Sowing Seeds for Movember

Movember has been on everyone's lips this month and we have been delighted to have supported our new client Germinal Holdings Ltd on their fantastic campaigns to support the Movember Charity, which aims to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

Here in Northern Ireland, seed specialist Joseph Morton Ltd had one message for local farmers this autumn - size does in fact matter - when it comes to moustaches at least! Hoping to inspire local farmers to support the charity, the company has cultivated an impressive 120m long grass moustache in a Co. Londonderry field.

The field, which belongs to a Ballykelly farmer, contains an Aber High Sugar Grass and red clover mix which was shaped into a giant version of the Movember moustache logo using an agricultural mower by Morton’s North West Technical Sales Representative, William McCollum.

As well as raising awareness of men’s health issues and fundraising amongst staff, Morton’s is calling on local farmers to grow their own moustache during November, and is offering a prize of £500 worth of Morton’s products for the most impressive ‘mo’. Morton’s will also donate £500 to the Movember charity on the winner’s behalf. Entrants are invited to take pictures of their ‘before’ and ‘after’ facial hair at the start and end of November and send them to info@josephmorton.co.uk

Meanwhile British Seed Houses, also owned by Banbridge based Germinal Holdings, has also gone big to show its support for Movember by giving the world famous Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset a grass moustache.

The huge mo added a rakish look to the imposing 180 ft tall landmark grown from British Seed Houses’ Grade A grass seed. The ancient naked giant is a protected site owned by the National Trust, which gave special permission to allow him to sport a mo for the first time. It is fair to say that helping to promote these campaigns has been a 'Mo'st enjoyable experience !

Action Stations for Nature

We have been delighted to have supported the East Border Region’s Action for Biodiversity Project, which is part funded by the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme. The project is aimed at helping create a richer and more diverse environment in the East Border Region of the island of Ireland, through raising awareness of biodiversity and the need to protect it – and has supported over 80 local conservation projects over the past three years.



Campaigns delivered have included the 'Give an Hour to Nature' campaign coinciding with the clocks going back at the end of October as well as the development and promotion of a 'Winter Wonderland’ online nature guide, based on public nominations of the top spots for enjoying nature in the winter months received through facebook at www.facebook.com/actionforbiodiversity .

Putting DEAC on the Map

Morrows are delighted to be working with the District Electoral Areas Commissioner on the current review of District Electoral Areas (DEAs) which will be used in future local government elections across NI. The Commissioner has already published his recommendations which look at the make up and naming of electoral areas for the new 11 Councils, or Local Government District areas as they are formally known.

These proposed DEAs represent the key building blocks for future local government elections and not only take into account the reduction in Councils themselves but the resulting reduction in wards across NI from 582-462. Among other things the provisional recommendations will consider whether DEAs will be made up of 5, 6 or 7 wards as per the legislation. As each ward effectively (albeit indirectly) represents a seat on Council this represents an important piece of work which is likely to interest both political parties and the electorate.

As well as organising and managing the planned 9 public inquiries taking place across the province during August and September, we are supporting the Commissioner on his media relations throughout the review.

It's Time To Celebrate Ireland's Marketing Achievements!

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Ireland is now open for entries.  CIM is calling on all businesses to enter the acclaimed CIM Ireland Excellence Awards 2013 to showcase their successful marketing campaigns.

The CIM Ireland Excellence Awards 2013, supported by Invest NI, provides an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the positive impact individuals and organisations have had within their particular industries. There are 17 award categories that take into account industry, campaign and individual achievements and CIM is encouraging businesses from all sectors to enter the awards whether private, public or social economy sector and....entry is free.

Dr. Vicky Kell, Director of Trade from principal sponsor Invest NI said, “The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Ireland Excellence Awards 2013 are one of the most prestigious awards in Ireland.  It is essential that companies in Northern Ireland develop effective marketing strategies to help them access new customers and compete successfully in export markets. Previous applicants have stated going through the process of applying helps you review and validate your approach.  Winning a CIM award can help your company stand out from the competition and we would encourage companies of all sizes to enter this year’s awards”.

Winners will be recognised by CIM at a highly anticipated awards ceremony taking place at the Ramada Plaza Hotel on 7th November hosted by broadcaster Claire McCollum..

Chair of the Ireland board of CIM Christine Watson said, “Marketing is undergoing a revolution – a recessionary climate and a growing marketer’s tool box that includes new digital platforms, that in themselves are ever-changing, brings both challenges as well as opportunities to our profession. Winning a CIM Marketing Excellence Award means that you have created results that deliver real business benefits.  

Click here for more details.  The closing date for award entries is 27 September 2013.

Practice Made Perfect!

We would like to welcome TM2 to the Morrows fold!

Based in East Belfast, TM2 is a leading practice management software company, specialising in the rehabilitation sector. In layman’s terms, they are the creators of the computer systems at your local physiotherapist!

They are however more than just a ‘systems’ provider – the software can help with bookings, invoicing and data capture along with assistance in patient note taking and reports. The 35-strong team at TM2 are in fact so well reputed that they’re strategic partners to a number of industry leaders including physiotherapy, chiropractic, healthcare and more throughout the UK, Ireland and Australia.

One of the recent projects we have worked on has been to announce TM2’s record customer numbers as they celebrated their 10 year anniversary. As part of the campaign, we arranged for the DETI Minister, Arlene Foster to pay the TM2 offices a visit – she took a tour of the office and talked to Director Kyle Lunn about the 1200 clinics worldwide that use TM2.

In the months to come we hope to be announcing a rehabilitation industry first, which will bring together key players in the field....watch this space!

Awarding Excellence - Morrow Events win contract with CIM

Morrow Events Team

Morrow Events team have recently secured a contract with The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) to manage and deliver the Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards for the next three years.

Our work will include revitalising the awards programme, recruiting entries from companies across Ireland, securing sponsorship and delivering a world class gala awards event later this year.

We are very excited and honoured to be working in partnership with CIM to deliver this prestigious and well respected awards programme. We are currently in the initial planning stages - so watch this space about how to get involved!

Next week, CIM are hosting a seminar in partnership with CIPR on Tuesday 19th February in Titanic Belfast at 12noon - Business Change in a Digital Age - with keynote speakers Múirne Laffan, RTE's Managing Director for digital and Krishna De, an award winning communications strategist, commentator and mentor.

Places are still available to book (from £10 - £20) and is a CPD category 10 event. Find out More. 

A Vital Voice for Northern Ireland’s Peace Process - Farewell Visit by US Secretary Clinton

Morrow events team had the pleasure of providing event support services to OFMDFM and the Executive Information Services team during the recent visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Northern Ireland.

Secretary Clinton said during the Stormont Castle Press Conference "Peace here has proven remarkably durable, "However it is being tested. The recent attacks are a sad reminder there are still those who would try to destroy it. The promise of peace must be delivered. There has to be an economic return for people here.

"I offer to you, as I stand down from Secretary of State, to continue working with you in developing the peace process as an advocate and cheerleader for the process and to reach out to those who are not feeling part of it."

In a relatively short lead in time – 4 days to be precise, Morrows provided bespoke indoor and outdoor staging units for the world’s media at the Stormont Castle Press Conference and co-ordinated local media accreditation in the run up to the day.

It was such a privilege to be involved in such a significant milestone in the Northern Ireland political calendar.

Peace be with you – PEACE III Programme is on the Morrows agenda

Morrows events and production teams have recently won two separate contracts under the PEACE III programme – Investing in Our Future Good Relations programme for the Southern Partnership and the North West Partnership PEACE III Legacy Celebration project. 

Investing in Our Future Programme is an engagement programme aimed at community groups celebrating good relations activities across the Southern Cluster area which includes Armagh, Banbridge, Newry & Mourne, Craigavon, and Counties Monaghan & Louth.  The programme will deliver 15 regional events and a closing Good Relations conference in September 2013.

The NW Partnership Legacy project aims to consolidate and celebrate the excellent work and projects that have been delivered through the Peace III programme in the Derry/Londonderry, Strabane, Omagh and Donegal areas. The project will consist of an online exhibition with photo galleries, video libraries, project library and vox pops from project participants; additionally a brochure will be developed capturing a flavour of the 26 projects from the programme; and a series of celebration events will take place between May – June 2013. 

Morrows are delighted to have the opportunity to work on these projects and hope that they bring about a long and PEACEful partnership!

New Dimension helps win new AV contract

An innovative approach to 3D animation, placing staff members within an architect’s impression helped our Design and Production team to fight off stiff competition to secure the contract for a set of informational videos about the new Community Safety College being developed in Desertcreat, near Cookstown.

The new college is due for completion in October 2015, for the training of PSNI, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the Northern Ireland Prison Service staff. With work not yet underway at


the site a 3D `architectural flythrough’ of  the college is the only thing available to bring the building to life. Our team came up with a creative treatment which involved filming staff members in front of a Green Screen and then using graphic effects to make them look like they were actually inside the 3D flythrough.

The first edit, featuring the effect, was completed for a conference in Mid-November and won great praise from the clients, with three more edits to go. This is a new style of production and we hope to be able to roll the effect out to more clients in the future.

Morrow's AV wins new health DVD contract

We are delighted to have won an exciting new project with Queen's University and St. Mary's Hospital, Manchester.  We were tasked with producing a health promotion DVD to help raise awareness of Gestational Diabetes.  

Aimed at pregnant women, the DVD will be given to those diagnosed with the Gestational Diabetes and will provide them with information on the condition,


how to best manage it during pregnancy and how to cope with it after birth.

The DVD has been produced in a number of different languages (English, Urdu, Arabic and Somali) in response to communities with the greatest occurrence of the condition.

With work almost completed and pilots planned for January 2013 we are looking forward to getting some true quantitative and qualitative analysis of the impact of our work.  

Propelling Entrepreneurship Forward

We are delighted to be supporting the promotion of the excellent Invest Northern Ireland Propel programme again, working alongside the delivery agents, Xcell Partners. The programme is now inviting applications for its 2013 intake and is designed for entrepreneurs with business ideas that have the potential to scale up and reach significant export growth. It has already helped over 30 local entrepreneurs to set up and grow successful businesses based on innovative ideas, products and technology.

In launching the call for new applicants, we were delighted to be joined by previous programme participants Janette O’Hagan co-founder and CEO of Okotech, which has developed an innovative, wireless heating control system called heatboss®, and Fergus Wallace, founder of www.mygripzone.com an online interactive golf coaching aid - both excellent examples of the innovation excellence we need to encourage  in Northern Ireland.

To launch the 2013 Propel programme and outline how it can help turn an idea into a globally focused business, Invest NI is running five regional awareness seminars during w/c 10th December in Newry, Omagh, Londonderry, Ballymena and Belfast. For more information on the programme visit www.propelprogramme.com or to register for the events, go to www.investni.com/events

NYSE Euronext Rings our Bell

We’re delighted to announce a new partnership with NYSE Euronext – the global operator of financial markets and a provider of innovative trading technologies. We’ve been following the NYSE Euronext story with keen interest since their arrival to Belfast in 2008, following its purchase of Wombat, and with the financial technology sector booming in NI it's fantastic to now be working with one of the biggest names in the business.

Morrows will deliver an integrated communications strategy for NYSE Euronext including public relations, design and advertising helping the business drives its recruitment and brand profiling needs. Check out www.nyxjobs.co.uk for the latest local developments.

Boys' Model are 'Rocking All Over the World'

Secret rockers in Morrows relived their misspent youth recently in the presence of rock legend and former drummer of Status Quo, Jeff Rich who shared the secrets of his success during a music masterclass with students from Boys’ Model School, Belfast. We have just started working with the North Belfast School to help it effectively communicate its successes,  state of the art facilities and community engagements to key stakeholders and media. 

The world-famous musician treated pupils to a creative tutorial offering a first-hand insight into the opportunities and challenges of the music industry. On the day, students discovered the history of drumming and listened to Jeff’s path of success, from playing in bands at school to recording with chart-topping artists including Def Leppard and Status Quo. After an exclusive performance from Jeff, Boys’ Model students got the chance to put their skills to the test by performing a mass percussion piece with the drummer.   You can see Jeff in action in the UTV news piece below.

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.

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.

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.

S’mash’ing Partnership

Morrows has recently started working with local business Glens of Antrim Potatoes delivering a comprehensive public relations and brand building campaign.

The family-run business is passionate about growing and packing a wide range of local potato varieties and we’re delighted to be involved with helping tell their story. Visit www.goapotatoes.co.uk for more details.

Welcome to Western

Morrow Communications is now working with Western Building Systems to help the company raise its profile in the local, UK and RoI markets.

The company has 30 years’ experience in providing rapid build solutions and has specialist expertise in the health, education and housing sectors.

Morrows Raise a Glass to New Partnership with Global Brewer

Morrow Communications are proud to now represent Molson Coors in Northern Ireland. Working in partnership with Slattery Communications, a Dublin based consultancy, Morrows will be helping drive the corporate and consumer profile of this global brewer in NI, whose beer portfolio include Cobra, Carling, Coors Light and Corona. The business opened direct sales and marketing offices in Belfast and Dublin in 2010.

New partnership 'insures' results for local business

Morrows are proud to be working with Open and Direct Insurance to deliver the business’ PR and communication needs.

With 16 busy branches across Northern Ireland and a new ‘quote and buy’ online service just launched from its site in Coleraine, the leading local insurance provider has a great story to tell and Morrows are delighted to help do that.

Visit Open and Direct online for more info.