Case study · Lifestyle · Ireland · 2019 to 2024
Black Friday, turned green.
From 2019 to 2024 Bannerton ran national PR for Kilkenny Design, the retailer that has championed Irish craft and design for more than fifty years. We helped turn Green Friday into Ireland's answer to Black Friday and put the brand's CEO and chair in front of business and consumer media, and in 2022 the four days from Green Friday to Cyber Monday gave Kilkenny Design its best online sales day on record.
more online transactions from Green Friday to Cyber Monday 2022, on 2021
growth in online revenue over the same four days
rise in spend in store
The challenge
Beyond the discount
Kilkenny Design stocks only Irish made goods, from candles and jewellery to handbags and knitwear, and sells to visitors on Nassau Street as well as to Irish shoppers at home. Every Christmas it was up against overseas chains and the noise of Black Friday discounting. The brand needed a reason for Irish shoppers to choose it that went beyond price, and leaders with a public profile to match its history.
What we did
A reason to buy Irish
Green Friday grew from a strategy we wrote for the Kilkenny Group in September 2019, which framed the weekend as a national case for buying Irish rather than one more sale. We built the seasonal calendar around it, from sale and gifting stories to the October 2021 opening of Christmas by Kilkenny Design at Kildare Village, launched by Sile Seoige. CEO Evelyn Moynihan was profiled in Business Plus and image.ie, and chairperson Marian O'Gorman wrote an opinion piece for the Irish Independent asking readers to shop local ahead of Christmas 2022. That message had a second home in Champion Green, the national support local campaign Marian founded and Kilkenny Design backed, which Bannerton also led. When Green Friday 2022 closed, we turned the trading figures into a results story within days.
Don't fight Black Friday on price, give Ireland a reason to shop green.
The results
Record sales days, national headlines.
Oct 2021
Sile Seoige opened Christmas by Kilkenny Design at Kildare Village, the first dedicated Christmas shop at the outlet village, with 14 new jobs announced.
Aug 2022
CEO Evelyn Moynihan was profiled in Business Plus and interviewed by image.ie on taking risks in business.
Oct 2022
Chairperson Marian O'Gorman's shop local opinion piece ran in the Irish Independent and on independent.ie, reaching 809,200 readers online, alongside a two page spread in the Irish Daily Star.
Nov 2022
From Green Friday to Cyber Monday, spend rose 7% in store and online revenue 15% on 2021, online transactions were up 20% and Cyber Monday was the brand's best online sales day on record.
Sharon's ability to build strong relationships with key media outlets resulted in excellent coverage and visibility for our brand. Evelyn Moynihan, CEO, Kilkenny Group
In pictures
Where Kilkenny Design was read
