Derry City and Strabane District Council will run its promotional Campaign for this year s Hallowe en Festival from 17 th August 2 nd November.

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1 RISE OF THE RIVER GODS Halloween Derry Strabane Marketing Plan Background Derry City and Strabane District Council will run its promotional Campaign for this year s Hallowe en Festival from 17 th August 2 nd November. The festival will comprise a number of key elements including Diwali (25 th October, Millennium Forum) Chateau Le Fear at Ebrington (16 th October 1 st November) Europe s Largest Street Carnival themed The Rise of the River Gods Parade & Fireworks (Saturday 31 st October) Rio Bravo Fiesta at the Craft Village (30 th and 31 st October) Awakening of the Walls (29 th and 30 th October) Gothic Organ Recitals in the Guildhall with the newly refurbished organ Along with street performances, interactive storytelling trails, arts & crafts, fun fair, music, street theatre, and much more Objectives To affirm the city s position and reputation of hosting an unparalleled Hallowe en carnival throughout Ireland To win #1 Best Halloween Destination through the USA Today Readers Poll Attract approximately 45,000 to the city to experience the Hallowe en carnival (increase of over 5% from 2014 Target) o Target of 40% local, 30% NI, 20% ROI and 10% Other o Aggressively promoting for short breaks (2, 3, 4 & 5 bed nights) o Raise awareness in targeted markets Maintain/Improve upon high occupancy levels from 2014 : Occupancy 85.72% (30 th Oct, 31 st Oct, 1 st Nov)

2 Increased visitor spend to be measured through on-street surveys. Increase profile of new events in national and international media. Achieve an AVE value of 150,000 over duration of campaign (Over 10% increase on 135,705 AVE 2014) Increase the number of registrations on the Ezine Database by 25% Increase unique pageviews / website traffic by 25% Increase Facebook likes 25% (currently at 13,000) along with maintaining a level of engagement on par with previous campaigns of 10% or more Promote key messages o City as Europe s (and the World!) premier Hallowe en destination o Showcasing key landmarks o City as a short break destination ideal for families o City of Culture Legacy Capture event images and video for use as future marketing assets Record event experience and feedback of participants Target Groups Primary Geographic Target Areas: Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Other Derry Donegal CODA Destinations Tyrone Galway Key web traffic locations: Belfast Coleraine Cavan Monaghan Sligo Dublin Louth Based on last year s web traffic to Hallowe en pages: Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Letterkenny, Liverpool, London, Londonderry, Manchester, Omagh, Portadown, Preston, Sheffield, Sligo

3 Market Segments: City Breaks: with Hallowe en falling on a Saturday we are confident of selling weekend packages along with extensions leading to short breaks of 3, 4 and possibly 5 night stays. Family Fun: the ultimate Hallowe en break for every family with ample excitement and activities. Kids Rule: ample excitement and activities for children under 12. Young and lively: young adults (costume idols) and a those for a passion for Hallowe en fun and creatively. Along with Social Energisers and Culturally Curious Marketing & Communication Tools The Hallowe en campaign will target the key segments using a mix of on and offline tools with key messages profiled in each medium. Stakeholder Engagement (one to one meetings, briefings etc..) with key visitor attractions, hotels, cultural venues. TV (TV3 & UTV) Radio (Q Network, Highland, Downtown, iradio) Press and Print Advertising: o NI & ROI Key Newspapers Outdoor: o Supersides / Billboards Print

4 o A5 Programme x 25,000 o Preview Flyers x 10,000 o Launch Photographic Prop Video & Photography o Pre and Post Event Promotional Videos o Event photography Data o Survey / Research o Mail Chimp (Database) Digital - Website & Social Media Sites o Social Media (Facebook & Twitter): Promoted posts, sponsored stories & targeted ads o Website o Ezine: 4 Ezines (Proposed Plan) Launch - w/c 21 st September focus on highlights and book your short break Thurs 1 st October 1 month to go / key highlights / competition / breaks Thurs 15 th October reminder of key highlights and above with pushes for ticketed events Tues 27 th October Carnival Care / Travel to City / Highlight Key events o Banner Ads & Event Listings: WhatsOnNI, DiscoverNI, Donegal Daily, Derry Daily and Other key listing sites o Google PPC PR (Launch, Event, Pre and Post Event) Competition for use in print and on social media

5 Monitoring & Evaluation We will utilise a number of tools to measure the success of the campaign. These will include. Participant Counts Data Capture Occupancy Rates & Visitors Event Sales Partner Participation Digital Metrics (Google analytics, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc) AVE value of PR coverage Marketing Assets created Budget & Media Plan The campaign has an overall marketing budget of 25,000 (excl vat). See attached draft media schedule for more information.