Jumping for Joy!

AN eight year old boy’s take on his daddy’s business has beaten some of the most creative minds in Northern Ireland’s digital advertising industry to be short listed for a major award.

Young Lewis McCartney has become something of a star in his hometown of Enniskillen since he featured in the video to promote his dad’s business, the Belmore Court & Motel.

Father and son were both thrilled last week when the cute video viral showing Lewis giving his “lovely” guided tour of the Belmore court & Motel’s bedrooms, which has been watched by nearly 3,000 people on U Tube, was short listed in the prestigious DANI 2011 awards.

The P5 pupil’s video is up against the might of the Belfast Giants and Derry City of Culture in the Best Viral Campaign category at the awards. Visit www.motel.co.uk to see his tour of the Belmore Court.

The inaugural DANI Awards in association with Invest Northern Ireland and Chain Reaction Cycles, aims to recognise the burgeoning creative and digital online media sector in Northern Ireland.

The ceremony will take place at Belfast’s Hilton Hotel on Friday, November 11 when a  total of nine awards will be presented but it’s way past Lewis’ bedtime so he wont be able to attend.

Terry McCartney, owner of Belmore Court & Motel was thrilled that his simple, low budget promotional video had impressed judges. “We are just a small company where every pound matters and we didn’t have a big budget to blow on a video. Lewis is always in the Belmore Court and we stay overnight regularly and the kids love it. We just thought if we could capture some of his enthusiasm about staying it might be infectious.”

“We didn’t work to a script and just told him to talk and tell it in his own wee words and he did talk -  non stop. He loved doing it and especially as he got a new big piece of Lego at the end of it. He has become a bit of star now with people coming into the motel asking if he is there. He is modest but he is loving it too.”

“We are thrilled that such a small company as ours has been short listed against such large organisations.”

Belmore Court & Motel has been shortlisted in a total of three of the eight DANI Awards categories. The company is also a finalist for the Best App and Best Online Strategy awards.

Naomh McElhatton, founder of The DANI Awards said: ''The judges felt the Belmore Court & Motel fulfilled all the criteria for the category and they demonstrated an understanding of how and why a viral campaign would work for them.

“The content was very relevant to their brand, the campaign hit their target audience, it was just the right length of footage and fitted very well with their family business ethos, aside from that it delivered results - following the coverage on Facebook and their own site - it was mentioned on over 30 bookings and other kids that stayed at the motel wanted to meet Lewis, the owners son who starred in the video!''

The Motel has enjoyed a superb year of success at major awards ceremonies where it has been recognised consistently for its attention to quality service.

Earlier this year Belmore enjoyed the distinction of being the only independent business in Ireland to pick up a Silver Award in the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

The motel also left its larger competitors standing when it was awarded House Keeping Team of the Year and runner up in the Receptionist of the Year categories in the 2011 Northern Ireland Hotel Federation annual awards.

And next month, the Belmore Court & Motel will be one of the finalists in the coveted Chartered Institute of Marketing Ireland Excellence awards; Best Marketing and Sales – Tourism and Hospitality.

Belmore owner Terry McCartney said: “As a small business up against much bigger companies, we are delighted to be singled out for success.

“Having all three of our entries shortlisted in DANI and also making the final of the CIM Marketing Excellence awards has topped what has been a very successful year for us. We really have a team and a product to be proud of.”