A two-year-old campaign to improve Waterford's national profile is to be stepped up next week with the launch of a television advertising campaign.
The campaign is funded by business and civic leaders who believe that Waterford's image continues to fall short of the reality and the city does not get the attention it deserves. They set up the Waterford Marketing Initiative in 1999 to promote the city. The group is chaired by Mr Redmond O'Donoghue, president of Waterford-Wedgwood and chairman of Bord Failte.
A number of radio advertising campaigns have been run and now a television advertisement is to feature the city's revitalised urban centre and showcase some of the city's major festivals.
It will also include coastline shots to emphasise Waterford's accessibility to some of the most scenic areas in the country.
Mr O'Donoghue says the advertisement, to be shown for the first time next Tuesday during the break in the RTE 9 O'Clock News, should benefit the tourist industry. But its "main thrust" is to increase awareness of the "tremendous quality of life that is on offer here".
Market research carried out recently "showed again that it is all to play for in terms of how Waterford is perceived nationally", he said.
"Many people are undecided and don't have clear views on what our city is like nowadays. I suppose what this advert is saying is, `Come to Waterford and see for yourself just how much it has improved in recent years. "With investment and labour becoming increasingly mobile, it's vital that the message goes out loud and clear that Waterford is a great place to live, work and do business."
