Award Winning Marketing by Trio of Chartered Marketers in Ireland – Success on a plate as NI Food and Drink Awards Herald Eel Eat Campaign for Best Marketing Result

Eel Eat YOFADBelTelAwards 2 Feb 17Valued Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing client Lough Neagh Partnership won Tourism NI’s Year of Food and Drink Award for Best Marketing Result at a glittering event at the Culloden Hotel on 2 February 2017.

The marketing campaign devised by Lough Neagh Partnership and Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative Society – an Inaugural Eel-Eat Week delivered a sales increase of 30% year on year and had restaurants across Northern Ireland featuring Lough Neagh Eels on their Menu and consumers trying Lough Neagh Eel dishes for the very first time.

Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing founder – Chartered Marketer Christine Watson, worked alongside Strategic Marketing Planner and fellow Chartered Marketer Eimear Kearney, on the digital and social media marketing activity. Fellow Chartered Marketer and Accredited CIPR professional Nicola Bothwell rolled out a fully integrated traditional and digital PR plan.

 

 

The digital marketing activity activated by Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing included:

  • Facebook Live at the Eel Eat Week launch event at Deanes Love Fish
  • Twitter/Periscope Live  at the Eel Eat Week launch event at Deanes Love Fish
  • Proactive, reactive and agile content marketing and audience engagement on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
  • Bespoke Graphics using Canva
  • Amplification and Outreach via participation in NI Twitter Hours (benefits resulting from this activity included restaurant participation as well as innovative attempts to cook Lough Neagh Eel with Infused Tea and an agile additional Tweet Meet Eat networking event)
  • Highly Targeted Advertising on Google PPC, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Ad Platforms
  • Facebook Live featuring the Lough Neagh Eel Cookery Demonstrations at the River to Lough Festival

Tourism NI’s Year of Food and Drink Awards in association with the Belfast Telegraph seen around 300 representatives from the tourism and food industries attend the inaugural awards ceremony hosted by broadcaster Sarah Travers.

The winners were selected by an esteemed panel of judges – Professor Una McMahon Beattie of Ulster University, food critics Charles Campion and Georgina Campbell, and Belfast Telegraph food writer Joris Minne.

In keeping with the theme of celebrating Northern Ireland food the banquet at the Awards event featured culinary delights such as Glenarm organic salmon as an appetiser, followed by a starter of local chicken terrine, paired with a Comber leek jelly and Northern Ireland’s famous Nutty Krust Bread.

For a main course, guests were served Carnbrooke braised short rib beef with an Abernethy Butter mash.

The dessert consisted of panna cotta with Farmview Dairies cream, and Culloden signature shortbread was served with a Northern Irish coffee.

Each course was also paired with a delicious locally brewed craft beer.

 

Award Winners:

 

Best Marketing Achievement 

sponsored by Moy Park & Food NI

Eel-Eat, Lough Neagh Partnership

 

Best Food Story sponsored by Invest NI

Food Heartland Forums, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council

 

Best NI Food Event or Festival sponsored by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Legenderry Food Festival, Derry City & Strabane District Council

 

Best NI Local Market sponsored by Belfast Telegraph

Comber Farmers’ Market, Comber Regeneration Community Partnership

 

Food Innovation sponsored by Food NI

Crispy Vegetable Bakes, Mash Direct

 

Growing for the Future sponsored by SPAR NI

Foodovation Centre, North West Regional College

 

Roots to Market sponsored by Sodexo

Food Heartland Initiative, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council

 

Best NI Tours & Trails sponsored by Tourism NI

Cycle Sperrins, Far & Wild

 

 

Destination Delicious

Derry-Londonderry & the North West