Starting up, up and away

In our business we’re lucky to work with some of Northern Ireland’s largest employers and top 100 companies, Moy Park, Asda and Dale Farm to drop a few names. We’re also lucky to be in a position to work with some of the most exciting, innovative young businesses emerging on the local start-up scene.  Invest Northern Ireland’s Propel, now calling for 2014/15 applications, is an annual programme aimed at fast tracking high growth potential, export focussed start-ups. In the past three years, we’ve helped tell the story of some of the participating entrepreneurs or ‘Propellers’ as they’re affectionately known.. from Lucy Annabella Organics, an organic beauty range developed by Colleen Harte of County Tyrone, now available in the UK, Ireland and Europe, to Plotbox, Leona McAllister’s online tool aimed at revolutionalising the way we research our family history.

The current Propel participants include, among others, Keen, a natural nut butter business based in Bangor that we're all nutty about; Indigo Ivy, a fashion label from Doagh that's putting tweed on trend; Islander Kelp, a fresh kelp producer off the coast of beautiful Rathlin Island; a luxury handmade wooden homeware business Harch Wood Couture and Little Deli, an app that hopes to make queuing for lunch a thing of the past (we're all for that!)

With such diverse talent in the mix, we’re excited to see what innovative new business ideas make it through to Propel 2014/15. And with big futures ahead, we’ll always be proud to say ‘we knew them when they were starting out!’

If you believe your business idea has what it takes to go global, check out www.investni.com/propel

Orlagh McVeigh of Harch Wood Couture, current participant on Invest NI's Propel Programme, with Invest NI's Niall Casey

Outstanding in our Fields ?

As always...but in this case we mean in the more literal sense as we face another busy week in Morrows World.

We will be taking to the fields across Northern Ireland - as we help deliver the third Bank of Ireland  Open Farm Weekend on behalf of the Ulster Farmer's Union to be held across the province between 14th/15th June. During the weekend 21 working farms will open their doors to the public to showcase our rich agricultural heritage and to highlight the quality food provenance we enjoy. Our team has not only been busy helping the farms get ready for the crowds, but  and we have also been  spreading the word to get as many people through the gates as possible over the weekend. This most recently involved taking Aoife the Irish Moilie Cow to Belfast city centre to give city folk a taste of life on the farm.  

Meanwhile as football fever kicks off in Brazil, our 'Brazilliant' World Cup Squad will also be on the field of play helping World Cup Sponsors Moy Park celebrate in true Samba style as they host World Cup parties in Belfast and London (Wembley) to coincide with some of the big matches involving the host nation and England.

As well as samba bands, authentic Brazilian food and drink we will also be joined by soccer legends Sir Geoff Hurst and David Seaman to give their insight into the live games and to take questions from the audience.

As you can see our team are already getting into the FIFA World Cup 2014 theme and are 'feeling the rhythm !'



 

Does Your Work Do the Talking ? Communication Consultants Wanted !

As one of Ireland’s largest integrated communication consultancies, at Morrow Communications we let our client work do the talking. We are currently on the lookout for some new talent to join the conversation.

Ideally, the successful candidates should have a relevant third level qualification in Public Relations, Communications or other Marketing discipline and will have three to five years top end PR/communications experience working with clients across the public and private sectors.

You should have excellent influencing and relationship management skills with the confidence and ability to competently engage with senior stakeholders internally and externally. You will be expected to demonstrate a consistent record of strategic thinking, management and results and to convince us of your instinctive flair and creativity.  You will also be able to demonstrate your skills and experience in identifying and shaping new business connections.

We are particularly interested in people with direct PR consultancy/agency experience, but will also welcome interest from those who believe they can excel in this type of challenging environment.

The Morrow Communications Ethos
We are first and foremost strategic thinkers who understand the importance and power of professional communications within our varied clients’ worlds. With a wide range of communication tools at our disposal, it’s our job to think ahead of our clients’ immediate needs to plan communication programmes with real impact.

Through our core specialisms of PR, Event Management, AV Production, Design and Digital Communications, we service an impressive client list that spans the private and public sectors throughout the island of Ireland and the UK.  Our commitment to excellence has been confirmed by being recognised as CIPR ‘Consultancy Team of the Year’ on three separate occasions in recent years.

To Apply follow the link to NIJobs and upload your CV. To illustrate your creativity, in 200 words or less, also explain why you deserve to be on our ‘must see’ list.

Closing date: Friday 20th June 2014. 

Bikes, business, welly boots...

What a week we have ahead.

One of the world’s biggest sporting events is turning Northern Ireland pink with cycle fever as we gear up for the Giro d’Italia Big Start. Swiftly followed by the International Business Women’s Conference (IBWC 2014), entrepreneurs from across the globe will gather in the city for this groundbreaking two day event. Meanwhile, our biggest agricultural forum will showcase the local thriving agri-food sector at Balmoral.  These three very different, important events are platforms for us to showcase how diverse, welcoming and vibrant a place Northern Ireland is – for sport, for tourism, for business.

The Morrows team will be dusting off our welly boots and working with our agri-food clients represented at Balmoral Show – Moy Park, Asda, Irwin’s Bakery, Glens of Antrim Potatoes, Dale Farm and Open Farm Weekend. We are also particuarly proud to this year be partnering with Women in Business NI to deliver IBWC 2014. The first event of its kind on the island of Ireland, it will bring a first class lineup of global speakers to Belfast to address hundreds of delegates as part of a programme aimed at unlocking  business potential. Women in Business NI hope its legacy will be felt for years to come, driving business growth through empowering individuals and putting the business case for gender diversity high
on the agenda of the private sector.

IBWC 2014 is about looking outwards and forwards - a vision which embodies where Northern Ireland is and should be today. Hosting world class events like those in the week ahead give out a clear message - we might be small in size, but we’re capable of big things.

The world’s watching, Northern Ireland. Let’s put on our best show…

Morrow Communications is on the lookout for more fresh talent....

If you’re genuinely interested in current affairs and the world of business, you really understand news and the media, and you’re passionate about all aspects of marketing & digital communications, we want to hear from you.

Professionalism, intuition, creativity, excellent written and verbal communication skills, energy, motivation and the ability to stand out while also being a true team player are all prerequisites. 

Our clients span every sector and specialism. From the fast paced world of retail to the top names in agri-food production: from those delivering the latest technologies to the most recent developments in energy, renewables and the environment - we represent some of the top companies, organisations and brands. We also cross all boundaries, working for clients throughout Ireland, GB and beyond.

If you have at least one year’s relevant communications experience under your belt and you honestly believe you have something special to offer, we’d be keen to hear from you.

Simply send your up-to-date CV and, to illustrate your creativity, in 150 words or less, explain why you deserve to be on our ‘must see’ list.

All responses should be sent to mail@morrowcommunications.com by Friday 16 May 2014. 

Morrow Communications on shortlist for UK CIPR Excellence Awards 2014

We're delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for a 2014 Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Excellence Award - the public relations profession’s most prestigious annual awards scheme for the whole of the UK.

We are on the shortlist for the Low Budget category for our submission - ‘From Famine to Feast – the Resurrection of the Irish ‘Lumper’ Potato’ - and made the cut from approximately 700 awards entries received from around the globe!

The entry, which focuses on a media relations campaign conducted on behalf of our client Glens of Antrim Potatoes, follows the story of the reintroduction of the ‘Lumper’ to the market – a famous potato which had not been commercially cultivated since the Irish Famine of the 1840s.

Two members of the PR team, Harriet Turtle and Seona McGrath, have since been put through their paces taking part in a face-to-face interview with a team of expert judges in London this week, before the winners are finally chosen and announced at the CIPR Excellence Awards black tie dinner at Old Billingsgate, London on Tuesday 17th June 2014.

Fingers crossed for the final result!

 

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!

Aisle be Yours...

On this grey and miserable Monday morning, we all need a little pick me up. So here's a story we fell in love with last week, as we helped our client Asda celebrate Valentine's Day ...

Aisle be Yours…

“The Secret of a happy marriage- Respect and Genuine Love”

Having launched a search to find the longest married couple in the local area, Asda Coleraine was delighted to welcome Robert and Margaret, known as Ivy, Kirkpatrick into the store to tell their story. 

As regular customers in Asda Coleraine, every Tuesday since it opened in 2005, Robert and Ivy are well known to the store’s colleagues who delighted in celebrating their love with gifts including flowers, champagne and a shopping voucher. 

Married for 62 years, and having met several years before that, Robert and Ivy have lived in the centre of Coleraine since the 1960s. However, their love story began in London, when Robert spotted Ivy working in the Maypole Grocery Store.

“My brother also worked in the store,” said Robert, “so I asked him to find out if she liked the look of me and if she was interested in a date. Luckily she was, and we had our first date at the local picture house.”  

The romance went on to blossom from that moment and today the diamond couple have nine children, 25 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.  Robert says, “We have a great system – Ivy does all the birthday cards and presents, and I look after Christmas!”

The couple describe their greatest adventure as an exciting trip to California around 15 years ago. Staying with friends they took in the sights around Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs describing it as “a wonderful trip they’ll never forget.”

The couple were invited into Asda Coleraine on Valentine’s Day to receive their gifts from general store manager Roy Warke and community life champion Sheila Palmer. On receiving the news from Asda that they had been recognised as Coleraine’s longest married couple, Robert said he was “delighted and it was a lovely surprise.”

Roy Warke said, “It’s been wonderful to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Robert and Ivy as their love truly has stood the test of time. As regular customers to the store we’re all inspired by their story, and it’s particularly fantastic, and fitting, to hear that they met in a grocery store! We wish the couple many more happy years together.”

Finally, on the secret of such a long and happy marriage, Robert had a simple message saying, “It’s all based around respect. Respect and genuine love.”