Posts Categorized: Viewpoints

Global DMCs – a beautiful oxymoron?

Global DMCs – a beautiful oxymoron? by Padraic Gilligan Allegedly, when asked for his favourite oxymoron Irishman, global entrepreneur and former international rugby player, Tony O’Reilly, said “Great Britain”. But it may be regarded as crass and unfair to explain the meaning of oxymoron by reference to O’Reilly’s wicked quip (although given the current rumblings… Read more »

Great Music from 2011 – a very personal selection

By Padraic Gilligan, Vice President Industry Relations, MCI New music in 2011 has been as good as it has ever been with new bands releasing great debuts and old bands reaching new heights. These are my favourite releases from 2011 in no particular order. Hidden in their midst are some 2010 releases which I didn’t… Read more »

It’s not about the money, money, money? Leveraging employee engagement and emotional connections for success

“It’s not about the money, money, money” Leveraging employee engagement and emotional conections for success by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Industry Relations, MCI In the November issue of Pharmaceutical Market Europe, Nick Eve, CEO of UK based communications agency, Pumphouse, writes about employee engagement. He quotes recent research that shows the issues facing major corporations… Read more »

Sweet Home Alabama?

“Sweet Home Alabama?” By Padraic Gilligan, Managing Director, Ovation Global DMC and Vice President, Industry Relations, MCI The much reported story of the German corporate executive who was arrested and jailed in Alabama for not having the required documentation on his person raises some interesting issues for corporate meeting planners and destination marketers. It appears the… Read more »

40 years of growth: the art and science of the DMC

By Padraic Gilligan, Managing Director, Ovation Global DMC [First published in Kongres Magazine, December 2011] According to a recent exchange on Linkedin the term “DMC” or “Destination Management Company” was coined by either Tom Risbecker, Gunter Roleff or Phil Lee. Tasso Pappas and Ralph Holt, both DMC legends in their own right, opt for Europeans… Read more »

Do you know weird and wonderful people? Key Attributes for DMC success.

The late, great Jack Franchek once told me that success as a DMC was all about cultivating relationships with weird people. And Jack being Jack exaggerated that contention to the nth degree: “Unless you’ve got a whole bunch of outcasts and weirdos in your Rolodex (this was a pre-Internet age!), you’re as useful to me as… Read more »

Hero or Villain? The true identity of the DMC!

At an industry function recently I found myself seated between two agency executives. I spent a fascinating and frightening evening listening to war stories about their experiences with DMCs around the world. In roughly half of the stories the war in question was won as a result of incredible acts of heroism and valour on… Read more »

The Language of Business

The Language of Business by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Director, Ovation Global DMC Hilton has recently launched a really interesting app connected with its Garden Inn product. Called Bizwords it’s a combination game / educational resource pivoting around the acronyms and buzz words which, increasingly, punctuate our daily business discourse. Naturally Hilton slips a little self… Read more »