Rendezverse
COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns crippled the tourism industry across the globe. Connemara Tourism knew that they had a window of opportunity as lockdown ended to make up for the closures.
Tourism marketing has always been about selling the destination or the experience in its most idealistic form. So, we created a campaign that took advantage of that and of the desire ‘to get away and experience a degree of freedom’ which wasn’t available in lockdown. We looked at the unique opportunities that were provided by the restrictions on international travel, combined with the desire to go somewhere different, whilst staying as safe as possible. Research and the media proved that trends towards walking and spending time outdoors increased during lockdown. This played into our strategy and the eventual creative output.
The creative featured classic and inspirational images of Connemara. They were framed in a way that showcased its relevance to offering wider spaces and a deeper, underlining message about safety.
We turned some of the new pandemic vernacular on its head, to capture the charm, beauty, and open space of Connemara in a way that was instantly relevant and relatable. With the ads placed in leading national press titles and strategically deployed across digital channels to engage younger demographics, hotel bookings soared and by the time lockdown ended there was barely a room to be had anywhere in the region.
