Shane O’Leary tries to broker peace by finding common ground in adland’s debate between nerds and artists. Should data really take precedence over the big idea? The battle lines have been drawn, sides are being chosen and the world is polarising. On one side, you have the ‘data is the future’ proponents. To them, data […]
Articles Archive
Paul Farrell stays connected
Michael Cullen asks Paul Farrell about being left to his own devices at Virgin Paul Farrell may have caught some people in marketing by surprise when he joined Liberty Global’s Virgin Media as vice president – commercial from Davy last July. Given his earlier job roles, at WorldCom/Verizon and 02, there is little reason to be […]
Should creative or media lead?
Bonfire copywriter Lee Richardson considers the age-old conumdrum Should the design of advertising campaigns be led by media or creative strategies? It is a question which has dogged adland for many years. There are good reasons to choose both. Why go with a media-led strategy? By giving media the lead role, the client stays within budget, even […]
Davids vs Goliaths
David Quinn speaks out for the underdog – the challenger brand In this country of ours we all love a challenger. It is something in our national DNA that goes deep. Ireland is a small country with big neighbours. So we have to box clever. In business too, we love to see the challenger […]
Vhi’s Adam Bacon voted top marketer
Faced with the challenge of getting price conscious families to pay a premium for a perceived commodity during the worst recession in Ireland for years and for justifying a market leader position, changing value perceptions and improving sales has won Vhi head of marketing Adam Bacon, left, the Marketer of the Year award for 2016. […]
Worries for big brewing
Stray Thoughts columnist Breandán O Broin on why Ireland’s major brewers might be a wee bit worried about the growing popularity of craft beers Big brewing is in ferment. Big brewers are worried that ‘big’ is now considered to be bad. Fair or unfair, that’s just the way it is. No one seems to like […]
You’re lovin’ it
Ciara O’Hara gives a run-down on some of the major movies coming to our cinema screens in 2017, including Michael Keaton in The Founder With cinema awards season underway, 2017 starts with films targeting an older, more discerning audience. Director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) tells the fascinating story of amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst’s […]
Mark Nolan on unlocking growth
New research into successful brand DNA, Ignite Research’s Mark Nolan writes For marketing to be effective, it must grow brands. Marketers work hard to develop plans to unlock growth and push hard to activate them effectively, but we cannot be sure we are planning and activating effectively unless we first define growth. For marketing to […]
Buoyed by Brazil
Stephen Wynne-Jones reports from Rio on Olympics-style marketing The Rio provided a unique platform for top brands to tie in with the world’s greatest sports show. But while some brands reached the podium, others were left in the starting blocks. Brazil, we were told, would not be ready on time, the threat of Zika would […]
What to make of millennials?
Larry Ryan (right) on Ireland’s millennials versus young adults overseas As researchers we are slightly uneasy at making generalisations about broad swathes of the population. Yet we live in an era with much classification of consumer groups. Millennials is one such group, namely consumers up to the age of 34. Major milestones or events for any […]
Imagine, all about engagement
Michael Cullen asks Jonny and Paddy Davis to explain what Imagine offers Some people call it event marketing. Others might label it live, on-ground or participation marketing. Essentially, experiential marketing is about creating a closer bond between the consumer and the brand by immersing them in a fun and memorable experience. It has nothing whatsoever […]
Up, up and away
Colm Carey on a Marketing Society talk about branding in a connected world Back in the day when Ireland had only one airline it would have been hard to imagine an Aer Lingus executive talk about a battle in which the carrier was David to the other side’s Goliath. But so it came to pass […]
Cannes opener
Jamie Macken on why his first creative festival outing was so impressive Core Media sent ten people to attend this year’s Cannes Lions annual creative festival. Why? To ensure we continue to learn and improve. Safe to say, it was mission accomplished. If you have never been to the Cannes Lions creative festival, you need […]
