by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Business Events – is it tourism or economic development? The debate around whether Business Events should be categorised under “Tourism” or “Economic Development” has been on-going for a decade or more and hasn’t reached any finality or, truth be known, consensus. At a JMIC… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Social Media – no brainer! Social Media is a no brainer for destination marketing organisers (DMOs). Folks visit destinations all over the globe and spontaneously post and boast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter about their experiences. They’re actually doing your work for you, for free, but adding that elusive… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Mission Since the advent of the digital revolution the meetings and events industry has been drowning in a sea of content. Most of this content is ephemeral, disappearing without a trace as temperatures change. Some, however, endures, like the salt that remains when heat causes the water to evaporate. Greg Oates’ thoughtful piece on… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua One week later and I’m still buzzing from a week in Slovenia. @Supergreybeard and I visited the country for two reasons: firstly, to attend the board meetings of the Foundation of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) and secondly, to participate at Conventa, a MICE trade show for South… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua A week in Europe’s Green Capital 2016 @Supergreybeard and I have just reached the end of a deeply satisfying week in Slovenia. Over the past 5 days we attended the SITE Incentive Summit and participated at Conventa, the boutique meetings industry trade show that highlights the benefits of Central… Read more »
Interview with Gorazd Čad The SoolNua team has known Gorazd Čad for many years. He’s a true believer and meetings industry legend who has been leading the conversation in the Central and South East Europe region around the business value of meetings and events. He’s also the owner and publisher of Kongres Magazine, a MICE periodical with… 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 The more I travel the more I realise how much a nation’s past constantly informs its present. Some countries more than others – either out of economic necessity, human curiosity, plain colonial greed or evangelical zeal – have tended to look beyond their own borders and set sail for… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Perfect for Culturally Curious + Social Energisers During the MCI / Ovation years Patrick and I were privileged to work on the annual conference of a Professional Association in Ireland. We helped to stage this event all over Europe but usually in tier two or tier three destinations like… Read more »