The Background

Covid had a devastating impact on the hospitality sector, as many businesses struggled to stay viable while dealing with multiple lockdowns. These struggles – not to mention the additional challenges caused by post-Covid staff shortages and the cost of living crisis – have all highlighted the significance of the Experience Economy, from the numbers employed in the sector (around 300,000) to the €4 billion spent annually through purchasing goods and services).

The Experience Economy is a key to Ireland's hospitality industry, operating under the radar, invisible to the public eye in retail, food, drink, tourism, entertainment, technology, events, and in the arts, sporting and heritage sectors. But if you could peel back the corners to investigate, the full extent and importance of the Experience Economy would become apparent.

Ibec's purpose is to help build a better, sustainable future by influencing, supporting, and delivering business success. The purpose of this campaign's three phases was to educate Ibec members, the business community and the general public on the sector's significance and to call on the government to do everything in its power to protect, support and secure the future of the Experience Economy.

The Idea

We developed the line 'MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE' to represent the sector's diversity and curated a striking bank of authentic images that represent all areas of the Experience Economy. These images featured supporting copy and data placed around them to inform people of the significance of the Experience Economy in Ireland in terms of people employed and revenue generated, etc. The campaign hashtag #YourExperienceEconomy was developed for use on all campaign online and offline comms.

In the first phase, the digital campaign led with a select number of hero images with the campaign line integrated. These included a performance of ÆMak & le Boom, the Cliffs of Moher and a hurling match. We created several digital campaign assets, including animated teaser posts, slide shows of critical facts, and quotations from industry leaders – all of which had a cohesive campaign look. We also created a members' asset pack of social post templates and email banners to enable businesses to generate bespoke posts to amplify the campaign message.

The Execution

The Ibec brand inspired the campaign's look and feel, but giving it a distinctive contemporary interpretation that would really stand out and complement the campaign overall was essential. We achieved this by using tints of colours, energetic use of the circles' visual language, and setting the campaign message in a dynamic uppercase configuration that constantly changes to reflect the industry's dynamism and complement the images.

We designed and typeset a supporting policy document, which was brought to life using the diverse library of campaign imagery and data. We also created a short animation, PowerPoint templates and supporting backdrops for the launch, ensuring that Ibec had all the tools to create a memorable and seamless event.

The campaign's first phase, which members very positively received, was launched online in April 2021 by Ibec and a panel of industry leaders representing the diversity of Ireland's Experience Economy.

The second phase had the same objectives as phase one. It built on the core messaging: to educate and inform Government, businesses and the public about the sector's significance and how it reaches all corners of Ireland – using popular events as a backdrop to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of supply chains involved.

We devised the copy line 'Behind every great Irish moment, there's a lot of hard work', and this informed the video, print ads for national papers and social media campaign that we launched in March 2022. We used St. Patrick's Day as the backdrop and created a video that builds on the concept of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE; in the footage, you meet Catherine from the Guinness Storehouse and one of their many suppliers, Neil from Archtype. The video articulated how they work together to create a world-class experience. The call to action was' Support your Experience Economy. It's more than meets the eye.'

Building on the sentiments expressed in the previous phases, the objective of the third phase was to articulate the diversity and effort that goes into every single experience – from a visit to a coffee shop to a stay in a hotel – or bigger events like a trip to the National Ploughing Championships or Electric Picnic. All these experiences generate significant employment and revenue in the country, enriching Ireland's growing reputation as a great place to live, work and invest.

In the third phase, we created an animation outlining the experience economy and its importance. We also created print ads for national papers and a social media campaign launched in the lead-up to Budget 2023, calling on the Government to protect, support and secure the future of the Experience Economy. The call to action was' Support your Experience Economy. It's more than meets the eye.'