The West Cork Shared Story

Dear Chamber Member,

I recently attended a couple of Failte Ireland workshops aimed at preparing a ‘pitch’ for West Cork that could be used by anyone with an interest in promotion destination West Cork. The end result is linked here and above on the masthead. It can be used as is, or manipulated to be incorporated into individual marketing and promotion initiatives.  

The idea is to use the concept of the Shared Story:

“The most successful places have a simple Shared Story to tell.

It’s a commonly agreed way of describing the place, that everyone uses when they’re planning how to invest in improvements or new experiences for visitors, and when they’re talking to potential visitors.

It’s a short and simple story that makes it clear what is special and different about the place. But it mustn’t over promise. It must go with the grain of the place, and be authentic and true.

The Shared Story tries to capture the essence of the place by focusing on that place’s distinctive qualities: it isn’t a comprehensive list of everything that’s on offer.

If everyone uses the same broad ideas to develop the tourism product, and then ‘sings from the same song sheet’, the image of West Cork will be much stronger and more positive. And that will mean more impact, and more visitors. 

We’re not suggesting that everyone’s marketing has to be the same – far from it. Some people may want to use the Shared Story verbatim in their marketing. Others will draw on it for themes, ideas and inspiration.

We hope everyone will use components from it to bring out what is special and different about West Cork – both in what they offer to visitors, and in their marketing. This will help to build a stronger, clearer picture in a very competitive marketplace

Please do take the time to have a read (here) and consider it when updating promotional and marketing material / websites.

---  Mick Hanly