Place settings
Loretta Lambkin explains the strategy behind the task of making the Docklands a lively spot.

Marketing a place comes with all the same challenges as product marketing and the usual principles can be applied including brand essence, insight development and so on. What makes it more difficult in the Docklands particularly is that it is an evolving place characterised by a completed development and already strong brand in itself, namely the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Added to that, the area has various projects in the making, like the 35-storey, diamond-shaped U2 Tower, Grand Canal Theatre and Harry Crosbie’s Point Village, complete with a new 15,000-seat amphitheatre.

The Docklands covers 1,300 acres, comprising a varied package of physical, social, economic and cultural regeneration initiatives. The pulling together of all its facets to create a distinct, recognisable new part of Dublin (brand Docklands), is a complex task for the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).

The physical development, architecture and social interventions all contribute to its particular atmosphere or unique “sense of place” and marketing is more the conduit to driving awareness and understanding of the area’s many elements.

Despite the fact that the Docklands is just a short walk from O’Connell Bridge and less than a ten minute stroll from Merrion Square, it is quite amazing to discover how many people have not set foot there in the past ten years.

Starting a few years ago, one of the main aims of marketing was to start seeding the idea that there was a place called Docklands made up of much more than just the IFSC and which would have a lot to offer in the future. The last thing we wanted was to have throngs of people visiting the area only to find an eerily quiet financial centre housing sleeping giants like Citibank and noisy building sites.

So much of that has now changed. An array of events brings people to the Docklands, giving them a reason to visit and experience the area from the Docklands Maritime Festival to the Dublin Fringe Festival’s Spiegeltent.

An advantage is the scale of space available for events, performances and filming at George’s Dock, Grand Canal Square and the Liffey Quays making it attractive to event management and TV production companies and arts bodies.

While the area is becoming well animated with temporary events, the Point is the only permanent entertainment destination in the area, but it will eventually be joined by the Grand Canal Theatre and the new €100 million National Theatre (Abbey and Peacock) making it a performing arts hub for the city.

So while the momentum gathers pace with events and attractions to bring people to the area, the broader communications strategy focuses firstly on demonstrating that this is already a living, breathing neighbourhood and, secondly, on building expectations of what is to come in the future.

Sitting outside either of the two new ely wine bars at chq or Hanover Quay on a fine evening, the Docklands comes to life as residents out jogging, walking, sipping wine bring a new vibrancy to the area. Across campaigns, this message is reinforced along with tangible advantages to living/working in the Docklands preferably by the people themselves to take advantage of peer influence.

Recently, the authority worked with Duncan’s Stewart’s RTE show About the House to produce a piece which showed people talking about and enjoying the benefits of zero commute time in a city centre neighbourhood with numerous facilities in place for a good quality of urban living.

The second prong of communications is about building expectations of the future. It includes the simple, straightforward dissemination of factual information. The Samuel Beckett Bridge is due to be constructed by end 2009, the Luas is now on site and is due to be completed by the end of next year.

Beyond that, we seek to build an air of excitement and anticipation for what is to come. In a district where building compounds proliferate, hoardings present the ideal vehicle for long term and cost-effective advertising.

The authority recently commissioned BFK Design to create a piece focusing on the future vibrancy and animation of the Liffey Quays. Working with illustrator Chris Judge, BFK produced an artwork which entertains and provides an interpretation of the Docklands’ future, while adding colour to the riverside. Similarly, at the site of the new Sean O’Casey Community Centre, BFK again produced a series of hoardings, illustrated by Trish O’Flaherty, which show the centre’s range of facilities. The creative execution is intended to reflect the fun and vitality that will be experienced by local people in the centre.

These communications priorities are reflected across advertising, PR (WHPR), publications and on the new website, designed by Strata3. With a long term project like the Docklands, these priorities will evolve and shape the area’s personality and help create a distinct new part of Dublin city.

ALL ON BOARD Artist Chris Judge and Loretta Lambkin, Dublin Docklands Development Authority, alongside one of the BFK designed hoardings. There are plans to transform the area near the Point by spending €800 million on the 120-metre high Watchtower, a shopping mall, 250-bed hotel and an entertainment village