The Public House Freshens The Belfast Telegraph in Progressive Brand Campaign

Independent agency The Public House has launched a new brand strategy and creative campaign for The Belfast Telegraph to support the launch of a subscription service for the 150 year old news organisation.

This comes as an extension to The Public House’s relationship with Independent News and Media, who own The Belfast Telegraph. The Belfast Telegraph is market leader of news in Northern Ireland. They are progressive, future facing and open-minded, and they wanted communications that reflects their mindset - impartial, with a true understanding of Northern Ireland and that has its best interests at heart.

The brand strategy celebrates the unique position of the news brand in Northern Ireland as a truly local voice with perspective and a strong legacy of reporting the news without fear and without favour. The creative approach brings that unique role and attitude to life by reviving a previously used tagline, ‘Tell It Like It Is’ (a line by the legendary copywriter Dave Trott) and bringing it to life through a commentary on why good journalism is so important in this day and age.

Mark Ody, chief customer officer, Independent News and Media, said: “We needed a brand strategy and creative platform for The Belfast Telegraph that would clearly define its unique position in the market for the long-term, while also doing the heavy lifting job of driving subscriptions this year in particular. The work from The Public House did just that”.

Sarah Little, publishing director, The Belfast Telegraph, added: “We’re delighted to see our campaign ‘Tell It Like It Is’ revived in such an impactful way. The Public House had a great mix of local knowledge and independent thinking which really helped us position the brand effectively for this exciting new chapter”.

The appointment for The Public House continues a growing partnership between Independent News and Media and the agency, following the successful launch of the subscription service for independent.ie earlier this year. The growing independent creative agency’s clients include Jameson and EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum and Paddy Power. The agency is known for its strategic rigour and creative edge that delivers for its clients, with a principle that ‘Boring Doesn’t Sell’.

Commenting on their appointment, Colin Hart, creative director and agency founder, The Public House, said: “We’re delighted to be working on such a brilliant Nordy brand not only because a lot of us are from that great place, but because of its relevance throughout the years and the value of their commitment to covering news in both the good times and bad.”