Tourism Ireland Launches Major U.S. Promotional Effort To Coincide With The 36th Ryder Cup
The Emerald Isle’s Travel Destination Product Will Be Highlighted Like Never Before
Press Release

New York, NY; September 19, 2006: A major tourism promotional campaign has been launched by Tourism Ireland aimed at capitalizing the staging of the Ryder Cup in County Kildare this week. The multi-pronged marketing effort is shaped to build awareness in the U.S. marketplace of Ireland as a top-ranked vacation travel destination. The campaign was timed and themed to link with the building excitement around the tee-off of the 36th Ryder Cup Matches in their first-ever staging in the Emerald Isle.

Mr. Joe Byrne, Executive Vice President in the United States and Canada for Tourism Ireland based in New York, said "We intend to fully leverage the growing interest and intense publicity now being generated by this great sporting occasion to grow consumer knowledge and sharply focus visibility of Ireland’s superb vacation destination product in the U.S. market. This Ryder Cup-related promotional campaign will be concentrated and sustained over a relatively short timescale. However, it is additional to and will supplement Tourism Ireland’s general promotional campaign that has been running nationally and regionally throughout the past year.”

The promotional blitz will embrace every aspect of the media and communications universe – broadcast, online and print media in both advertising and editorial formats – to heighten the exposure generated for Ireland’s travel and tourism business. Some of the detail of the program is as follows: The 36th Ryder Cup Matches will take place in Ireland from Friday, September 22 through Sunday, September 24. The top players from Europe and America will battle it out for the most prestigious cup in golf, with Europe hoping to retain the cup for the third time in a row. Sold-out galleries of 40,000 people will attend each day of the matches at the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, 20 miles south-west of Dublin.

Television Advertising

• National Cable Television
  Running currently are two 3-week flights targeted to ten core networks offering optimal reach & frequency of Tourism Ireland’s top target audiences in the U.S. market. Cable channels include A&E , Discovery, ESPN, Food Network, Fox News, Golf, HGTV, History, Travel & Weather. The spots run in various time-slots with half of them airing during primetime.
• Network Television
  Tourism Ireland’s golf-themed commercial will air on NBC in the top 8 markets during the lead-up to the Ryder Cup broadcasts and during NBC’s live coverage of the matches on September 23 & 24. In addition to 30-second TV spots there will be Ireland billboards directing viewers to discoverireland.com to enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Ireland.
• The Golf Channel
  Golf with Style series will feature two Ireland-specific programs which will premier this week during primetime. Tourism Ireland has arranged for billboard exposures within each airing of The Golf Channel’s top-rated “Live from the Ryder Cup 2006” program – a total of 17 billboard announcements will air from Thursday September 21 through Sunday 24.
• CBS Television (New York, Los Angeles and Boston)
  Tourism Ireland engaged in a sponsorship deal with CBS Television and the U.S. Open. Ireland spots aired on CBS in 3 markets during live coverage of the tournament. In addition to on-air spots Ireland vignettes (directing consumers to visit discoverireland.com) aired during CBS primetime (AM & PM) programming.
• NBC Television
  Television advertising in the top 8 markets in the United States. Tourism Ireland’s new golf spot broadcast on Ryder Cup promotional shows in the week leading up to the event (Notre Dame Football (Sept 16th) & Ryder Cup Preview Show (Sept 17th) and during live coverage of the event (Saturday & Sunday). Additional billboard announcement will air featuring Tourism Ireland as a local sponsor of NBC's coverage and direct consumers to www.discoverireland.com to enter a Ryder Cup challenge to win a golf vacation for two to Ireland.
• Ireland: Beyond the Greens – NBC Television
  WNBC.TV New York will broadcast a one-hour television special program hosted by NBC anchor Jane Hanson. It will air on 23 September from 7:00-8:00pm. Titled "Ireland: Beyond the Greens", the show is intended as shoulder programming to the network’s Ryder Cup coverage. It will report on and feature many facets of Ireland and will include an interview with Paul O’Toole, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland. Also appearing on the show will be John O’Donoghue, Ireland’s Minister for Arts, Sports & Tourism. This television special was made possible by the support of Tourism Ireland who also organized the itinerary and logistics for the shoot.
  
  It will broadcast on many affiliated television stations throughout the United States including Los Angeles, CA (September 16 – 12:00 noon); Chicago, IL (September 17; 12 noon); Philadelphia, PA (September 23 @ 7:00pm); San Francisco, CA (September 16 @ 11:30am); Dallas, TX (September 17 @ 2:30pm); Miami, FL (September 23 @ 11:30am); Hartford, CT(September 23 @ 7:00pm)

Print Media

• Golf Digest Magazine The current issue of this top-ranked magazine carries 29 pages of editorial on Ireland’s golf travel product and the Ryder Cup.
• Arnold Palmer’s Guide to the Ryder Cup
  This special publication with an introductory letter by Ireland’s Minister for Arts, Sports & Tourism, Tourism Ireland advertising and editorial by many writers, several who visited as part of the Tourism Ireland media visits program.
• Golf Writer Itinraries
  Pre and Post Itineraries have been arranged for many American golf writers in Ireland to cover the Ryder Cup – itineraries planned for these journalists ensure that they get to experience some of the other regions of Ireland including some lesser-known golf courses.
• Consumer Print Publications
  Tourism Ireland’s travel destination print campaign is featured in the September issues of Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, AARP, Smithsonian, Gourmet and Harpers.
  Ireland destination advertising will appear in the November/December issue of AARP magazine in top 10 metro markets (circulation 1.13 million);
  Road to the Ryder Cup segment (1/3 page unit) in Golf World Magazine for nine (9) weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup
  Ireland golf ads in the September issues of Travel & Leisure Golf & Links magazines. A five-page Travelogue featuring various regions in the September issue of Links magazine.
  Full-page Ireland golf ad in Arnold Palmer’s Guide to the 2006 Ryder Cup. This publication will be distributed at all Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses & resorts, PGA Tour Shops across the U.S., upscale newsstands and delivered to CEO’s & CFO’s of Top Fortune 500 companies – circulation 300K.
  Full-page Ireland ad in a selection of publications aimed at the Meetings industry. Publications include Pharmaceutical Executive, National Underwriter, Broker Dealer, The Meeting Professional, Financial & Insurance Meetings, Meeting News & Executive Traveler. Tourism Ireland’s message was also in the marketplace to enhance Ireland’s exposure at Incentive Travel & Meetings Exposition – an important trade show.