MICE in Cork – growing potential for Ireland’s 2nd city

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 »

MICE in Belfast – but in a good way!

by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Destination MICE  Despite changing demographics and new generational preferences the filter for destination selection still pivots around crucial infrastructural categories like hotel, formal and informal venues and unique destination experiences. I recently re-visited Belfast and was hugely impressed by how far it has come as a MICE destination in… Read more »

London Calling: M&IT Awards, CONFEX and the Irish back at ExCel

by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President MCI and Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Ole, Ole, Ole London’s Convention and Exhibition Centre, ExCeL, is etched in the hearts of most Irish people. For a period last summer it often appeared that the entire facility had been colonised by the Irish such were the ubiquity of tri-colours and… Read more »

5 Principles for Success in Destination Management

by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC In 1662 Irishman Robert Boyle made a scientific discovery that eventually allowed us to voyage to the bottom of the sea; 8 years later the exact same discovery was made by the Frenchman Edme Mariotte. The “multiple independent discovery” principle is well documented and includes Newton’s and… Read more »

California dreaming

by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Learning, Connecting, Being Inspired In his seminal book Meeting Architecture, Maarten Vanneste identifies education, networking and motivation as the 3 pillars around which successful meeting outcomes are based. Thus we go to conferences to learn, connect and be inspired but the selected conference location contributes significantly to… Read more »