Content: NWRA

What they wanted.

The Northern & Western Regional Assembly is one of three regional assemblies n Ireland that works at EU, national, regional and local level to accelerate regional development. The NWRA wanted to increase awareness about different EU funding programmes delivered through the NWRA and encourage better quality applications for projects which benefit communities and regions in the NWRA’s operational area. It also wanted to make its reports and programmes of work more relatable and understandable by the public.

What we did.

StoryLab created a campaign called #EUINMyRegion which showcased 32 individual projects that have received funding from European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and from Interreg. We told visually-led stories that explained the projects and the funding process in simple terms. The projects were showcased in two brochures which also formed the basis of a sustained social media campaign that reached over one million people. StoryLab also assisted the NWRA with the launch in June 2020 of its Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) which attracted widespread national regional media coverage.

What they said.

“StoryLab elevated our communications strategy from prosaic and formulaic to dynamic and impactful. Our journey with them was not just about output, but building our understanding of media, media relations and the impact of good storytelling. We knew the quality of our work was excellent but highly complex; StoryLab helped us understand the impact, how we felt about our work and who was benefiting from it? StoryLab led a number of our campaigns and promotional events securing regional, national and international exposure. Our #EUINMyRegion campaign has been held up as a case study in best practice by the EU Commission. It’s amazing to see how they bring stories alive in a unique way. Since working with them, I now understand the power of storytelling.”

–  David Minton, Former Director, Northern & Western Regional Assembly