.jpg)
Fáilte Ireland: Driving Domestic Sustainable Travel
As part of my Master's at UCD Smurfit, I worked on a live brief from Fáilte Ireland to boost short-term sustainable tourism among 18–45s. My team’s research was rated best in class, and we were one of four groups chosen to present our strategy. Several of our ideas were later adopted by the client.
The Challenge
As part of my Master’s in Digital Marketing at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, we were tasked with a live industry brief by Fáilte Ireland. The goal: increase travel intent among 18–45 year olds across the island of Ireland to take a sustainable short break within the Republic of Ireland over the next 12 months. This needed to be a digital-first campaign, built to increase reach and engagement with Discover Ireland’s social channels by 15%, leverage first-party data, and tap into high-growth platforms like TikTok and YouTube - all within a €100K media budget.
The Process
Our approach was divided into two phases: Research and Strategy.
In the Research Phase, we designed and executed a mixed-method study. We began with qualitative focus group discussions to uncover deeper motivations, planning behaviours, and emotional drivers behind domestic travel. These insights informed our quantitative phase, where we developed a structured questionnaire and analysed results using SPSS. Through cluster analysis, we identified three key audience cohorts: Domestic Explorers, International-Oriented Seekers, and Hybrid Adventurers, each with distinct travel patterns, content affinities, and sustainability mindsets.
In the Strategy Phase, we translated these findings into a targeted, year-long communication plan under the Keep Discovering brand platform. Our campaign included social content calendars, media allocation plans across TikTok and YouTube, and audience-led messaging strategies designed to build awareness, relevance, and engagement across the three cohorts. We also proposed ways to capture first-party data via site interactions and opt-in content.
The Outcome
Our group was recognised for producing the most compelling research across 23 teams and was one of four selected to present our final strategy to the Fáilte Ireland team. The client responded enthusiastically and went on to incorporate several of our strategic recommendations into their live Discover Ireland campaigns.