Media&Marketing/Emmet Oliver: The Dublin agency McConnells has won the Government contract for advertising related to the controversial citizenship referendum due to take place on June 11th, The Irish Times has learned.
Several prominent agencies, DDFH&B, QMP Publicis and Irish International lost out in the competition held by the Referendum Commission. McConnells, which won the recent e-voting campaign, will begin the new campaign shortly.
In an attempt to maximise the turnout for the referendum, an intense press, TV and radio campaign will swing into action in the run-up to polling. McConnells, in partnership with the Referendum Commission, will circulate details of what a Yes and No vote could potentially mean.
A significant mailshot, organised by An Post, will be involved in the campaign. The total campaign is expected to cost about €4 million, although McConnells will receive less than half of this, according to sources.
The information has to be written in neutral language and cannot give advantage to one side over another. Experience from other public information campaigns suggests voters only truly engage with the issues in the week before polling, so the weight of the McConnells campaign is likely to concentrate mostly in that period.
Royal Liver adverts
Royal Liver Assurance has appointed Irish advertising agency Boomerang to carry its new advertising campaign.
It is the first time Royal Liver has used an Irish agency and this is its first campaign specifically for the Irish market.
Gibney expansion
Gibney Communications, the Dublin public relations agency founded by Ms Ita Gibney seven years ago, is hoping to double in size within the next three years.
The company this week appointed a new chairman, Mr Carlo Crighton, who set up Text 100 in Ireland.
Ms Gibney said this was the first step towards appointing a "small, focused board" for the future. She described the firm as mid-sized at present but she hoped the changes would move it into the top tier.
"We have developed a good client-base and have a 98 per cent client-retention rate. We believe one of the reasons for this is we are an independent firm operating within the island of Ireland, rather than being connected to an international network, that might not necessarily be interested in the market here."
Gibney Communications currently employs 15 people. Among the company's client-base are Aldi, Bupa, Hutchinson 3G Ireland, Arthur Cox, the National Treatment Purchase Fund and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. The most significant piece of business for the firm over the last year was the takeover of First Active by Royal Bank of Scotland. Ms Gibney said the firm hoped to grow by organic growth, but was not ruling out acquiring another agency.
Olympic sponsors
Another two sponsors have stepped forward to sponsor the Irish Olympic team going to Athens this August.
The Star newspaper and Kelloggs will become exclusive sponsors in their respective areas.
Principal Media, the independent media sales house, brokered the deals on behalf of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). Kelloggs and the Star join Gresham Hotels, Londis ADM, Opel, Asics, Penneys, the Mater Private, Newbridge Silverware and the Irish Sports Council as sponsors of the team.
The value of the Star and Kelloggs sponsorships was not disclosed, but industry sources estimated each to be worth between €90,000 and €100,000
Mr Joe Toomey, managing director of Principal Media, who also acts as an agent for Emap magazines in Ireland said: "We are delighted to have secured two of the highest-profile companies in Ireland as sponsors of the Irish Olympic team."
The following benefits are available to sponsors: companies have the right to call themselves an official sponsor of the Irish Olympic team; they can reproduce the Olympic rings logo on stationary and marketing material; they also have the right to fly the Olympic flag outside their premises.
Emmet Oliver can be reached at eoliver@irish-times.ie
