Brief
Since 2011, emotion media has partnered with Irish Ferries, evolving our initial focus on digital signage management into a comprehensive digital collaboration. We’ve not only updated and published restaurant menus for their digital displays but have also produced various videos to welcome guests and promote new vessels, food and drink offers, onboard services, and, most recently, dedicated videos for the Food Stations on the W.B. Yeats.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Irish Ferries needed to adapt to social distancing measures. This led to the creation of mobile-friendly, downloadable PDF menus optimised for low bandwidth. Guests can now access these menus by scanning QR codes displayed on table stickers at each outlet. This approach has proven successful, allowing guests to browse menus at their own pace, reducing crowding at counters, and eliminating the need for printed menus altogether.
This year, Irish Ferries approached us with a proposal to include translated versions of their PDF menus for passengers travelling on the Dover-Calais route. We recommended developing an interactive IPDF version of the menus with direct links to translations.
Approach
We began by creating a master menu template that incorporated all outlets and their branding, along with standardised pages to streamline the updating of line items, descriptions, and prices. Collaborating closely with Irish Ferries, we consolidated all existing menus to ensure consistency and accuracy.
For the interactive aspect, we designed an onboard services page with button links to each outlet’s menu and easy navigation back from each menu page. Once the master menus were ready, we added a language selection page to the English versions, complete with live links to each menu translated into French, Spanish, Polish, and Romanian.
Result
Utilising the existing QR code stickers, we simply updated the links to point to the online IPDF menus. Customers can now browse live on their mobile devices or download the menus for later viewing. Moreover, any updates to the menus can be made and published directly, eliminating the need to export files and relink QR codes. This streamlining not only saves our client valuable time but also ensures that guests onboard always have access to the latest menu offerings.
The menu templates have since been adapted for use across all Irish Ferries vessels, ensuring a consistent and enhanced guest experience throughout the fleet.
