[JUDGING] Dublin Brand
Section: Instagram Public Body
Organisation Name: Dublin Brand
Instagram Questions
Name Of Brandclient
Dublin Brand
Personpeople Who Leads This Account
Anthony McGuinness and the Dublin Brand Team within Dublin City Council
Link To The Web Version Of Your Instagram Account
https://www.instagram.com/dublin_ie/
Do You Use Alt Text In Your Images And Caption Your Videos
Yes
Outline Your Instastrategy - Why Is Instagram For You
Instagram allows us to highlight the experiences and initiatives that shape life across Dublin through visual storytelling. It is uniquely valuable as a platform where both our stakeholders and target audience, people who live in Dublin or are considering moving here, are active.
While in the process of developing our strategy in 2025, we began to use Instagram to support three key strategic objectives: increasing awareness of the brand, driving stakeholder engagement and presenting a cohesive narrative for the region that reflects the four Dublin Local Authority (DLA) areas.
Our approach addresses a challenge unique to Dublin. Valuable information about community events, placemaking initiatives and local experiences is fragmented across multiple sources. We identify, curate, and package this content into engaging, platform-native updates that are easy to discover, understand and share.
We prioritise low-cost or free experiences funded or supported by DLAs, which often have little-to-no marketing budget. Driving awareness of these opportunities ties them to the brand's narrative while enriching the lives of Dubliners.
In the last 12 months, this approach has organically driven 1.64 million views and 77k interactions. It has grown our following from 10k in January 2025 to 33.8k today (+238% increase), demonstrating its fit both for the platform and for our audience.
How Can You Measure Impact To The Bizorg
Stakeholder collaboration has strengthened across all four DLAs. External organisations that previously operated independently now proactively reach out. We have fostered new collaborative relationships with communications teams in the other DLAs content. Collab posts have reduced duplication of effort, increased visibility for stakeholder initiatives and created a more coordinated approach to promoting Dublin.
For the public, the account makes it easier to discover low-cost and free events, placemaking initiatives and unique experiences that may otherwise go unnoticed. Curating content from a range of sources across the region also gives our audience a focused view of Dublin that's in one place and is easier to digest.
The impact is reflected in audience behaviour. Over the past 12 months, our average organic engagement rate was 8.65%. Shares on our original content is often close to, or exceeds, the number of likes, demonstrating our audiences actively advocate for the brand's message by sending it on to others.
The success of the strategy has also contributed to stronger organisational support for the brand. The account's growth from 10,000 to 33,800 followers established our Instagram as an attractive opportunity for contributing to Dublin's story and was a factor in all four DLAs financially supporting the project for the first time in 2026.
Link To An Example Of A Great Update Include The Stats Business Accounts Have Metrics For This Update Tell Us The Purpose Of This Update
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbnQYz6IPRf/
Stats: 183,102 views, 137,218 viewers, 8,938 accounts engaged, 5,572 likes, 4,122 shares, 81 comments, 1,490 saves, 2,749 follows, *92.3% of viewers non-followers
*Organic content
This reel promoted Opera in the Open, a free lunchtime concert series presented by the Dublin City Council Arts Office. Produced in-house by the Dublin Brand team, it reflects our shift towards a more, platform-native content style. Rather than relying on a professionally produced promotional video, we used simple but engaging footage to capture the atmosphere of the event and make it feel accessible to a wider audience.
The post was designed to increase awareness of both the event and the Dublin Brand among audiences beyond our existing followers. Comments conveyed that they weren't aware that the event was taking place, despite running for more than 26 years (see screenshot). This highlights the continued need for platform-optimised that helps people discover publicly funded initiatives and events across Dublin.
The post also demonstrates the success of our strategy. More than 92% of viewers came from outside our existing audience, significantly increasing awareness of both the event and Dublin Brand. The alone reel also generated 2,749 new followers while strong engagement showed audiences found the content relevant, valuable, & worth sharing.
Link To A 2nd Example Of A Great Update Include The Stats Business Accounts Have Metrics For This Update Tell Us The Purpose Of This Update
https://www.instagram.com/p/DbDfuHCjaAr/?img_index=1
Stats: Reach: 39,561 (11,333 paid), Views: 77,574 (18,870 from paid promotion), Likes: 948, Shares: 1,391, Saves: 838, Comments: 9
*post boosted with €50 budget for 5 days
This post is one of our signature content formats: a regional event carousel. It presents our audience with a range of free things to do across the region during summer 2026, a time where the need for and cost of entertainment can be high, particularly for families. Researching and bringing together eight free events from the region gives audience an opportunity to discover something new to do, venture to a new part of Dublin and plan out their break.
The post reflects our approach to place branding on Instagram. It highlights experiences that shape life across Dublin, many of which are publicly funded, community-led or have limited marketing resources. By bringing them together in one accessible guide, we made it easier for audiences to discover opportunities they might otherwise have missed on the DLAs own channels and reinforced Dublin's identity as a vibrant, welcoming, and culturally rich place to live.
The most significant metrics were shares and saves, which exceeded likes when combined, demonstrating that our audiences saw genuine value in the content, actively engaging and showing intention to use it as a planning resource.
Link To A 3rd Example Of A Great Update Include The Stats Business Accounts Have Metrics For This Update Tell Us The Purpose Of This Update
https://www.instagram.com/dublin_ie/reel/DYXgUCcNL5k/
Stats: 101,945 views, 6,906 interactions, 5,638 accounts engaged, 3,352 likes, 2,660 shares, 13 comments, 813 saves, 352 follows, 92.5% of viewers were non-followers
*Organic content
This reel promoted International Literature Festival Dublin, opening with the question: "Have you heard of this festival for book lovers in Dublin?". Produced in-house by our team and shared as an collab with the festival, it reflects our shift towards platform-native content designed to spark curiosity and stop users mid-scroll.
The reel's purpose was to increase awareness of one of Dublin's lesser-known flagship cultural events among audiences beyond its core community of book lovers. Introducing the fun atmosphere and context of the festival made it relevant to a new audience, piquing their interest and inviting them to explore the event.
The results demonstrate our ability to organically introduce cultural experiences to new audiences through the brand. More than 92% of viewers were non-followers, confirming the effectiveness of our content in reaching people beyond our existing community. Strong engagement and save rates indicate that audiences found value in the content, while 352 follows from a single organic reel show how Instagram can transform awareness into ongoing engagement with the Dublin Brand.
