by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Reflections in the light of Ireland’s Events Industry Awards 2015 During our time at Ovation | MCI, entering for MICE industry awards was a key pillar in our business strategy because it ticked multiple boxes – extending the life of the event beyond its execution, helping us measure the… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua For 50 years Avis, the car rental company, used “We try harder” as its tagline. It was a piece of brilliant disruptive marketing, fashioned under the leadership of CEO Robert Townsend, aimed at taking down Hertz, the dominant market player at the time. Instead of bland, vacuous hyperbole laying… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Collective Confusion Ireland’s historical relationship with food has tended to be problematical. Our DNA has tended to be encoded with vague, indistinct memories of famine and fasting leaving us collectively confused about the purpose and meaning of food in our lives. We were less unsure, mind you, about our… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Iceland and Ireland have a whole lot more in common than the 6 vowels and consonants they share. They’re both islands in the northern hemisphere. They both have reputations as great places to party. They have both experienced recent economic meltdowns and recovered, or are recovering. They both produce… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Off-Beat and Off-the-Beaten Path When the Travel Bloggers [TBEX] conference took place in Dublin a few years ago there were quibbles that these intrepid investigators didn’t really showcase anything new or different about the city. Their coverage tended to focus on what’s already known and loved – Trinity, Guinness,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Industry Relations, MCI Nasty attack of FOMO At a certain point yesterday that dreaded FOMO syndrome took hold and I embarked on a mad dash around the various stages and pitching areas in a frenzy of fear. Maybe this is what looters feel like. There was simply too much good… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC TBEX, Dublin Technology, the internet and digital platforms have systematically altered the business tourism landscape as dramatically as the recent emergence of luxury destinations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi in locations where 30 years ago there were only sand dunes. These radical changes were brought home to… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Up here it’s different! Pat Gallagher of the late lamented Goats Don’t Shave wrote a cracking song called “Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal”. The chorus goes like this: And if I could I’d build a wall around old Donegal The north and south to keep them out,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua First published in 2013 I’m re-publishing this post to mark the launch of Fáilte Ireland’s new tourism brand – Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands Cornafurrish is the townland in Co Offaly where my late father was born 100 years ago this year. It’s also the best place to holiday in Ireland…. Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Industry Relations MCI and Vice President, Ovation Global DMC On Saturday I leave for Los Angeles where I’ll be attending – and blogging from – the annual conference of FICP, the Financial and Insurance Corporate Planners Association. This will be my 7th FICP conference and I am looking forward to… Read more »