We've Finally Qualified!!

Finally, after 40 years of trying, Ireland can proudly say it now has a team representing it at the group stages of one of the most prestigious cup competitions in the world. Shamrock Rovers are the first Irish male team to qualify for the group stages of the very financially rewarding Europa League. They now will mix it with some of the best of European footballing clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan and PAOK of Greece.

League of Ireland fans, (for the most part) are happy for Shamrock Rovers. It shows the Airtricity League in a positive light, given all the negative publicity it has received in recent times. However, one has to ask the question. Will this result in increased attendances at league and cup domestic games?

Looking back on social media around the time that Shamrock Rovers defeated Partizan Belgrade in Serbia, the noise about the game was huge. People were jumping on the bandwagon so to speak and groups and fan pages were being set up every couple of minutes. The scorer of the wonder goal which leveled the game and sent it to extra-time, Patrick Sullivan, had received over 400 friend requests on Facebook and was also trending on Twitter. Dara o'Brian even mentioned him in one of his tweets. One must ask the question, would he have received the same spotlight had he not scored the equalising goal? Unfortunately the answer is probably not.

Irish footballers are not seen in the same light as footballers from countries such as England, Spain and Italy. Games do not receive the same media coverage in Ireland as they should and as a result, The league has struggled, and to an extent still struggles to move forward and progress. Actions speak louder than words and in this case Shamrock Rovers qualifying for the group stages of the Europa League should be a call to action. Everybody who commented on social media or joined a group saying how fantastic an achievement it was should get up and go support their local club. If they put the effort in revenue will be generated and as a result that money can be fed back into the other clubs in the league and who knows? maybe Irish clubs qualifying for the top European competitions will become a regular occurrence.

Tallafornia

During the week TV3 announced their autumn TV schedule and among the many shows, is a new reality show set in Tallaght. The show is aptly named ‘Tallafornia’ a take on the popular ‘Jersey Shore’. So is it going to be a success? The gut instinct says no, Ireland has already copied The Hills with Fade Street and that was a complete crash and burn.

So why do they think this will be superior? With their unique selling point being “Four hot West Dublin boys & fabulous West Dublin girls will spend four weeks living, eating, working and partying together”. Can’t see this hanging around for that long, Irish people are very hard to impress and are extremely judgmental, good luck to the eight future reality stars, it’s going to be interesting.

We now have the Irish version of ‘The Hills’ and ‘Jersey Shore’, what’s next ‘The Kardashians’? So which Irish beauty could be the next Kim Kardashian? There is a few that spring to mind but not quite sure any will be able to captivate the world with their assets to the same extent!

The future of Irish TV is full of American story lines; let’s just hope it has more of Irish sense of humor then the American copycat version we have been seeing on ‘Fade Street’.

Another Year, Another Great Dublin Horse Show

Since it was first established in 1864, the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show has become a Dublin institution for horse lovers and the general public alike. Taking place in the first week of August each year, it is Ireland's largest equestrian event, and one of the largest events held on the island. This year the show ran from August 3^rd-7^th.

It is a showcase of the best national and international equestrian talent. This year, Irish riders were joined by competitors from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and the US.

The show itself saw over 100,000 spectators attend the RDS show grounds over the five days. It estimated to have cost €3.6 million to hold the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show and it is expected to break even. Last year, the horse show contributed €43 million to the economy and it is expected to be the same again this year.

The 2011 Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show had a prize fund of over €940,000 for the 15 international jumping competitions and the 87 showing classes which saw over 1,500 horses and ponies on the Ballsbridge grounds between August 3rd and August 7th.

Shaun Quinn, chief executive of Fáilte Ireland, said for many people overseas Ireland was the land of the horse, and our association with horses was very much bound up with our cultural image abroad. “Our commitment to this event reflects not only the potential of the equestrian sector to attract visitors and holidaymakers to our shores but the importance of iconic events and festivals such as the Dublin Horse Show to generate economic activity,” he said.

The Dublin Horse Show is not just for horse lovers. It is, of course, possible to pass a very enjoyable day at the show without ever coming within sneezing distance of a horse. More than 300 trade stands were on exhibition, and the Fine Art Antiques Hall and the RDS National Crafts Competition exhibition provided further browsing opportunities.

While many sporting events are suffering with lack of sponsorship, this is not the case for the Dublin Horse Show. The show is sponsored by a wide range of well-known brands from Land Rover, which launched the ‘Evoque’ at the show, to Longines and Blossom Hill.

This year was also the first time that the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show had a strong social media campaign. The Facebook page has over 12,000 followers. With regular updates during the show, the page was a platform for horse lovers to discuss the show. It is a great example of how a successful social media campaign must be interactive and updated regularly.

We are a nation renowned for our well-bred, high performance animals. The Dublin Horse Show is a truly great event which really showcases how important the equine industry is in Ireland. The 2012 Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show is taking place next August from the 15^th to the 19^th. It is being held a week later to avoid clashing with the Olympics. So whether you are attending the Olympic Games or not a visit to the Dublin Horse Show is a must.

All Eyes on New Zealand

With the 2011 Rugby World Cup just over a month away, the marketing machine that surrounds such an event has sprung into life. Most notably is the release of the new official team merchandise that will be worn by each team during the competition. Ireland donned their new kit against Scotland this weekend. Puma have put a huge amount of research into the new products and have claimed that the new Irish jersey is the most technologically advanced jersey that has ever been worn by the team. This may be true, but it it is a statement that is being echoed by many other brands that will be represented at this years World Cup.

As much as the pitch is a showcase for high quality rugby, it is also the prime opportunity for the elite brands of World Rugby to battle and see who has made the most innovative and advanced product. Adidas have supplied the All Blacks with their gear for a number of years, and are still waiting for the ultimate pay off they have been expecting since the Adidas logo graced the left breast of some of the worlds most naturally gifted rugby players the game has ever seen. Richie Mc Caw is the odds on favorite captain to lift the World Cup, but history has shown us that New Zealand's track record is something the proud nation is quick to forget.

For Adidas to still go on such tag lines as "I believe in a black jersey" the All Blacks simply must succeed this year. As fantastic a team as New Zealand are, it will be very hard for their current sponsors to stand by them if they are not successful.

A nations hopes rest on the shoulders of the team, and no one will buy a piece of Adidas clothing that has the silver fern embroidered on it if they lose, as they will want to distance themselves from the pain that losing a World Cup at home will create.

The Irish jersey is promoted as a high performance jersey. I believe this feeds off the Irish feeling of "what if". We all know that we have a very special group of players, but even so we know it will take something remarkable. This jersey lives up to this feeling and is marketed as giving the players something extra on the pitch, a sixteenth man so to speak. This seems to be working well because sales of the new jersey are quite high and people are buying into the ethos that surrounds it.

The All Black on the other hand is plain and simple, and represents something more than performance on the pitch, it represents a nations pride. Unlike most teams kit,it never changes. And this is how it is marketed, a simple yet incredible identity that rugby fans and players around the world have come to love and fear.

Winning the World Cup will justify this form or marketing, a loss however will destroy it, and maybe people will start wondering if maybe space age materials are more important on the pitch than national pride. All that is certain is on the pitch it is as much Puma versus Kooga as it is Ireland versus Australia, and brand executives around the world are hoping that their teams are celebrating tries, and not huddled under their posts.

It is an interesting fact to consider that no matter how much work a brand puts into their team ,months and even years of hard work can be destroyed in only 80 minutes, but that is the nature of sport.




The above video is a fine example of getting it very very wrong!






Posted by Paul Maher

The BBC reported last week that Apple has more cash reserves than the American government. America still has its AAA rating, but many fear that this won’t last long. So, if Steve Jobs can run a successfully company, could he run a country? The U.S. would be a large country to start with, but what about a smaller European one?

If Apple ran Ireland, would we see the 35 percent predicted uptake of the iPhone5 jump to a 100 percent? Would all schools have iPads instead of school books? Would the Irish people become impatient, developing a culture of having everything available at our fingertips when and how we wanted it, our music on the go, communication anytime and always on? The 9-5 job would no longer exist as we would always be able to access our work and each other at all times through smart technologies.

If Apple ruled, how they would regulate competition? If we look at the contactless electronic payment systems as an example, it can’t be used to buy airline tickets because no airline is going to give 30 percent of revenue to Apple. However, this could all change quite quickly. WorldNet, for example, has developed a number of apps that would mean that the retailers in question would only have to pay the same 2 to 3 percent cut that they currently pay through their e-commerce payment systems, rather than 30 percent. (These WorldNet apps are currently with Apple for approval.) This would effectively mean that retailers could sell any product currently available on their websites through mobile apps.

Apple is considered one of the most innovative companies in the world. This, along with financial capabilities, should by logical reasoning mean that have the best CSR portfolios right? If they hire the best as they have said they do, they should have the capabilities to help the world through one of its toughest times. So the question is, are they doing enough and, if they were to do more, how would it reflect on their overall product offering?