Football fever hits Morrows!

Morrow Communications has really kicked it into the back of the net with not one but two clients ‘stepping onto the pitch’ and making ‘football associations’ this week (we’re really putting the ‘pun’ in ‘pundit’ here). 
We kicked off the week with Moy Park announcing its status as an Official World Cup™ sponsor and finished off with Dale Farm revealing their sponsorship of the Milk Cup.

The Moy Park team at Morrows will be embracing all things Brazilian this summer (carnivals, samba lessons etc. we assume) to help activate Moy Park’s sponsorship of The FIFA World Cup™. The Moy Park brand will be beamed to millions of viewers across the globe on pitch perimeter boards during matches - including those involving England, France, the Netherlands and Spain to name just a few. Moy Park will be supporting the sponsorship with a comprehensive advertising, promotional and marketing campaign. What’s more, Moy Park will be launching an on-pack promotion that will give one lucky shopper the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to the FIFA World Cup™ semi-finals in Brazil.

In our second soccer scoop, Northern Ireland’s largest dairy company, Dale Farm, has stepped in as lead sponsor of Northern Ireland's major international youth football tournament – now known as the 'Dale Farm Milk Cup.' The renowned competition has seen famous players such as Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Paul Scholes compete on NI pitches at the start of their careers. First played in 1983, the tournament has attracted a wide range of entries from local county sides to leading English and Scottish premier league clubs and international teams such as Russia, China and Mexico. Following a highly successful media launch to announce the sponsorship, the wheels are well and truly in motion for the rest of the competition!

In preparation for these high profile sponsorships, Team Morrow will be getting into the spirit by practising our football chants and keepie-ups and challenging our office park neighbours to a 5-a-side tournament (suit jackets for goalposts). Keep an eye on the headlines over the coming months as the team at Morrows work with Dale Farm and Moy Park to activate both super soccer sponsorships!

Top chefs, rugby players, chicken wings and a celebrity bake off...it could only be Balmoral Show 2013!

The Morrows team were out in force for the eagerly anticipated Balmoral Show 2013 at the new Balmoral Park – and the most important event in Northern Ireland’s farming calendar certainly didn’t disappoint!

We enthusiastically donned our wellies to work alongside our agri-food clients over the three days of the Show. Here are some of our best bits...

Winging it with Moy Park...we worked with Moy Park to bring a huge two storey stand (with stairs...it will be an escalator next year) to the NI Food Pavilion. Visitors’ taste buds were tickled with a range of delicious hot and spicy chicken wings and succulent breaded chicken goujons which were sampled on stand. Moy Park’s Group Executive Chef, Aaron Dixon, was on hand during the Show and hosted a series of cookery demonstrations on the Moy Park stand to show visitors how to make a selection of mouth-watering chicken dishes – we have no excuses now!

Ready Steady Bake! What could be better than an Olympic legend, three rugby stars and mountains of cupcakes? We worked with Dale Farm to deliver a celebrity bake off – which pitted Dame Mary Peters against Ulster Rugby’s Paddy McAllistair, Roger Wilson and Adam Macklin to see who would produce the most perfectly decorated cupcake! True to form Dame Mary Peters emerged victorious to rapturous applause in the marquee.

We also partnered with James Street South’s head chef Niall McKenna, who offered daily Masterclasses on the Dale Farm stand to educate show-goers in the art of home baking – using the finest Dale Farm products of course!

Our Ainsley...The Asda marquee was the place to be with new and exciting products being sampled by Asda’s top suppliers across the three days. Celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott was also on hand to entertain the crowds on the stand - serving up delicious dishes alongside Asda’s expert chef – as well as choosing the winner of the Farming Life ‘Farmer’s Little Helper’ competition for 2013.

Bagel Boom! Irwin’s Bakery delighted the crowds with its new range of pre sliced bagels...available in cinnamon and raison, plain and brown – the hungry crowds couldn’t get enough of them and we even found some apprentice bakers!

These are only a few of our highlights from Balmoral Show 2013! It was a fantastic event and we even got some sunshine - roll on Balmoral Show 2014!

A Brush with Fame...

From Dan Akroyd...to Basil Brush. Yep, we really know to mix with the A-listers at Morrows!

Seona, Kelly and our new intern Portia showed their 'foxy' side yesterday, mingling with the Grand Opera House's Panto stars for 2012 - including Mr. Brush himself.

Sponsoring NI's favourite pantomime for the second year running, our client Dale Farm is gearing up for the Cinderella extravaganza which opens to the public on 8th December...and we can't wait for the 'Dairytale' to begin!

Boom Boom!



Fancy golfing with the cream of the crop?

Do you see yourself as the next Rory or Darren?
Well, get practising your swing because Dale Farm is giving three golfers across Northern Ireland the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in a Pro-Am team with a leading professional, as part of the 2012 Irish Open.

Three competition winners will play 18 holes with a European tour winner on their Pro-Am team during the prestigious tournament, which is returning to Northern Ireland for the first time in half a century.

If you're up for the challenge or know someone who would be, nominate yourself (or nominate someone) by emailing dalefarmirishopen@morrowcommunications.com with the entrant's name, club name, contact details, official handicap and a 100 word explanation of what winning the prize would mean to them. 

Closing date 22nd June 2012. Note - entrants must be at least 15 years old on June 22nd 2012 and in possession of an official single figure handicap.

Did it hurt when you fell from heaven??

We're feeling particularly loved-up in Hanwood House today putting the final touches to our Dromona Cheese Valentines Day activity! We've released the results of some wonderfully whiffy research proving that the cheesy chat up line is not only still going strong in NI...but its most likely to be used by silver tongued casanovas bewtween the ages of 25-35! Some of our favourites coming out of the research were, " Are you a parking ticket..because you've got fine written all over you" and the old faithful "You must be tired...you've been running through my mind all day."

Check out the full release here.. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/woman/sex-love/cheesy-chatup-lines-refuse-to-die-16117089.html

We're also making up some dreamy Dromona gifts for a few special Valentines out there... and getting quite hungry in the process!

So remember, a great cheesy chat up line will never go off. In fact the best simply get better with age... just like a great cheddar!

Happy Valentines Day! xxx

Shaping up nicely

Morrow’s client Dale Farm Spelga has been promoting health and fitness through its partnership with ladies fitness chain Curves and Belfast’s premier shopping destination, Victoria Square.

Dale Farm Spelga is launching a three-month initiative with Curves distributing thousands of pots of Spelga Low Fat Bio and Spelga Fat Free Yogurts to clubs across Northern Ireland. In addition, the local dairy business has partnered with Belfast’s Victoria Square to offer three deserving Curves members a luxury shopping experience with a personal stylist plus £150 worth of shopping vouchers.

As anyone who has met us will know, here at Morrow Communications our bodies are our temples so we're only too happy to help promote Dale Farm's latest campaign. 

We’ve stocked up on Spelga Fat-Free so we'll be fit, fashionable and fabulous in no time - as if we were ever anything else.

United demonstrates strength of NI agri-food sector

The Northern Ireland agri-food sector demonstrated further growth this month through the further expansion of the United Dairy Farmers business. United Dairy Farmers, Northern Ireland’s largest dairy business and parent of Dale Farm, this month extended its farmer cooperative membership beyond Northern Ireland and into Great Britain.

The cooperative, owned by around 1,800 Northern Ireland farmers, now also has dairy farmer members in both England and Scotland.

This represents a significant step in repositioning United as a UK wide farmer cooperative.

“We are delighted to have injected further impetus to our business by adding the current milk suppliers to our GB factories to our membership base,” United’s Group Chief Executive David Dobbin said.

“Our sales of consumer products in GB have witnessed record growth over the past year, mainly driven by sales of cheese, butter and spreads from our Northern Ireland plants. The introduction of GB membership further strengthens our position as a national dairy business owned by farmers across the UK at a time when foreign owned dairies are increasing their presence and control of the UK dairy market,” he added.

“This expansion is good news for all United shareholders throughout Northern Ireland and Great Britain. It reinforces our credentials as a national player supplying the best of British Red Tractor dairy produce and will help us increase our business with UK supermarkets.”

Dale Farm 'Creams the Competition' with Record Number of Awards

Dale Farm is celebrating its most successful award season ever - picking up 29 major accolades for Dromona cheese and butter. With international awards from Nantwich, the Great Taste Awards and Frome – the impressive haul has underlined this Northern Ireland company’s status as a world class dairy producer.


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 Sweeping the board at September's Frome Cheese Show in Somerset, Dale Farm was awarded 14 gold, silver and bronze medals – impressing judges, who included cheese connoisseurs and senior buyers from major supermarkets, outlets and industry bodies.

To find out more about Dale Farm, its products and parent company United Dairy Farmers visit http://www.dalefarm.co.uk/