This is the story of how a simple idea reclaimed a name for a whole nation

- Brought almost every marketing, creative, advertising and production discipline together

- Delivered the greatest goal - mass national and international reach.

- Set out to be the biggest in New York City for St. Patrick's Day 2023.

And was.

By getting the story out to the world through trusted media outlets could we create a new conversation, and create a cultural moment that reframed Ireland and Irish people in the eyes of the world.

Those with Irish American descent (34.5 million) represent the biggest single target demographic for Tourism Ireland, the body that promotes Ireland as a tourist destination to those outside of Ireland.

New York has the most concentrated Irish population.

However research by the Clinton Institute of 18-30 year old Irish Americans found:

- more than 50 per cent had never visited Ireland

- and only 31 per cent were in close communication with Ireland.

Our communications challenge: To engage a younger demographic and raise their interest in Ireland.

Our marketing challenge: We had a small budget - just €150k for fees, production, media, PR & TAXES! How would we reach all of New York never mind the whole U.S.A.?

Objectives:

The primary objective was awareness, then engagement

1. Awareness - as many people as possible to meet a new Ireland

2. Engagement - to start to forge a deeper emotional connection

Since the 1800s the word 'Paddy' has been a slur on Irish males.

A shorthand for a drunk. The punchline to a Paddy Irishman joke.

This doesn't help increase affinity for Ireland among the target audience, or rouse their interest in a visit.

Only on March 10th 2023, a furore broke out surrounding parodies on Saturday Night Live and comments made by host Jimmy Kimmel at the Oscars that diminished the achievements of nominee actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson - by mocking their Irish nationality.

St. Patrick's Day is the festival celebrating the patron Saint of Ireland.

It is known as a celebration of Irishness but too often is associated with those very activities that are unattractively associated with Irish culture - drinking, excessive partying.

Devising an accessible but intelligent cultural experience would run counter to the majority of mainstream messages of 'green pints' and 'shamrocks' and 'Paddywhackery'

Our target audience - those 18-30 are a generation of Irish America that the Clinton Institute asserts is at a stage which sociologists called “late generation ethnicity” – an identity no longer fuelled by new emigrants, traditions and institutions and more with emotions and values.

They are a highly educated from an activist generation and would respond to a story with news, art and cultural appeal rather than overt brand advertising

The Paddy Irishman Project showcases the diversity of male and Irish identity in modern Ireland and challenge a dated cliché.

To reframe Ireland away from the dated - and often dangerous - stereotypes and associations of an older generation, we changed the images associated with the phrase 'Paddy Irishman'.

To challenge the stereotype associated with a million jokes of drunks and other slurs, we partnered with photographer Ross O’Callaghan to find and share the diverse and inspiring stories of real Irish men…called Paddy.

Film directors, activists, strong men, make up artists, astrophysicists, illustrators and actors. Any many more. All proud to be a Paddy. All proud to be Irish.

Through creating a genuine cultural event with multiple audiovisual touchpoints, all centred on the credibility of a range of real life stories of Irish men called Paddy, we would create a genuine alternative and positive narrative for St. Patrick's Festival.

Our insight: How could we show Ireland as a 'brand for me' for a younger, hipper audience?

By partnering with an artist and using the medium of a multi-location, multi-media interactive activation.

For St. Patrick’s festival 2023 we would introduce America - Tourism Ireland’s biggest market – to the real Ireland through 50 real Paddies.

The execution relied on the endorsement of Ireland, Irish America and New York City:

- We applied to have the exhibition endorsed under the NYC (DOT) Public art programme ARTerventions so we could be part of the official city celebrations and an event that emphasised culture before commerciality

- Partnering with the New York Irish Center as community partner, we could engage authentically with the diaspore

- Deputy Consul General of the Irish Consulate in New York, Dermot Fitzpatrick, opened the VIP showcase on March 14th.

For two weeks from 14th March, we took over New York City with a cultural story about Ireland.

- A Stunning Press Launch with Projection Mapped Audio Visual Portraits. Those attending could walk within the portrait and experience video and audio experiences of first person testimony of individual explorations of identity and nationhood.

- Bespoke plinths were built for the outdoor installation installed in the centre of Manhattan installed under cover of night, right under Grand Central

- QR codes at the installation allowed New Yorkers to read more about the Paddies, and contemporary Ireland.

- The Paddy Times 'good news'-paper was available free at NYC newstands. It featured every Paddy's story and more on Ireland itself.

- The Real Paddies of Ireland were invited to walk in the parade, the first to be invited to walk officially under their own banner.

- A Times Square billboard promoted it all

'Paddy Irishman' is the most successful launch of an Irish visual arts project in the US in a generation.

The campaign generated:

831M Total Campaign Reach (TV, radio, print, online)

7.51M Viewership

1000 - avg. onsite QR code activations per day

An average of 40,000 people per day was the footfall at the main exhibition site in Pershing Square Plaza

96 pieces of coverage with an AVE of €614k

The power of the story led to the donation of a Times Square billboard - with 2 million impressions over the 2 weeks it was live.

The City of New York has invited the project to return in 2024

The Paddy Irishman project is the top story for almost 3 pages when you type 'Paddy Irishman into Google.

Based on the success of the campaign we were able to secure the worldwide rights to the phrase Phrase Paddy Irishman.