Marketing needs to be courageous urges Irish President

Ireland's economic woes didn't deter its marketing industry from attending the annual All Ireland Marketing Awards in full force last Thursday (12 May 2011) at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. Organised by the Marketing Institute of Ireland a full-house rose to its feet for what can only be described as a truly inspirational speech from the Guest of Honour, President Mary McAleese. One could have heard the proverbial 'pin drop' during its entire duration. Many warm and inspiring words of hope and encouragement were delivered to those who have been through the mill in the marketing services sector over the past few years. Her formal remarks were tempered with the right mix of personable good humour and off- the-cuff banter. Her rally call, quoting Lord Chesterfield, was for more business people who are prepared to take risks, and set sail on stormy seas rather than pull the boats up on the shore. She offered those present the right measure of courage balanced with a greater sense of humility as a result of some hard economic and business lessons learnt over of the past few years. Yet having tasted good times, she said, the nation wanted them back:

"Yet if we are to move forward we need momentum and we need people to generate that momentum, resourceful people who do not lie down under a challenge but who think more creatively, who innovate in order to find new pathways to future prosperity. That spirit and those people are what we celebrate in these awards."

Sixteen awards were presented with O2 taking both best sponsorship and the marketing team award. The PR award went to Arnotts for its clever approach to the Best Dressed Lady Sponsorship at Punchestown and the best advertising campaign went to No Nonsense Insurance. The All Ireland Marketing Champion was awarded to Communicorp boss Denis O'Brien who exceptional performance as a business leader was recognised. As Chairman of Digicel Group, which is the largest single investor in Haiti, his work in rebuilding Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake was particularly noted by the Institute.

• All Ireland Marketing Awards 2011 Winners:
• New Product/New Market Award 2011 - McDonalds
• Gnó as Gaeilge (Marketing Through Irish Award) - Independent STAR
• CRM / Customer Care Award - AXA Insurance
• Brand Campaign Award - Coca Cola Co.
• Direct Marketing Award - UnicarePharmacy
• Market Research - An Post
• Marketing Team Award - O2 Ireland
• Sponsorship Management Award - O2 Ireland
• Public Relations Campaign Award - Arnotts
• International Marketing Award - Irish Ferries
• Integrated Marketing - Saint Vincent de Paul Society
• Corporate Social Responsibility - Ryan's Supervalu Glanmire
• Small Business Marketing - Eurieka IT Services
• Marketing Innovation - Bord na Mona Fuels
• eMarketing - Tourism Ireland
• Advertising Campaign - No Nonesense Insurance
• All Ireland Marketing Champion - Denis O'Brien

For further details on award winners visit http://www.aimawards.ie/finalists.htm

 http://www.president.ie/index.php?section=5&speech=966&lang=eng