Taking Advantage (NI) to another level

We are delighted to welcome Advantage NI to Morrow Communications. Our AV Team has been commissioned to produce a series of web based videos and case studies to assist Advantage NI tackle the issue of youth unemployment in rural areas. The video case studies feature young people, and tell their story of how they found employment, as well as additional commentary coming from employers discussing the skills sets they are looking for.

Life Through a Lens

The past few months have been busy for our AV Team. They have been involved in some fantastic projects - they rubbed shoulders with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall when the royal couple visited Irwin's Bakery as part of a special two day visit to NI, took a golf lesson from Mr. Caddyshack himself, Bill Murray at the Irish Open and completed work for a variety of organisations from across a diverse range of NI business sectors. Some of the highlights have included:

The production of a fast paced promotional film for the NI Defence Industry. Commissioned by Invest Northern Ireland, the DVD showcases the advanced skills we have to offer this specialist sector in the likes of manufacturing, innovation and exports. The film was shown to a select group of stakeholders at a special screening hosted in the Houses of Parliament.



We've also been re-commissioned by Queen's University to work on 'Season 2' of its highly successful innovation series. Filming is well underway and some of the projects that will be captured are quiet simply amazing. For a flavour of things to come why not check out Season 1

Ground Breaking Design @ Morrow Communications

Morrow Communications is not a company that ever stands still! In fact we're always keen to explore new ways of improving our client services. For some time now we have been exploring how best to integrate graphic design in to our client offering….and are delighted to say that we now offer an in-house graphic design service.

Perhaps the most exciting project to date has been an augmented reality project for Moy Park. Working closely with Blippar we created an on pack competition with a difference - using the very latest smart phone technology. 

Moy Park is the first Northern Irish brand to use this cutting-edge technology, which brought the competition to life and enabled people to enter via their smart phone in the supermarket. By simply holding their smart phone screen over the Moy Park logo on the pack consumers were taken to a virtual reality Moy Park recipe book and interactive link to the Florida competition.

InterTradeIreland

Morrows events team are delighted to announce that we’ve just been awarded the InterTradeIreland Event Management contract for a second term! We first won the tender for event management services in 2010 and this new contact will see us continue to produce events all over Ireland! Some of our recent InterTradeIreland event successes include:

Venture Capital Conference 2012 - An Oscar Winning Performance!
Over 250 delegates from across Ireland came to Belfast’s City Hall to 'Navigate the Funding Maze' and to build on the experiences of companies that have been through the private equity process. Hosted by the BBC’s business editor Jim Fitzpatrick, the event featured keynote presentations from Danny Moore of Lough Shore Investments (who had funded the Oscar winning production“The Shore”) and Dennis R Costello from Braemar Energy Ventures. There’s more to events than setting tables and issuing name badges - Have a look at this timelapse video that shows what goes on!



Collaborate to Innovate Conference

The Andrews Gallery in the iconic Titanic Belfast was the venue for the recent InterTradeIreland “Collaborate to Innovate” Conference. The event was to highlight and demonstrate the importance of research and innovation in achieving Europe’s 2020 objectives for economic growth and job creation. As a cross border event, the conference was opened by both Arlene Foster MLA and Lucinda Creighton TD as well as featuring a keynote address by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.

Young People Making an Impact

 The Northern Ireland Environment Agency together with OFMDFM jointly hosted the second Impact 2012 Youth, Sustainability and Environment Awards in March. The Awards were an opportunity for young people from across Northern Ireland to be rewarded for their activities in sustainable development initiatives and to showcase their projects at a final exhibition and celebration event.

Morrows managed the full event process from managing entries and judging packs; organising and managing 38 project exhibitions; commissioning unique bespoke trophies; booking and coordinating the arrangements for the awards including compere Frank Mitchell as well as entertainers, suppliers and venue management

The day was a great success with 300 attending the awards final to view the innovative environmental projects before being entertained by circus performers, interactive characters, an ariel silk performer as well as up and coming Northern Irish band “The Wonder Villains.” Judges commented that the standard of entrants was extremely high and finalists waited with baited breath as the winners were announced. A great day!

BEST foot Forward....

In May, Morrows organised the final of the BEST (Business and Education through Skills and Training) Awards on behalf of Colleges Northern Ireland. The event showcased and celebrated the creativity and innovation across Northern Ireland's colleges with a particular focus on the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Held in Cookstown, the final was attended by over 100 students from colleges all over Northern Ireland with 75 exhibitions showcasing a wide range of projects encompassing STEM subjects ranging from a “Hydraulically Powered rotavator” to a “One Wheel Wonder.” Competition was fiercely competitive with each of the projects assessed three times by a panel industry experts before the two overall winners were announced at an awards ceremony. Morrows successfully undertook complete event management for this project including exhibition build, venue management, administration – all within a very tight budget!

Legen-Derry – The ‘Plaice’ to be...

The Morrows Events team recently managed the Flavours of the Foyle Seafood Festival as part of the Clipper Homecoming Festival in Derry, on behalf of Derry City Council Tourism Department. The two day event featured live cookery stalls hosted by North West Chefs where visitors could try and buy dishes with ‘Flavours of the Foyle’. A host of family fun and entertainment was on offer including a Loughs Agency touch tank, ice sculpting and ‘fishy’ street entertainers.

Working with our partners – Food NI, we also created a ‘Theatre of Food’ featuring live cookery demonstrations of signature dishes, hosted by celebrity chef Paula McIntyre.

The Flavours of the Foyle Seafood Festival saw over 5000 visitors over the two days – almost doubling the expected figures and judging by the amount of ‘Gone Fishing’ signs at the end of each day – visitors certainly got a taste of Northern Ireland – “Our Food So Good”.

From Caddyshack with Love!

Life in the Morrows AV team is never dull! Just last month the Team were entertained by comedy legend Bill Murray while filming the action at the European Tour's, Irish Open, for Invest NI.  The event was enjoyed by more than 100,000 spectators and made Tour history - as it was the first time a sanctioned Tour event had ever been sold out!

Propelling Wind Power

Morrow Communications is proud to be working with Drumlin Wind Energy Co-operative, Northern Ireland’s first wind energy co-op. Drumlin has launched a public share offer to raise up to £3.4m to build five 250KW single wind turbines across five sites in Northern Ireland including Pomeroy, Kells, Larne and Ballyclare.

Morrows will work with Drumlin during the share offer period to help raise the profile of this ethical investment opportunity and encourage individuals, businesses and organisations to invest in shares. For further information visit www.drumlin.coop or call 0845 373 3612.

PRoud to Announce….

We received the exciting news this week that we’d been successfully shortlisted for a massive ELEVEN PRide Awards! The annual awards are a great excuse to celebrate the hard work of the past year and catch up with the cream of Northern Ireland’s PR industry.

We’re particularly proud to have been shortlisted in the big award of the night…the Outstanding Consultancy of the Year and to have our own Kelly McKee shortlisted in the competitive Outstanding Young Communicator category.

The rest of our shortlist looks something like this:

·         Best Corporate and Business Communications: Moy Park - Well regarded, not just well known

·         Best Corporate and Business Communications: Northern Ireland Science Park - Where Success Breeds Success

·         Best Not-for-Profit: Fareshare - Giving FareShare a Fair Share of Voice

·         Best Community Relations: Tellus Border Survey- Between a Rock and a Hard Place

·         Best Public Sector: Tellus Border Survey - Between a Rock and a Hard Place

·         Best Campaign £10,000 and Under: Royal Ulster Agricultural Society - The 'Yes' Campaign

·         Best Consumer Relations: Flahavan's Oat-erly Delicious'

·         Best Integrated Communications: Roe Park Resort Rebrand

·         Best Digital Campaign: Moy Park 'Fast Lives Need Florida'

Wish us luck for October 5^th!

Getting to know… Karen Hoey, Events Manager

What is your career background?
I studied BA Hons in Hospitality and Tourism Management in Edinburgh. During my course placement I worked within Rocco Forte’s flagship Balmoral Hotel learning the ropes and following graduation I stayed at the hotel for a further 3 years working within group reservations and events.

I then moved to Glasgow and worked for the G1 Group, a leisure company with over 40 venues as Sales & Events Manager. I absolutely loved this job and some of my favorite events included organising Armani’s first fashion show outside London in 10 years, numerous events for the (then) Bank of Scotland Premier League as well as film premiers and corporate events. I then moved back to Belfast and joined Morrows events team in 2007!

What was your first job and how much were you paid?
When I was 16 I worked as a silver service waitress within the McMaster Restaurant at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast. It was hard work and involved working on Friday and Saturday nights but was great fun as I worked with a brilliant team! I can’t quite remember how much I was paid as it was a “few” years ago but it may have been around £4.00 an hour.

Have you ever had a job you hated?
Actually, no I haven’t. I’ve been very lucky and have always had jobs that I’ve enjoyed!

What was your first success?
I was an avid horse rider when I was young so I think my first success would have been winning my first rosette in a gymkhana at my local riding school when I was about 10. My pony was called Punch and it was a jumping competition!

What business figure(s) do you most admire?
Most people associate Sir Bob Geldof with the Boomtown Rats and Live Aid however he is the founder and non executive director of the hugely successful Ten Alps PLC whose portfolio includes communications, media, vision and publishing.

Bob spoke at the Belfast Media Festival which Morrows managed in 2010 and he was really down to earth, extremely passionate about his business and is hugely supportive of the creative industries in Northern Ireland.

I also take my hat off to Victoria Beckham. Not only has she grown brand Beckham into a global name, she has defied the critics and produced a fashion line that is receiving acclaim from the highest level within the industry. Girl power indeed!

Have you ever made a mistake and if so what did you learn from it?
Mistakes are a learning curve and whether in business or in your personal life it is how you manage them that’s important. Nobody’s perfect and I think it’s essential to be open, honest and to deal with it.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you have ever been given?
If you want to achieve something you have to do it yourself - you have to make it happen.

What one item would you take with you to a desert island and why?
A laptop with a built in dongle and everlasting battery. This would allow me to keep in touch with everyone, listen to all my favorite music while I book a helicopter and await the flight home.

What has been your biggest financial extravagance?
Apart from my house and cars probably holidays.

Do you have a business mantra?
Be open, honest and listen. Also, a firm handshake is a must.

What items do you always carry with you?
I tend to carry a lot as I love large handbags however lip salve and my phone are absolutely essential!

When will you retire?
Unless I win the lottery retirement is a long way off!