In August 2020, the UK Government launched its Eat Out To Help Out scheme, which offered 50% discounts for consumers and was designed to stimulate the hospitality sector as it reopened after lockdown.
Visit Belfast, in partnership with the three Belfast Business Improvement Districts (Belfast One, Linen Quarter and Destination CQ), amplified the scheme, with a Belfast-focused marketing campaign.
Hospitality businesses were invited to register with Visit Belfast that they were taking part in the Government’s scheme, which then allowed them to be featured on dedicated campaign webpages on visitbelfast.com. More than 100 hospitality businesses took part.
The campaign encouraged people back into Belfast city centre to rediscover the variety and quality of dining experiences available, and re-instilled consumer confidence in the hospitality sector.
Utilising digital and social media promotion, out-of-home advertising, radio, email marketing and PR, all marketing activity directed to VisitBelfast.com, where the campaign featured prominently on the homepage. Consumers could then click through to discover which restaurants were taking part.
Over the four weeks of the scheme, the campaign delivered 7.2m opportunities-to-see and hear positive messaging about dining experiences in Belfast city centre.
Watch our video below to see how diners and restaurateurs reacted to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and Visit Belfast’s campaign.
Further activity
The Eat Out to Help Out scheme was hugely successful, with 2.7m discounted meals purchased across Northern Ireland during August. Many businesses took the decision to carry on offering discounts or incentives into September, so Visit Belfast actively sought this information in order to maintain online marketing activity to support the hospitality sector as it continues to navigate the effects of Covid-19.
Campaign Results Video
Campaign assets
