[JUDGING] Bank of Ireland
Section: Best Social Media Campaign for an Event
Organisation Name: Bank of Ireland
Events Strategy Questions
Describe Your Ecommerce Business
Blas na hÉireann is Ireland's largest food awards programme, celebrating the country's best food and drink producers. As sponsor of the Backyard at Blas, Bank of Ireland wanted its role to extend beyond event branding. Our objective was to increase the visibility of Blas, celebrate Irish business excellence and show how the bank supports small and medium-sized enterprises through expertise, mentorship and connections as well as financial products.
The challenge was that Blas is a specialist, three-day event with a strong Food and Agri audience, while the people and businesses behind it have much broader appeal. Every producer has a human story: an idea developed at a kitchen table, the work required to reach customers and the decisions behind growth.
We built a social-first campaign around those stories before, during and after the event. Founder films, live content, audience participation, winner spotlights, mentorship stories and a post-event video podcast turned a short sponsorship window into a sustained content platform across TikTok, Meta and LinkedIn. Bank of Ireland's role was clear but supportive: give Irish producers a wider stage and demonstrate what practical business support looks like.
Personpeople Who Runs This Strategy
Aisling Lavelle
Do You Use Alt Text In Your Images And Caption Your Videos
Videos are captioned so they can be understood without sound, and image-based content uses alt text where the platform supports it. Accessibility is considered during production through clear on-screen text, readable pacing and captions that support, rather than obstruct, the creative. This helps make the content useful to a wider audience while retaining a native social feel.
Outline Your Social Media Strategy For This
Our strategy started with the people who make Blas na hÉireann distinctive. Producer journeys from kitchen-table idea to retail shelf gave us stories with relevance beyond the food industry, while allowing Bank of Ireland to demonstrate its support without making itself the hero.
We organised the campaign like a menu. Starters built anticipation before Dingle through founder films featuring customers, nominees and previous winners. Mains captured the event as it happened through vertical video, behind-the-scenes access, audience opinions, winner stories and the atmosphere in the Backyard at Blas. Desserts extended the value after the awards through further founder content, mentorship stories and Inside the Industry, a video podcast with established producers.
Each platform had a defined role. TikTok and Instagram carried people-led discovery and entertainment. Facebook extended reach and community engagement. LinkedIn focused on entrepreneurship, mentorship and Bank of Ireland's role in supporting business growth. Paid amplification took the strongest stories beyond existing followers.
This created one continuous narrative before, during and after the event, rather than concentrating attention into three days in Dingle.
What Are You Doing To Capture Attention In Social To Get Sales
Previous activity showed that real business stories outperform corporate explanations. We therefore led with founders, food and personality, using recognisable social formats rather than formal sponsorship content.
Founder films opened with the most compelling part of each journey, from starting at a kitchen table to reaching national and international customers. Live content used immediate visual hooks, quick interviews and opinion-led formats. A controversial food opinions video invited participation, while behind-the-scenes coverage gave people access to the event and the producers behind the products.
The creative was vertical, captioned and paced for mobile viewing. The Bank of Ireland role was present but did not interrupt the story. Content was adapted by platform, and paid amplification extended the strongest assets beyond event attendees and the existing Food and Agri audience.
Attention had a clear commercial role: demonstrate to business owners that Bank of Ireland offers practical expertise, mentorship and connections alongside financial services. The campaign generated 11,007 clicks and 238 new followers, creating measurable actions beyond passive viewing without claiming direct sales that were not tracked.
What Are Your Metrics For This Campaign Real Metrics Please
The campaign successfully delivered against the brief's awareness, engagement and video-view objectives across TikTok, Meta and LinkedIn.
For the reporting period 8 Sept - 31 Oct 2025:
- 4.94 million impressions
- 1.37 million unique reach
- 4.78 million video views
- 22,617 video views at 50% completion
- 5,871 video completions
- 11,007 total clicks
- 238 new followers generated
Most importantly, the campaign achieved the core aim of significantly extending awareness of Blas na hÉireann beyond its traditional audience while showcasing the value of Bank of Ireland's support for Irish SMEs.
Website Address
https://www.bankofireland.com/
Facebook Link
https://www.facebook.com/BankofIreland
Instagram Link
https://www.instagram.com/bankofireland/
Tiktok Link
https://www.tiktok.com/@bankofireland
Is There Anything Else You Want To Add Be Brief
This campaign was not an event highlight reel with a sponsor attached. It used the event to give Irish food producers a wider platform and made Bank of Ireland's support visible through the value created for those businesses.
The strongest-performing film followed Miena's Handmade Nougat from a kitchen-table beginning to Harrods and explained what recognition at Blas meant for the business. Its 1.4 million TikTok views show the potential of an authentic founder story when the business, rather than the sponsor, remains at the centre. Live formats then made the event accessible and participative, while post-event content continued the conversation around growth and mentorship.
Starters, Mains and Desserts gave the campaign a repeatable structure and ensured the sponsorship worked before, during and after Dingle. It also balanced two audiences that are often separated: consumers interested in Irish food and entrepreneurs interested in how businesses grow.
The result was a more useful role for sponsorship. Bank of Ireland did not simply appear at Blas. It helped the people behind the event reach a wider social audience while reinforcing the bank's role as a long-term partner to Irish enterprise.
CONTENT LINKS
https://www.tiktok.com/@bankofireland/video/7559572285821062433
https://www.tiktok.com/@bankofireland/video/7557094346537831702
https://www.tiktok.com/@bankofireland/vi