Founded by Gerard and Anne Currane in 1997, the James Joyce Irish Pub brings the upbeat and jovial Irish culture to the heart of downtown Calgary. Serving mouth-watering authentic Irish cuisine and ice-cold pints of your favourite brew, James Joyce has become the go-to spot for good times and good eats in an original pub setting.
With this success came the challenge of breaking new ground - this time, on social media. We took on the task of helping James Joyce increase their brand awareness amongst new younger demographics and use digital platforms to bring in new customers.
You’ve got to have a strong understanding of tradition before you pass it on, and that’s exactly what we did for James Joyce. When introducing the brand to a younger audience on social media, we were careful to respect their heritage and large existing customer base while simultaneously establishing a youthful relatable persona.
We established the online James Joyce family through organic and paid social media efforts. Campaigns and social personas were inspired by the pub’s values of tradition, community and the true Irish experience. Our social media pages and ad campaigns united through a common voice – a jovial youthful tone spreading James Joyce’s message of a good time with good company.
Creating that welcoming family feeling was the final step in drawing in a new crowd for James Joyce. We encouraged everyone to share their experiences at the pub on social media and re-shared their content as a way to show appreciation and welcome them to the family.
In today’s world, if you don’t share it on social media, did it really happen? This was a trend we saw amongst the younger members of the James Joyce family as they made it a point to check in every time they paid a visit. Not only did we see an increase in visitors to the pub, we also saw some impressive results on social media. Take a look for yourself.
All images used in the case study are the property of James Joyce and were not taken by the Maven Media Team. This project was originally completed by Social Stoke Inc, which is now Maven Media Group Inc.
