Three is Ireland’s top mobile provider, serving 3.7 million customers with a 42.8% market share. Through their partnership with Live Nation, Three are a prominent supporter of music with a portfolio that includes festivals, venue sponsorship, and exclusive presale tickets for Three customers.
When Three added The Olympia, one of Ireland’s most cherished and historic music venues, to that portfolio, renaming it 3Olympia Theatre, this led to an increase in negative sentiment from the public and a downturn in brand health amongst music fans.
To overcome this, we had to prove to Irish musicians and fans that Three’s involvement with music was far more than mere branding. We needed to show them a genuine connection to music, with a strong commitment to both Irish musicians and their fans, recognizing the integral role music plays in Irish culture.
This led to “City Stages”, an initiative that spanned across Ireland empowering emerging Irish musicians giving them the opportunity to showcase their talents on some of Ireland’s biggest stages and foster the growth of their music careers.
The initial phase of City Stages led to Three regaining the loss in brand health. The next phase would be to build on that by cement their commitment as true supporters of Irish music. Thanks to City Stages, brand health now sits at 61, a 8 point increase YOY. The initiative has garnered 1200+ artist applications, viewed by over 7 million times on social media and opened up multiple opportunities for artists to progress their careers.
