the ask

With only 56% of the domestic market taking breaks at home in Ireland, one of the core missions of Fáilte Ireland (Ireland's National Tourism Development Authority) in 2020 was to reinvigorate the destination with an appealing new tourism campaign.

The Keep Discovering campaign aimed to encourage couples, families and singles under 35 (plus visitors from Northern Ireland) to see a new side of Ireland: to get excited about discovering hidden gems, creating lasting memories, seeking adventure and enjoying an authentic Irish experience. The campaign's objective was to deliver €96 million in tourism revenue, create additional jobs and increase the number of Irish people taking staycations.

As a key part of this process, ALHAUS was asked to implement new content that would grip the end user's imagination, while at the same time repurposing existing resources within Fáilte Ireland's consumer website suite (which, at the time, included WildAtlanticWay.ie, IrelandsAncientEast.ie and VisitDublin.com). Working with the internal Fáilte Ireland digital marketing team, we would help to bring together multiple strands of a many-faceted campaign that reignited the desire to explore all the nooks and crannies of Ireland.

The brief called for the building of campaign articles, features and information, all in alignment with the specific Keep Discovering tone of voice. We were tasked with preparing assets, taglines and captions for the optimised Discover Ireland landing page, which would act as an anchor point for the campaign.

the answer

Using the new Keep Discovering logo, homepage takeovers and branding guides, ALHAUS created SEO-driven articles featuring enticing itineraries, vibrant images and suggestions of things to do in Ireland for every tourist type; all tailored specifically to reflect each brand's verbal and visual tone of voice.

Through the creation of landing pages linking to content showcasing the hidden gems of the counties of Ireland, ALHAUS helped to inspire families, couples, young singles and those travelling from Northern Ireland to discover more on their doorstep. At all stages, targeted content was prioritised to resonate with the identified audiences.

By designing and creating new homepages for Visit Dublin, Ireland's Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way, we ensured that the campaign's tone and values were reflected there; careful timing was needed to make sure these homepages (and, indeed, the rest of the content) were synced and published to live at the precise moment the nationwide campaign was launched.

We also edited and adapted a brand new suite of articles to work within the constraints of the Kentico CMS used by the consumer websites, adding supplier links, keywords and appropriate calls to action where needed. Comprehensive front end testing and proofing was carried out by the ALHAUS team to ensure that all was 100% ready to launch by go-live.

The impact

The €6 million Keep Discovering campaign launched on February 21 2020, with a 60-second advertisement aired during national broadcaster RTÉs Late Late Show and subsequent TV and radio ads. #KeepDiscovering quickly began trending on Twitter across Ireland and traffic to the websites and optimised landing page sharply increased.

When the global health crisis took hold in March 2020, Fáilte Ireland paused the Keep Discovering campaign; in 2021 it was relaunched once restrictions eased and domestic travel resumed.

As one of Fáilte Ireland's biggest ever marketing campaigns aimed directly at domestic visitors, Keep Discovering was about encouraging people to holiday in Ireland and explore its wealth of opportunities. The campaign inspired domestic holidaymakers and helped them connect with suppliers and tourism operators all across Ireland.