Tag Archive for: Business

On the Move….

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

We’ve had a busy few weeks travelling up and down the country hosting test-drive events for Volvo dealerships. We’ve hosted pop-up events in Castle Dargan in Sligo and Castle Leslie in Monaghan for McGinley Motors’ Volvo and The Johnston Estate in Meath for Finlay Volvo Naas.

 

 

We leveraged local media with outside broadcasts from Ocean FM and LMFM and social media was a key driver in securing test-drives on the day and generating leads for the dealerships.

 

 

Representatives from the dealerships used the event to capture data and tailor the test drive experience for each customer’s specific needs. Watching them work was a good reminder that, while online is a great tool for research, the face to face engagement at events likes this is what turns test drivers into buyers.

 

 

Customers were also able to test-drive and learn more about Volvo’s latest electric vehicles. The Swedish brand is at the forefront of electrification and the efficient power from its pure electric cars, plug-in hybrids and mild hybrid technology will change the way we move forever.

Savouring Kilkenny….

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

We had the great pleasure of spending the October bank holiday weekend in Kilkenny for the 13th annual Savour Kilkenny food festival. Upwards of 50,000 people descended on Ireland’s medieval city last weekend to celebrate Kilkenny’s finest local artisan producers and their produce. Joining them was a host of Ireland and the world’s most innovative celebrities and opinion makers in the world of food.

 

 

International visitors for this year’s festival included best-selling Australian author and national TV star, Kim McCosker who brought her 4 Ingredients thinking to the Savour stage. Kim is pictured below taking some time out of her busy schedule to chat to host Edward Hayden on KCLR FM.

 

 

Other familiar faces included homegrown Irish stars Paul Flynn of The Tannery, Dungarvan, Clodagh McKenna, Catherine Fulvio, Rory O’ Connell, Roz Purcell, Darren Kennedy and Mount Juliet’s Ken Harker and John Kelly.

 

 

As well as the KBC Wellness Stage and food and fitness bootcamp with Kathryn Thomas, other festival highlights included tented food and beverage stands, a Medieval Banquet at the Medieval Mile Museum, cooking demonstrations and talks, and kids fun and dining events.

 

 

Roz Purcell hosted a vegan night and also demonstrated how to cook vegan to a packed marquee. This year also saw the introduction of the new Food Provenance award in partnership with Kilkenny LEO and KCLR where local eateries were recognised for the focus they place on local and regional producers and seasonal cooking.

 

 

It was wonderful to experience the very best of Kilkenny’s vibrant food culture and to witness the city and county’s core commitment to supporting local growers and producers and local cafes and restaurants. See savourkilkenny.com for details of next year’s festival.

 

 

Oakfest at Oakfield Park

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

One of the best things about this job is getting to see ideas which started out on a Powerpoint slide come to life. After suggesting it in our initial pitch to Oakfield Park in 2018, we were thrilled to see #Oakfest rock the park in the summer of 2018 and 2019. Headline acts Hermitage Green and The 4 of Us took to the stage in 2018, supported by Ryan Sheridan, Little Hours, Mark Black & The Trips, ROE, Chelsey Chambers, In Their Thousands, Katie Laffan and Cronin.

 

 

As well as a top-class musical billing, Oakfest at Oakfield Park had plenty for the whole family to enjoy, including a mini disco for little music lovers, arts and crafts, face-painting, puppetry, nature walks, train heritage, folklore and storytelling. Oakfest 2019 included a stellar line-up of artists with world-renowned Alabama 3 Acoustic headlining on Saturday 1st June and chart toppers The Academic (pictured below) headlining Sunday 2nd June.

 

 

Away from the main stage, festival goers could experience jazz in the garden, music in the maze, folk music in the marquee and Trad on the Train. The event also has a strong food offering with some of the northwest’s finest artisan food producers in attendance over the weekend.

 

Outreach Visit with Governor of the Central Bank

/in , , , , , , , /by

We were delighted to work with the Central Bank team on an outreach visit to Donegal last week. Governor Lane, Gráinne McEvoy (Director of Consumer Protection), Kevin Mullen, (Head of Asset Management Supervision) Geraldine Hannon (Head of Banking Supervision) and Claire O’Gorman (HR Business partner) visited the county as part of an extended outreach visit to build understanding of the Central Bank and listen to a range of views from the northwest.

 

 

We brought Irish Independent journalist and broadcaster, Richard Curran, on board to curate an evening event in Letterkenny with representatives from a cross-section of the local community. Questions on the night covered a broad range of topics including Brexit, SME lending, Credit Unions and competition in financial services.

 

 

The following morning, Wednesday 13 March, the team visited Errigal College, St. Eunan’s College and Loreto Secondary School. This presented an opportunity to hear views from the next generation and answer questions on the Central Bank’s work in Europe, bond rates, the next economic recession and careers at the Central Bank.

 

 

Regulatory technology and governance were topics of discussion when the Governor addressed students from Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) later that day. The visit ended with a tour of the CoLab, Letterkenny IT’s innovation and incubation centre and an introduction to some of its 60 technology-based enterprises.

 

Transitions In UX Design

/in /by

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing Read more

Trends in storytelling

/in /by

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing Read more

Best Global Brands 2013

/in , , , , , , /by

Interbrand has released its highly regarded and closely followed Best Global Brand 2013 chart, crowning Apple as the most valuable brand in the world.

apple-sep-10-iphone-5s-5c-1500x1000

It’s the first time since the annual measure was created 13 years ago that Coca-Cola has been knocked off the top spot – the soft drinks giant slipped to third, with Google taking second place.

 

 

tell your story ring-600x600

Tell Your Own Story

/in , , , , /by

 “If you don’t tell your story, someone else will.” –                                                                                                                       Unknown

Regardless of whether or not you are part of the conversation, your customers are already telling the story of your business; or at least, their perception of your business. Word of mouth is as powerful (or damaging) as it ever was and now there are more channels than ever to spread the message.

Where previously brands controlled the means of broadcast (through PR, advertising and news coverage), consumers, empowered by social media, are now firmly in control. Naturally, this is a good thing. Social media is nothing to be scared of: you just need to be able to stand over everything you do, (which, irrespective of online chat, should be the case anyway).

If something is not right with your business offering, you need to address it – and social media is perfect for this. It allows you unprecedented access to your customers and enables you to turn unhappy ones into fans by dealing with them directly, quickly, and efficiently. So, be part of the conversation and tell your own story. And if you’re not sure where to start, then drop us a line.