Irish Chamber Orchestra
Listen to this
Read this if you’re looking to: captivate audiences old and new.
Sound on.
Chamber music. Chances are your mind went to an opulent hall filled with velvet-clad aristocrats delicately plucking strings while exchanging knowing nods. Well, the Irish Chamber Orchestra paints a very different picture. For over 15 years, Ireland’s national orchestra has played a crucial part in making classical music accessible to all. But in the shadow of Covid, the Limerick-based, internationally-touring charity was struggling to woo back IRL audiences. It needed an up-to-date identity to re-engage audiences old and new.
Video above: Brand narrative extracts set to the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s stirring rendition of Joseph Haydn’s Oboe Concerto in C Major
Website copywriting
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No ordinary orchestra
With so many strings to their bow, it was proving difficult to tell a consistent story that encapsulated the organisation’s wonderful breadth. As well as attracting some of the world’s best artists into and alongside the fold, the orchestra is heavily involved in education and community programmes proven to be genuinely life-changing for people of all ages. The challenge was to convey all this in just one, joined-up verbal identity.
Key messages
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Key messages
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Key messages
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Key messages
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Our Approach
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1. Tune into the orchestra
Research, interviews, and an in-person workshop introduced us to the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s world, work, and irrepressible warmth. They met us at Shannon international airport with an umbrella and a smile, and sat us down for tea and sandwiches before any ‘work work’ began. That warmth didn’t just make the brief a joy to work on – it became a force for greatness throughout the project.
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2. Build a tone from tension
Our lightbulb moment came when we identified the opposing forces that underscore the orchestra. Local and global. Familial but driven. Access and excellence. These tensions sparked a voice for the Irish Chamber Orchestra that’s fresh enough to appeal to a wider audience, and uniquely the orchestra’s own. Using plain, everyday language with a splash of Irish hospitality to communicate the transformative power of music has allowed the orchestra to share their passion with more people than ever.Â
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3. Train the team
With a website overhaul on the horizon, we supported the team to write their own copy. Our training workshop helped the comms and development teams, as well as the Artistic Director, get comfy with the new voice and excited to use it – across print and web, headlines and CTAs. And we helped them refresh their show notes – shifting them from academic descriptions to copy that translates music and stirs up excitement – for die-hard fans and newbies alike.
We saved you a seat.
The orchestra now has a voice that’s distinctly theirs. That speaks to their roots, and lets them own their place on the world stage. Coupled with a design system that infuses colour, movement and freshness, the new brand throws open the door to every person with a beating heart.
Team: Zosia Swidlicka, Genevieve Edwards, Rena Varsani.
Design by Path. Motion by Lawrie Miller.
