January 21, 2022

Joint research project between NewsBrands Ireland and the Arts Council found that 69% of respondents were more likely to attend an art event as a result of their recent campaign

NewsBrands Ireland and the Arts Council have unveiled new advertising effectiveness research on their recent ‘Arts Flourish In Spite of Adversity’ collaborative campaign which ran across all national print and digital newsbrands platforms in autumn 2021.  The campaign, which was developed by creative agency Bloom, was designed to encourage a re-engagement with the arts as the country emerged from the pandemic.

Independently conducted by international research company Research & Analysis of Media (RAM), the study evaluated the effectiveness of the campaign with an independent panel of 1,500 respondents who were asked a series of questions around the key effectiveness metrics of Recall, Recognition, Engagement, Action. Additionally, the panel were asked a series of questions relating to their attitudes about the arts and attending live arts events.

The main findings were as follows:

• 69% of respondents said they were more likely to attend an arts event as a result of the Arts Council campaign.
• 34% booked an arts event as a result of the Arts Council campaign
• 70% of respondents said they consulted newsbrands for information on the arts and live events.
• 81% of respondents have bought tickets to arts events as a direct result of seeing advertising in a newsbrands print or digital title
• 70% of respondents felt that arts advertising was relevant in newsbrands print and digital titles.
• The Arts Council campaign delivered above average effectiveness when benchmarked to similar campaigns with 66% favouring the fresh approach of the ad creative, 57% having a positive overall impression, and 53% looking for more information on the ad.

Speaking about the Arts Council partnership and the research, Ann Marie Lenihan, CEO of NewsBrands Ireland said: “Our members were very happy to partner with the Arts Council on this wonderful campaign which celebrates the arts industry.  The research shows that news publisher’s print and digital platforms are the ideal medium for positive and impactful arts and events campaigns which lead to measurable results with 69% of respondents saying they were more likely to attend an arts event as a direct result of seeing the campaign.”

The Arts Council campaign was designed by creative agency Bloom with audience engagement, media direction and return on investment managed by Dave Harland.

Commenting David Quinn, Creative Director with Bloom, and Dave Harland said, “Art flourishes in spite of adversity” – a great communications campaign, fuelled by great insight. During Autumn 2021, we were able to effectively implement our strategy, bring our campaign to life, engage with Art Aficionados and fulfil our business objectives. All of this was made possible through a strong collaboration between the Arts Council, Newsbrands Ireland and Bloom.

We not only brought Beckett, Shakespeare or The Diceman back to life, but we successfully encouraged patrons to once more take their seats, gaze at a painting, be lost in a good book, go to a gig in a field or run off to the circus! The clever creative communication campaign playing on the virtual nature of our lives and the yearning for Live Arts, embraced all print and digital platforms and was brilliantly executed through the proactive NewsBrands Ireland sales and marketing teams.

The channel mix was absolutely right, and the research results speak volumes: 69% of respondents said they were more likely to attend an arts event as a result of the Arts Council campaign. Job done. “