The integrated campaign that celebrated Wales’ LGBTQ+ community in colourful style, driving record-breaking levels of attendance to this 3-day event.

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Pride Cymru‘s big bite was significant – the under-threat event needed to secure its future

Pride Cymru‘s big bite was significant – the under-threat event needed to secure its future.

The three-day annual bonanza of music, parade and pride was a staple for Wales’ LGBTQ+ community and its supporters, but with significant investment required to fund the celebration, the volunteer board needed to prove to local government that it could attract a crowd big enough to warrant its existence.

With the event representing so much to so many, the stakes were high. All eyes were truly on 2017 to be the biggest and best weekend to date.

THE NATURAL STRENGTH

Pride Cymru’s natural strength was its all-out fun heart.

The event plays a significant cultural role across the community. But it is also, quite simply, a bloody good weekend of fun! The costumes; the performers; the rainbows; the smiles on peoples’ faces as they celebrate the best of themselves… the joy of the event is palpable – Pride just needed a brand and campaign that would help this feeling shine through.

THE SKILLS

With tight timescales in place, S3’s strategists and creatives got to work, conceptualising a fresh brand designthat would put the colours of the pride rainbow to good use. The concept was adapted across formats large and small – from event lanyards and posters right up to the design of the stage surrounds. ​

S3’s media team placed ads the length and breadth of the area – covering bus stops, billboards and social media sites with news of the event and its starry lineup, headlined by Charlotte Church. A tightly-planned PR and social campaign helped spread the word with event previews hitting Metro, BBC, WalesOnline and Gay Times.

Over the weekend, S3 ran live round-the-clock social coverage of the event and managed the varied press attendance. By wiring content from the parade and headline shows to journalists live from the event S3 made sure photo galleries appeared online within the hour and that the headline pics made front-page news. Following the Pride Cymru advertising campaign’s release, the buzz around the weekend remained high, with thousands of fans interacting with the updates online.

THE SUCCESS

2017 became Pride Cymru’s most successful celebration, ever.

Attendance broke all previous records and within weeks of the event’s close the BBC published the good news – the council had been convinced by the success of 2017’s event and agreed to provide funding for another 5 years, which along with other fundraising sources would secure the event’s immediate future. The Pride Cymru advertising campaign achieved its goal in style.