Alltheinformationandassetsyou needtomakethemostofthe TourismNISpringMarketingActivity. SPRING INDUSTRY TOOLKIT SPRING2023EDITION 30thJanuary-31stMarch
Contents Whatinsightsinfluencethespringmarketingactivity? P.4 Recapofprioritysegments P.5,6 Springmarketingplanoverview P.7 MediaActivity P.8,9 Contentapproachforspring P.10 Creativeassets P.11 Aligningourmarketingefforts P.12 Drivespringbookings P.13,14,15,16 BecomingbookableonDiscoverNorthernIreland P.17 Top5thingstodonow P.18 2
welcome toourindustry spring toolkit
Wehopethatthefestiveseasonwasasuccessforyou.Wenowlookaheadtospringand ensuringthatwecandelivernotonlyasuccessfulspringseason,butthatwegenerate forwardbookingsintothesummerandbeyond.
AsanindustryweknowwhatwehaveonofferinNorthernIrelandisunlikeanythingelseinthe world. From our warm welcome and epic natural scenery to our world-class food and unforgettableexperiences,weknowjusthowgiantanadventureinNorthernIrelandcanbe. Thisspring,throughourmarketingactivitywewanttoinspirevisitorstoEmbraceaGiantSpirit inNorthernIreland,toexplorewhat’sonoffer,planaquickgetaway,trysomethingnewand enjoy memorable experiences. The campaign inspires and reminds potential visitors that they’reonlyeverasmallstepawayfromagiantadventure
TheSpringCampaignlaunchesinNIandROIon30thJanuaryandrunsuntil31stMarch The SpringcampaignchannelsincludeTV,radio,outdoor,press,digital,socialmediaandPR This Toolkitwillgiveyoualltheassetsyouneedtoleveragethespringcampaignandhelpattract morevisitorsduringspring.Byusingtheresourcesinthistoolkit,youcanbenefitfrombeing partofthecrossplatformmarketingcampaignwhichwillreachapprox.3,738,180adultsinNI andROI.
Inthetoolkityou’llfindnewsocialassetsincludingcampaigncoverphotos,specialoffers templatesaswellassomenewGIPHY’stohelpyousupportthecampaignanddrivebookings You’ll also find some information on how to create/update your listings on discovernorthernirelandcomandcreateeventlistings Wewouldstronglyencourageyouto createeventlistingswhereapplicableasthesewillbeusedthroughoutthecampaigntogive potentialvisitorsarealtimeupdateonwhat’shappeninginNorthernIreland.
Pleasedon’thesitatetogetintouchifthereisfurthersupportwecanprovide.Contactdetails arethroughoutthetoolkit.Wewishyouallthebestfor2023.
SPRING2023EDITION
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NaomiWaite DirectorofMarketing
What insights influence the spring marketing activity?
Thelatestsentimentresearchwillbeissuedinthefewweeks.Youcanaccessithere.
Insight Approach
Costofliving:concernsaboutthecost-of-livingstill persistbutthenumberofNIandROIresidentsthat expecttobesignificantlynegativelyaffectedhas decreased.Thismayindicatethatwemaybepastthe peakofnegativesentimentasconsumersbecome accustomedtonewspendingrealitiesorstarttofeelthe benefitofsomesupports (SparkResearchDec2022 )
Drivenbythecostoflivingcrisispeopleareseekingoutvalue morethanever However,onlyonefifthplantogiveuptheir holidayssothereisasignificantmarketavailablefor conversion.TheheavyweightactivityinbothNIandROIwill focusonconvertingkeysegmentsinthismarket
Valueformoney-ValueformoneyperceptionsofNIremain strongerthanforROIwithvalueperceptionsofvisitorsfrom ROIimprovingevenfurtherversusSeptemberoflastyear BothROIandNIdomesticvisitorssaytheyarelikelytoreduce spendonholidaysin2023butdon'twanttocompromiseon theirexperience (SparkResearch,December2022 ) Empoweringvisitorswithvalueandqualityexperienceswill beakeydriver
Bookingleadtimes:Sincecovidpeoplehavebeenmore inclinedtobookbreakswithshorterleadtimes
Thecampaignwilldriveconversionbyshowcasingarangeofoffers fromaccommodation/attractionsandexperienceproviders (28% ofNIvisitorswillproactivelyseekoutspecialoffersandpackages whenconsideringashortbreak)SparkResearchSept2022 Therearesocialmediatemplatesavailableinthistoolkittohelp youcommunicateyouroffersanddiscounts Valueformoney Itinerarieshavebeendevelopedthatshowcasearangeofideas andinspirationonhowtomakethemostoutofashortbreak
Thespringactivitywillcreateasenseofimmediacytodrive bookings SpecialoffersthatarerecruitedviatheCooperative Marketingfundandupdatedthroughoutthecampaign periodwillalsobekeyindrivingshorttermconversion.
Attractingback/retainingvisitorsthattookashortbreak orlongerholidayinNorthernIrelandiskeyfor2023 (1in5 ROIresidentstookashort-breakinNIin2022butthe numberplanningaforeignholidayinthenext8months hasincreasedto60%-SparkResearch,December2022 ) Presentingthemwithincentivesandreasonsto return/holidayathomewillbemoreimportantthanever
LastyearbroughtmanynewvisitorstoNIfromROI,a heavyweightmarketingcampaigninROIwillencouragethose visitorstoreturnaswellasdrivedemandfromnewvisitors TheEmbraceaGiantSpiritbrandhashelpedtodifferentiate NorthernIrelandfromitscompetitorsandwillcontinueto featurestronglyinthespringmarketingactivity
4 Insights
5 Recapoftheprioritysegments TheNIdomesticmarketreviewcanbefoundhere
1 6 Recapoftheprioritysegments TheROIdomesticmarketreviewcanbefoundhere
Spring marketing plan overview
ThespringcampaignwilllaunchinNIandROIon30thJanuaryandwillrununtil 31stofMarch TheactivitywillruninbothNIandROIacrossTV,VOD,Outdoor, Radio,Press,PressSupplement,Display,SocialandPR.
Thecampaignwillhaveastrongfocusondemonstratingthevalueformoney availableinNorthernIrelandthisspring.Itinspiresvisitorsbyshowcasinga broadrangeofattractionsandexperiencesaswellasideasonwheretostay Thecalltoaction–bookingyournextgiantadventurehelpstodriveimmediacy tobookashortbreak.
ThecampaignisfocusedonAspiringFamiliesandNaturalQualitySeekersand SocialInstagrammers(digitalonly) inNIandOpen-MindedExplorersand ActiveMaximisersinROI.Thesesegmentshavebeenidentifiedthrough researchasthosewiththehighestpropensitytotakeashortbreakoverthe springperiod.
ThecampaignbuildsknowledgeofwhatNorthernIrelandhastoofferand deliversclearandcompellingreasonstovisitfortheprioritysegments.
Thecampaignisdesignedtosupportyoubydrivingshortbreaksandinspire oursegmentstosee,doandspendmoreonaspringshortbreakinNorthern Ireland
Thecampaignincludesbespokecreativemessagingformid-term,encouraging familiesfromNIandROItoconsiderashortbreakinNorthernIreland.
Marketingplanoverview
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Radio NI media channels NIdates:30thJanuary-31stMarch NIsegments:AspiringFamilies,NaturalQualitySeekersandSocial Instagrammers(digitalonly) Estimatedalladultsreached-1,200,420 66%Coverage948,420Adults reachedand Frequencyof8. TV/VOD Press Supplement Coverage–74% /OTH10 200,000copies–4th/5thFebruary 54%Coverage ofallAdults 775,980 Frequency:4 Social/Digital NIEstimated 13million impressions 8 NImediaactivity
ROI media channels ROIdates:30thJanuary-31stMarch ROIsegments:OpenMindedExplorersandActiveMaximisers Estimatedalladultsreached:2,537,760 65%Coverage2,403,050Adults reached Radio Outdoor TV/VOD Press Supplement Coverage–63% -2,541,000 Adultsreached Coverage–61%/ 674,928Adults reached Coverage-43%, 1,642,000Adults Adultsreached 300,000copies 4thand5th February Social/Digital 9 ROIestimates 20million impressions ROImediaactivity
Content Approach for Spring - Social & PR Social Content
TounderpintheSpringCampaign,thefirstquarterof2023 willseeTourismNorthernIreland focustheirconsumer marketingcommunicationsonthese3overarching themes:Refreshing&RevitalisingactivitiesinJanuary, HiddenGemsinFebruary,andSpringbreaksinMarch.
Keydateswillalsoplayapartsuchasromanticescapesin February,linkingtoValentine’sDay,familyshortbreaksto linkinwiththemid-termschoolholidays,and StPatrick’s DayinMarch.Demonstratingvalueformoneywillcontinue tobeakeymessageacrossallcommunications
Wewouldencourageyoutousethesekeythemestotell youraudiencesaboutthewonderfulshortbreaks,events andhiddengemsthatcanbeenjoyedaspartofaGiant AdventureinNorthernIreland
Campaignactivitywillbesupportedwitha fullyintegratedPRPlan Inaddition,core mediaactivitywillcontinuewithweekly contentandfeaturesacrossprint,online andbroadcast.
KeyareasincludemediaFAMtrips,events andPRcampaignsthatpromotethe industryandbrandawarenessaround EmbraceaGiantSpirit.Otherhighlights includetheHolidayWorldConsumerShow (Dublin&Shannon)andOutsideBroadcasts withkeyROIradiostations
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Contentapproach @fromnorthtosouthpaidpartnershipTikTokvideo
PR Content
Creative FurtherinformationaboutourExperiencebrand: NorthernIreland:EmbraceaGiantSpirit(EAGS)is availablehere: https://tourismnicom/embraceagiantspirit/ Onthelinkaboveyoucandownload: UserguideonworkingwithourEAGSassets •EAGSBrandguidelines EAGSExperienceDevelopmentToolkit •FurtherEAGSinformationaboutthebrand, includingvideocontent AsuiteofSocialMediaassetsincludingcampaigncoverphotosandspecialoffers templatesareavailablehere. Thecampaignphotographycampaignassetswillbeavailableonthecontentpoolfrom 30thJanuary. Ifyouaren’talreadyregisteredonthecontentpool,youcandoforfreeso here:NorthernIrelandContentPool Ifyouareacontentcreatororhavephotographyyouwouldlikeyoushareonourcontent poolpleasecontact:l.conlon@tourismni.com TheSpringTVcommercialswillbeavailableontheDiscoverNIYouTubepagewhenthe campaignlaunchesonthe30thJanuary–DiscoverNIYouTubePage Reminder 11 Creative assets Creativeassets FurtherinformationaboutourExperiencebrand:Northern Ireland-EmbraceaGiantSpirit isavailablehere: Onthelinkaboveyoucandownload: •UserguideonworkingwithourEmbraceaGiantSpiritassets •EmbraceaGiantSpirtBrandguidelines •EmbraceaGiantSpiritExperienceDevelopmentToolkit •FurtherEmbraceaGiantSpiritinformationaboutthebrand, includingvideocontent Reminder
w/c13thMarch–Derry-Londonderry w/c20thFeb-Belfast w/c6thMarch–Armagh&Down Aligning our Marketing Efforts Regional rotations w/c6thFeb-CausewayCoastalRoute w/c13thFeb-Fermanagh&Tyrone w/c27thFeb–Mournes&StrangfordLough 12 Marketingefforts Aspartofthecampaignactivitywerunthemedweeks.Feelfreeto promotethiscontentinyourregion Forthe medialaydownpleasecontact:a.murray@tourismni.com Howtogetinvolved:
Ifyouhaven’talready,youshouldcreatealistingforyourbusinessonthe DiscoverNorthernIrelandwebsite Whetheryou’reanaccommodation provider,visitorattractionorexperience,havingyourlistingontheDiscover NorthernIrelandwebsiteisgreatwaytoshowcaseyourbusinesstothousands ofpeoplevisitingthewebsiteeachday It’salsocompletelyfreetocreateor updatealisting,sonoexcuses!
Toupdateyourlisting: 1 VisitTourismNorthernIreland’sBusinessHub 2 Createanaccount 3 Followthestepstoregistertheproductsthatyouown 4 Manageyourlistings
thatyourbusinesslistingisasimpactfulaspossible.
telephonenumbers,URLs,price,andanyotherinformation
Make your listing impactful Help to Drive Bookings For Spring
Update your Listing 13 Onthenextfewpagesyou'llfindhandytipsandideasonhowtodrivebookingsinspring Helpingtodrivebookingsforspring
Ifyou’vealreadycreatedalistingforyourbusiness,makesureit’suptodate! Ondiscovernorthernireland com,wewillalsosharesomeofthiscontentwith TourismIrelandforpublicationonIreland com Toattracttheattentionofpotentialvisitors,it’simportant
Listingsthatworkbestaretypicallybetween300-350words Remember,yourlistingisanopportunitytohighlightwhat makesyourbusinessunique,sobesuretogivepotential visitorscompellingreasonstobook/findoutmore Byfeaturingengaginglandscapephotography(1920x1080 pixelsinJPEGformat)isalsoagreatwaytoshowcaseyour businessandbringyourlistingtolife Don’tforgetthebasicsthough!Alwaysincludeyouraddress,
youthinkmightbeimportantforvisitorstohave
Discovernorthernireland comisaleadingsourceofinspirationandinformation forvisitorstoNorthernIreland Infact,over3millionuniqueusersvisited discovernorthernireland comin2022 It’spackedwithpracticaladvice,insider tips,guides,maps,andentertainingandinformativeblogpoststogivevisitorsa flavourofwhattoexpectontheirnextgiantadventure Thewebsiteisalso supportedbydigitalmarketingactivitythroughouttheyear-drivingvisitorsto thesite.
Driving
Socialmediaplaysabigroleinhelpingvisitorsdiscover newplaces,planandsharetheirgiantadventures. However, weunderstandthatfindingthetimeand resourcestopromoteyourbusinessonsocialmediacan sometimesbetricky Tohelpyoumakethemostofsocial marketing,wehaveputtogetherasuiteoffree,readyto use,downloadablespringcampaignsocialposts,frames, bannersandmore,thatyoucanuseonFacebook, InstagramandTwitter.
visitors
Social Media
Checkoutoursamplesocialmediacontentcalendartohelp youcreateengagingcontentonyourownchannels.Simply addtoyoursocialmediaplatformstosuityourbusinessor locationbeforeyoupost Social Media Calendar SocialMediaCalendar Helpingtodrivebookingsforspring 14 SocialAssets Handycontentguides Facebook:209Kfollowers Insta:79 5Kfollowers Twitter:122Kfollowers YouTube:4.5Ksubscribers
more
through
Throughstrategicpartnershipswithsocialmedia influencers,wecanprovideapromotionalplatform formanyofourindustrypartners,helpingthemto reachaudienceswhomightnototherwisebeaware oftheirproductsandexperiences. Wanttoknowmore?Contact: c mccoy@tourismni com
Ifyoufeelthisissomethingyouwanttobeapartof, contact:h matthews@tourisni com
Influencers
offer… Get involved in our PR activity Haveaninterestingstoryorgoodnewsabout yourbusiness?Wewanttohearaboutit! Mediahavelongerleadintimessomakesureto gettousinatimelyway CanyouhostaMedia/FAMtrip? CompetitionsforplacementinNI&ROI TherearetwoPRteamsinTourismNIworkingto generatemediacoverageinboththeNI&ROI markets.Thereareafewwaysyoucanassistandget yourbusiness. Helpingtodrivebookingsforspring
Embrace the reach and impact that
can
Doyouhaveaproductwhichisvisualand interactivetobeshowcasedonsocialmedia? Canyouhostaninfluencer/FAMtrip? Canyouofferdiscountcodesforinfluencersto sharewiththeirfollowers? Canyouprovideacompetitionforaninfluencer toshareontheirchannels? 15
Hyperlinksthatlinktowebsites youwantuserstovisit Showcasingspecialoffers Throughoutourspringmarketingcampaignwewillbeissuingweeklyemailsto our15kdatabasethatwillallbe alignedwiththeregionalrotations. Here’safewthingswehavelearntwhichmighthelpyouwithyouremail marketing... Switch up your Email Marketing Withthisyoucancreateanemailthatsubscribers wanttoopenandagreatemailwillalsodrivemore userstoyourwebsite-somakesureyourcontent isuptodateforspringwithenticingcopyand imagery. Ifyouhavecontentyouthinkwouldbeeffective foremail-pleasecontact:digital@tourismni com Pleasealsoseelinktoourprivacypolicy Aneye-catchingsubjectline Acompellingpreheader Readablecontentwithheadings thatreaderscaneasilyspan through 16 Helpingtodrivebookingsforspring Tipstohelpbuildyour emaildatabase Createsuper-compelling, subscribe-worthycontent Runapromotionorcontest Provideleadmagnets(checklists, ebooks,etc ) Usepop-upstodriveemail signups 1 2 3 4.
Becoming Bookable on Discover Northern Ireland
MakingNorthernIrelandBookable.
TourismNorthernIrelandhavepartneredwithTourismExhangeGBtoconnect tourismbusinesseswithlocalandglobaldistributorshelpingbusinesseslikeyoursto becomebookablethroughtheDiscoverNorthernIrelandwebsite,accessnewroutes tomarketandreduceyourcommissioncosts.
Moredetailsavailablehere... TXGB|GrowyoursaleswiththeTourismExchangeGB(tourismni.com)
“Being connected to a wide range of international distributors via TXGB has enabled me to raise my profile considerably I wouldn’t have the resources to promote my business to such a global audience otherwise and it’s definitely resulted in an increase in bookings.“
Tracey Jeffery, Owner Herebusinessescanexpresstheirinterestandtheonboarding teamatTXGBwillcallthemback.
BecomingbookableonDNI 17
RegistrationPage
Whattoknowmore? Contact:p colman@tourismni com
Helpdrivebookingsthisspringbyaddingyoureventan,or experience toDiscovernorthernireland.com. Haveaninterestingstoryorgoodnewsaboutyour business?Wewanttohearaboutit!Senditto digital@tourismni.com Don’tforgettotagusanduse#EmbraceAGiantSpirit whenposting! Downloadoursocialmediacontentcalendarandfind inspiringcopytoshareonFacebook,Instagramand Twitter Highlightyouroffers,valuepromotionsanddrive bookingswithoureasy-to-usesocialshareablesand considersigninguptoTXGBtohaveyourbusiness becomebookable. 5 Things to do from now - Action Plan 5 1 2 3 4 18
Get In Touch TourismNorthernIrelandhaveanextensiverangeof businesssupportandtoolstohelpyouthroughoutthe springmarketingcampaign. OurexperiencedMarketingandDigitalteam arealsoathandforanyofyourenquires BryonyGambier-Christy MarketingCampaignsOfficer DestinationPR b gambier-christy@tourismni com SarahSneddon Social&DigitalTeam digital@tourismni.com
