by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Lasting First Impressions It’s such a huge pity your access to the destination is bookended by nonsensical bureaucracy. There are long lines at passport control on arrival and even longer lines at passport control on departure too. In fact you’re lucky to make your flight at all despite checking in… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua The Football Legacy My past trips to Manchester have left very mixed feelings. In February 2001 I sat next to Meetings Industry legend and IMEX Managing Director, Paul Flackett, an ardent Manchester United fan, and watched in disbelief as United put six past Arsenal. A year later, in May… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua I’ve been posting most weeks at the site for over 3 years now and am thrilled to say that I’ve had north of 50,000 readers. Every so often I check the metrics available via WordPress (the platform on which it sits) and I’m always amazed by what I see there: the… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua In our work with the Slovenian Convention Bureau we are currently focusing on the brand value proposition for meetings and events taking our starting point from content created by Spirit Slovenia, the organisation with responsibility for the nation brand and the excellent “I Love Slovenia” campaign. While accepting that… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Sea Sick Legend To compare my reluctance to undertake the 11km voyage to Skellig Michael to that of an 8th century monk, is, admittedly, far fetched and churlish. My apprehension, after all, was due to a simple physiological lacking on my part: I suffer acute motion sickness and the… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua DC Cool Despite the din of traffic on the circle, the boundless exuberance of Vivaldi filled the air. On one side of the park there was an open air yoga class with about 15 lycra-clad enthusiasts, all moving gracefully through their sun salutations. They seemed to be moving in… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua It’s not yet 7am and I’ve been on-line for almost 2 hours already. That’s what happens when you fly over 5000km, back in time, from Dublin to New York City. You’re physically in a new time zone but part of you (which part?) still hasn’t properly arrived and lingers… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua On Products and Brands When Arthur Guinness brewed his famous stout for the first time back in 1759 little did he know that 256 years later 1m people would flock to his factory simply to visit. The same for Thomas Phillips (Bushmills), John Jameson, D.E. Williams (Tullamore Dew) and… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Cool and unusual – these are often the lead criteria in venue selection these days as meetings and events planners seek brand new ways to surprise and delight their increasingly more discerning and sophisticated audiences. Attendees these days demand far more than a simple meeting room or a mere… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Frankfurt is a destination in a neutral grey Hugo Boss suit that waits patiently at the side of a traffic-free road rather than cross the street when there’s a red light. It’s laid out on both banks of the broad Main River, the two sides linked by bridges of… Read more »