Case study · Lifestyle · Ireland · 2016 to 2019
One chocolate maker, four seasons of stories.
From 2016 to 2019 Bannerton ran consumer PR for Butlers Chocolates and its Butlers Chocolate Experience factory tour in Dublin. We gave every gifting season its own story, and in the first four months of 2018 alone Butlers earned 40 pieces of coverage with a combined readership of more than 5.7 million.
pieces of coverage between January and April 2018
combined readership over the same four months
editorial value, January to April 2018
The challenge
Crowded gifting dates
Butlers had two things to sell, premium Irish chocolate in shops and cafes, and a visitor attraction at its Clonshaugh factory six kilometres from Dublin city centre. Chocolate news bunches around Valentine's, Mother's Day, Easter and Christmas, when every brand is chasing the same gift guides. Butlers needed fresh reasons for editors to feature it and for families to book a tour.
What we did
A hook for every season
Our first programme, agreed in June 2016, covered the factory tours, a new premium range and a new cafe in Liffey Valley. We launched The Platinum Collection that October with a VIP evening at the Butlers Chocolate Cafe on Wicklow Street, hosted by Pamela Flood, and a Voltaire Diamonds bracelet worth €5,000 hidden in one box. Each season after that had its own hook, from Valentine's and Mother's Day gift edits to Easter at the Chocolate Experience, where in 2019 the Easter Bunny hosted a Mad Hatter themed factory tour. We placed food and lifestyle features across national, regional and specialist titles, and paired Butlers with partners for reader competitions, including one with Paul Sheeran Jewellers in The Irish Times.
Every gifting date, a new reason to write about Butlers.
The results
Seasonal launches, national features.
Oct 2016
The Platinum Collection launched at a VIP evening at the Butlers Chocolate Cafe on Wicklow Street, hosted by Pamela Flood.
Feb 2018
Valentine's and Chocolate Experience coverage ran in the RTÉ Guide, the Irish Daily Mail's U Magazine, the Irish Examiner and the Irish Daily Star's Chic magazine.
Mar 2018
Mother's Day and Easter features followed in the Irish Farmers Journal, the Sunday Business Post, independent.ie, Hot Press and The Gloss, with a second RTÉ Guide piece featuring Catherine Fulvio.
Apr 2018
January to April closed with 40 pieces of coverage, a combined readership of more than 5.7 million and editorial value of €572,442.
Apr 2019
Butlers' Easter range took a feature in the Irish Farmers Journal.
May 2019
The Irish Times announced the winner of a Butlers Chocolates and Paul Sheeran Jewellers competition worth €10,000.
Oct 2019
Christmas coverage opened in the Irish Examiner and Woman's Way, followed by Stellar and the Irish Daily Star in early November.
We have worked with Sharon and the team at Bannerton for a number of years now. We very much enjoy working with them and appreciate their creative approach to different projects. They are a great team to work with and are always thinking of innovative and interesting angles. Aisling Walsh, Marketing Director, Butlers Chocolates
In pictures
Where Butlers Chocolates was read
