I was approached by the Irish Book Publishers Association to devise a marketing campaign to promote Irish language books, specifically during Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Irish language book publishers and writers produce some amazing, beautiful works but sales are challenging.
The number of people in Ireland who say they speak Irish (according to the latest census) is 1.7 million but this includes mostly those who feel they just have the cúpla focail remembered from school. The number who speak Irish fluently enough to read a book for pleasure in the Irish language is a small fraction of that – 73,803.
The strategy behind the campaign I developed was about promoting to parents the idea that if they bought Irish language books and had them in the home, their children would be more likely to engage with them. Reading Irish language books to small children would help them to get on better with the language in school as well as showing them that the Irish language is not just for within the school walls.
I developed the Leabhar Power brand to communicate these powerful benefits. It was deliberately a mix of Irish and English, in order to appeal to those who have a light knowledge of the language so that they would understand it and remember it.
A series of events and promotions helped to get the word out to parents including getting celebrities to have a go at reading Irish language books and giving their feedback on how they got on.
I really loved working on this project – so much so that I went back to re-learn conversational Irish and read some Irish language books myself.
There are supports for businesses using the Irish language through Foras na Gaeilge’s Gnó as Gaeilge programme – more information here.
If you are looking for help with your marketing, contact me at paula@ronanmarketing.ie – I am a Wexford based marketing consultant working with clients all over Ireland and further afield.
Go n’Éirí Leat!
