Maryland Irish Festival
Purple Dot Public Relations
SITUATION: The Maryland Irish Festival is a weekend long festival celebrating Irish heritage, music and culture and is coordinated by the non-profit Irish Charities of Maryland. The festival was once held in downtown Baltimore but due to safety and budgetary considerations, changed venues with a move to the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Baltimore County. With the move, came lots of change, public resistance, and splintering within the Irish community. There needed to be a plan in place to educate various audiences about the new location, the offerings afforded by the larger interior and open space parking, along with other amenities.
SOLUTION: Purple Dot PR worked with the various Irish Festival volunteer committees to formulate a public relations, advertising, outreach and media relations plan aimed at promoting the festival while also incorporating branding into web site design, social media, collateral materials, marketing research, event logistics and cross promotions.
RESULTS: For the past ten years, Purple Dot PR has successfully helped the MD Irish Festival to grow in many ways by increasing attendance, negotiating non-profit advertising rates, obtaining media sponsors (for the first time), partnering with other organizations for cross promotions, expanding poster distribution, broadening audiences to include Pennsylvania and Washington DC and adding awareness of their cultural activities and mini-special events held within the festival. Media awareness has and continues to be excellent with coverage locally and regionally as well as through niche Irish media. Last year, for the first time, the festival was able to better monitor ticket sales by utilizing a professional ticketing service, introduced by Purple Dot PR.
SOLUTION: Purple Dot PR worked with the various Irish Festival volunteer committees to formulate a public relations, advertising, outreach and media relations plan aimed at promoting the festival while also incorporating branding into web site design, social media, collateral materials, marketing research, event logistics and cross promotions.
RESULTS: For the past ten years, Purple Dot PR has successfully helped the MD Irish Festival to grow in many ways by increasing attendance, negotiating non-profit advertising rates, obtaining media sponsors (for the first time), partnering with other organizations for cross promotions, expanding poster distribution, broadening audiences to include Pennsylvania and Washington DC and adding awareness of their cultural activities and mini-special events held within the festival. Media awareness has and continues to be excellent with coverage locally and regionally as well as through niche Irish media. Last year, for the first time, the festival was able to better monitor ticket sales by utilizing a professional ticketing service, introduced by Purple Dot PR.
