own personal brand as journalists no doubt!). Just as the media are quickly learning they have to be involved in new media, so do the travel industry organisations these journalists are covering.
A journalist’s Twitter or blog is not only another way to communicate with them, but also can offer added PR value.
UPDATE: Paul has now posted about business travel to Budapest on his blog here. Thanks Paul!
Chicago Joe does Entertainment!
April 16, 2009 by James Allen
Filed under Trade Marketing
What does everyone think of Chicago Joe’s latest video – ‘Entertainment’? As you can see, Joe is really getting into the swing of things now, and he’s ready to tell you all about the best sights, shows and spectacles in the Windy City.
Have a watch, and tell your friends, especially if they are travel agents! And be a fan on Facebook and follow Joe on Twitter! See ya!
