Archive for the ‘Positivity’ Category

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Revenue Commissioners on Target?

August 28, 2012
Target Express

Parked up for good ?

It is absolutely terrible to hear that Target Express in operation since 1988 who employ 390 people between Ireland and Northern Ireland have ceased trading due to an attachment order by the Revenue on it’s bank accounts. Target Express are clearly a big operation operating 12 depots and distributing for companies such as L’Oreal, Smyths Toys and AWear.

In 2011 they won the Haulier of the Year Award and they opened a new depot in Monaghan – well done guys, we loved that positive, drive forward mentality (have a peep at their Facebook page entry).

On Target for better days!

For those who are not sure what this means, basically the Revenue have taken over the bank accounts of the company. According to reports there were delays with payments to the Revenue (as is the case with so many businesses) and clearly they got fed up of waiting, used their ultimate power and crashed in.

390 people did not get paid last Friday as a result according to reports. I’m just picturing drivers going home to their families petrified about the future and trying to solve the dilemma of shopping for groceries at the weekend.

The pieces I have read on the papers suggest that negotiations were ongoing with the Revenue but ultimately someone there made a call to say “enough is enough” and they have effectively shut the business and helped to put nearly 400 people on the dole queues.

Maybe the company gave the Revenue the two fingers for two long and were not playing ball, maybe the revenue were unreasonable and abused their power, ignoring the tough and very real circumstances this company (fuel prices have gone through the roof as well) found themselves in – this recession ain’t pretty!

Without knowing any of the detail there is a good chance that Target Express (who are definitely finding cash flow really tight) could not look to the bank for extra funding and the only real wiggle room was to delay payments to suppliers and yes, squeeze some extra credit from the Revenue. Would you do this instead of paying your people on a Friday?

The Revenue will argue that they are not a bank and should not be funding a business with their Vat and PAYE/PRSI. Viewed in one light they are right – however in the grand scheme of things they are possibly very wrong. I would prefer to see those arrears being paid over a reasonable time and 390 people still working.

The Revenue must not have the power to take such action without recourse to some “Job Protection” authority (run by business people please) who can access the situation and put something reasonable in place that will protect valid jobs where possible and feasible.

Surely if we believe our Government’s stated objective, creation and protection of jobs is the biggest objective that there is right now in Ireland – everyone’s objective must be aligned to this, including the Revenue Commissioners.

When it comes to “Power” the Revenue just have too much and I don’t trust that it is being used properly – the “Target” must be jobs and Power needs to be with those who can generate and protect jobs, not take them away.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

 

Fuzion are a Marketing and PR Firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Positivity, Recession | 35 Comments »

“It’s a Long way to Tipperary”

July 14, 2012
Its a Long way to Tipperary festival

Everyone is Happy !

“Everyone is happy” we heard the old gentleman say to the person he was with as we walked past him on the street.

“Everyone is happy” he repeated, this time a little louder to make sure what he was saying registered with his buddy.

This was the main street in Tipperary town, and the “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” Festival that our client , Tipperary Co-op were sponsoring was in full swing.

We had just left the Tipperary Co-op Hardware store, or Top Creamery as the locals know it and there was a great buzz with threshing, old kids games, people enjoying the BBQ and of course plenty of banter. I spoke to a friendly gentleman from Rossmore called Liam O’Dwyer who was giving a blacksmith demonstration – he had an incredible display of old signs and as part of this was an old “Death Penny” from World War 1 (I’ll tell you about that in a separate blog!).

In our stroll down the town the locals were in full spirits, stopping to chat and enquiring where we were from. A old woman stopped me and I had to sign a book that apparently promised her a dance later! We popped into a small shop that had a full display of war memorabilia including war posters and a full history of the iconic song. Once again we were overwhelmed by the friendliness and warmth of the people there. The immortal song was made famous during World War 1 by the soldiers all over Europe.

Making the whole festival (which was celebrating 100 years of the iconic song) really special and great fun was that many people in the town were dressed in costume from that era.

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

Altogether now ….

(Imagine the anniversary of this famous song passing without marking it in any way – in Fuzion we refer to this as “Never Wasting a Good Story” – there is a huge PR tip for you!)

When we arrived in the town we had parked at the other side and walked all the way through. There were vintage cars, old tractors and motorbikes, people dressed up, everyone posing for photos, posters and banners and a fabulous, genuine “feel good atmosphere“.

Before we left the town we popped into the Tipperary Co-op owned SuperValu, which had its own exhibitions, competitions and the team there joined in the spirit of the festival wearing clothes from that era as well – all except for Pierce, the manager of course!

When we were there we were chatting to the guys from Tipperary Co-op, Richard, Pierce and Tom. They were thrilled with how their sponsorship of the festival had worked out but more than that they explained how the festival seemed to “unlock” a sense of spirit and fun in the town that seemed to have disappeared over the last few years through a mixture or recession, bad weather and general worries.

Maybe, everyone took a step back and grabbed onto some old values from a time when life was a little simpler.

As the old gentleman had said ..”Everyone is happy“.

It was worth repeating.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Entertainment, Hospitality, Ireland, Marketing, Positivity, PR, Tourism | 8 Comments »

Deirdre – When does a business start?

July 8, 2012
Deirdre Waldron - Fuzion PR

Deirdre Waldron – Fuzion PR

Deirdre Waldron or Dee as most of you know her, started the Fuzion journey many moons ago.

She will admit herself that the very last job she had before she started Fuzion was with a newspaper in Kerry and it was literally nearly killing her!

She will tell you quietly that there were days she was feeling so miserable that she wished for a small car crash that would put her out of action for a while (with only minor injuries of course!).

Can you imagine, someone that talented being that miserable in their job – whatever was going on in that newspaper they managed to squeeze the life out of her and she eventually quit.

Even though there was a lot going on in her life Dee decided it was time to try things on her own and Fuzion was borne.

When I met her first towards the end of 2000 I was well impressed by her determination, her tenacity and her willingness to get results for her first clients, which included the Kerryman newspaper and some other businesses in the Kerry region. Within no time she had taken on an assistant and I watched her close hand at events and dealing with the media.

I could see the results she was achieving for her clients as a result of her talent and this incredible work ethic that she had picked up in no small way from her formidable mother Joan, who was quite an able businesswoman herself.

As the Marketing Director of the Rose of Tralee I witnessed her skilfully dealing with the local and national press and I watched her protect the girls and the eventual winner with the media. She worked tirelessly on this project  – and this was a voluntary role!

I clearly remember one day en route to Limerick listening to her on the radio cleverly defending and promoting the merits of the Rose of Tralee to Ray D’Arcy on national radio (in later years he went on to present the event – I think she left a lasting impression on him!) . This Cork boy was very impressed with the Kerry girl who had no idea how good she was.

Deirdre Waldron and Greg Canty - Fuzion PR

Fuzion 10 Year Party!

After some persuasion I convinced Deirdre of the attributes of  Cork and the opportunities that would be available to her and in late 2001 she packed her bags and Fuzion HQ had moved!

Since then I packed up my full time job and joined Deirdre in Fuzion and gradually we went from working from home to opening an office in Cork city and in the last few years one in Dublin. We carefully added more members and skill-set to the team despite it being a tough time for business and each of them have benefited from working with Dee in the same way that I have.

I have had an incredible journey and absolutely love the work we do in Fuzion and for that I have to thank Deirdre for making that decision to go it alone a long time ago ..

Thanks Dee, you’re a star!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a PR firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Business Planning, Business Start Ups, Marketing, Positivity, PR | 4 Comments »

Does “July” come once in a lifetime?

July 1, 2012
Mundy - July, The White Horse, Ballincollig

Once in a lifetime?

We were sitting in the fabulous intimate atmosphere of the White Horse in Ballincollig, Cork privileged to be watching another great musician, Mundy (he’s from Birr , County Offaly as it turns out and he knows the Loughnane boys from the County Arm’s Hotel!).

Joe Carey, the owner of the White Horse is a great musician himself. He loves his music and thanks to his passion we are lucky to have regular quality gigs on our doorstep in this fabulous “up close and personal” venue.

I love my music but for some reason Mundy was one of those artists that I had never really come across or seen at a gig but it was clear to see why he had such a great following. This gig was a solo, acoustic gig, which is always tough for an artist but he literally pumped it out, he has a great stage presence and a terrific sense of humour, which had the crowd “warm” and in his hands from start to finish.

I loved his story telling and his tales about his dad who warned him that he “shouldn’t talk to the audience about everything that was in his head” ..class!

His songs are really clever and he’s not afraid to bring in the odd snippet of a popular cover .. the girls standing at the bar were well impressed and bought him a pint of Murphy’s!

He launched into his anthem “July” ….wow, was that his?  I love that incredible, upbeat summer song and am embarrassed to admit not realising whose it was. This was clearly his crowning glory, his signature song as everyone in the audience reacted immediately at the first hint of the song. Everyone in the audience sang along, how couldn’t you? …what a classic!

A few songs and stories later the gig finished and we were more than happy to buy his CD’s 24 Star Hotel, Strawberry Blood and his latest, Shuffle and have a quick chat with the man himself (Edmund Enright – that’s how we found out he knew the Loughnane boys).

I wonder when he wrote “July” did he have any idea how great a song it was, the huge hit it was going to be and the difference it would make to his career. On YouTube I searched for the track and watched him entertain a huge crowd of 10,000 at Oxygen in 2008 who sang their hearts out to this happy, upbeat, memorable and really clever summer anthem.

He’s clearly a really talented musician and song writer and I wondered does he ever get frustrated waiting for the same inspiration and another “July” to come along . Like so many other great artists, often an incredible, defining song comes to them, never to be repeated or surpassed. Does this eventually become a burden?

I thought back to the gig, the anthem he’s clearly played thousands of times to audiences all over the world and I thought about the audience reaction and the huge beaming smile all over his face as he played it.

While “July” might come along once in a lifetime he can enjoy sharing it every day ..

Oh! ma ma ma,oh! ma ma ma,oh! ma ma ma My July …all together now

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion PR

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Posted in Music, Positivity | 6 Comments »

A Silicon Valley “State of Mind”

June 20, 2012
John Hartnett - ITLG

A Silicon Valley “State of Mind”

I am just back from a really uplifting Cork Chamber breakfast where the attendees had the pleasure of listening to John Hartnett, a Limerick man who is now working and living in Silicon Valley.

He was speaking about an initiative he is involved in called ITLG (Irish Technology Leadership Group), which is all about facilitating the Irish to succeed in Silicon Valley.

While the topic was absolutely fascinating what was even more interesting was his observations about Ireland and the Irish, which he can now do quite well “as an outsider, looking in” as he put it and the differences with Silicon Valley.

He spoke about Silicon Valley not being a place but being a “State of  Mind” and after listening to him speak for half an hour you get to understand exactly what he meant even by the language he chose in his presentation and in the Q&A afterwards.

The people in Silicon Valley work with a focused intensity, everything is possible, failure is often considered as a natural step on the ladder to success, mega opportunity is better than “niche”, we need to change the game and it’s all about “out of the park” ideas ….I was enthralled!

OK, we can see the big American influence but the language, both tone and content was totally infectious.

John spoke of the Irish having natural advantages such as being smart and sociable with great story telling ability but not being so great when it came to pitching and selling – “our kids should be presenting regularly at school so standing up in front of an audience and pitching your idea should be the most natural thing in the world when it matters”  he commented.

Silicon ValleyHe spoke about the very tangible “Negativity Bubble” in Ireland that we need to lose as quick as possible .. we need to get aggressive and go after it, we need to shake things up and make positive things happen. He spoke about getting more of the successful ex-pat Irish community in the US involved in the right organisations in Ireland such as the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the Science Council.

Not only did John make perfect sense but he gave everyone in the room a huge injection of positivity – Thank you John.

Cancel all flights …don’t let him leave the country!

What’s your State of Mind?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Note:

Colm Healy from Skelligs Chocolate gave me a great link to a “Ted” talk by Cameron Herold about “raising kids to be entrepreneurs“.

 

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Posted in Business Start Ups, Ireland, Irish Economy, Marketing, Personal development, Positivity, Recession | 11 Comments »

Vacation & Waiting for the Big Idea!

June 3, 2012
Varadero Cuba

Big Idea …. where are you?

I know that whenever I get a break new ideas start coming to me.

The minute you step off that treadmill of “doing“, the minute you let your mind settle and unclutter those ideas come to you. It’s as if all the other “stuff” is a block that prevents that clear thinking that is needed to come up with those fresh ideas.

So what’s happening? … I’m here sitting on the beach in Varadero, Cuba, sipping on a Mojito listening to the waves roll in gently. I’m surrounded by holiday makers lying on the beach, some asleep, some reading, all of them relaxing. A few of the energetic ones are in the water and some are walking the fabulous beach in their bare feet.

I’ve been on holidays for nearly a week now , I’ve managed to unwind (at least I think so) pretty much fully so where are you?

Come on big idea , major insight, incredible revelation…. I’m waiting!!

Maybe the Big Idea is I need to take more breaks!!

If that big idea comes over the next few days, I’ll let you know!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Holidays, Personal development, Positivity, Tourism, Travel | 11 Comments »

Celebrate those individuals making it happen for themselves

May 14, 2012
Beata

Making it Happen

On our usual Sunday walk with the four legged one (Bing for those who haven’t seen previous posts!) a little poster caught my eye on the pole of a housing estate we walk through on the way to the park.

It was placed on a pole where you might expect a picture of a missing dog but when I peeped a little closer it was an advert for someone advertising their house cleaning services.

The poster was typed up with a simple cartoon graphic of a cleaning lady and housed inside a sheet of plastic to protect it from the elements and it had the contact phone number repeated on little vertical strips for those who wanted to tear them off to make an enquiry later.

I’m sure this simple poster with a clear message “A completely clean home – my cleaning services are thorough, consistent and customised. If you want to change your cleaning routine, Call me” will bring Beata the customers she is looking for.

I started thinking about Beata on the rest of my walk whoever she is.. I pictured her deciding to start her cleaning business to earn money, drafting up her posters, printing them, cutting the phone number strips, housing them in plastic covers and then walking around finding poles in the housing estates she was targeting. She had her mini campaign for her house cleaning service well thought out and there was a real honesty to how it was delivered.

Often we celebrate the big companies with the big job numbers and the vital role they are playing in our economy but we should also celebrate those out there who are digging deep, making things happen for themselves instead of sitting back and waiting on someone else or the state to look after them.

Beata and all the other startups , I Salute you!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Start Ups, Direct Marketing, Graphic Design, Irish Economy, Marketing, Positivity, Recession, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Why do we Subtract when we could be Adding?

April 13, 2012
add or subtract

Do I subtract or can I add?

On a gorgeous sunny day recently I sent out a tweet – “Make hay when the sun shines – it’s a great time to close those deals #Positivity”

Well, that’s what I meant to say …. With the predictive typing on my iPhone the intended message went out as “May hay when the sun shines ….” Oopps!

I didn’t realise my error until I received a message on LinkedIn by a connection letting me know in no uncertain terms “the expression is make hay….“.

I was really annoyed to see the comment – ok it was a mistake, but surely anyone who read it would have seen the positive intent behind the post instead of being pedantic and motivated to just point out my error.

As annoyed as I was feeling I reflected on this criticism and realised that at times I do exactly the same myself. Recently I was at an event where we spotted a few grave “errors“.

We read through the event brochure and spotted a poem as part of the literature – initially I thought this was a novel idea and when I read it I spotted a “typo“. Surely a crime worth at least 1,000 lashes!

They had used the word “there” when they should have used the word “their” …. Tut tut! Of course I enjoyed my discovery and shared the error with the person sitting next to me.

At the same event we spotted the careless use of logos on the large screens – low resolution, poor placement and white border that could easily have been removed ….. Tut tut! Once again it was worthy of a little conversation and maybe another 1,000 lashes?

Did these errors reduce our enjoyment of the evening .. Of course not!

Why do we take pleasure at spotting mistakes? In this scenario we were in effect criticising a voluntary committee who clearly had gone to a lot of work for the night and instead of acknowledging the positives we were busy taking a little pleasure in how sharp we were in spotting someone’s errors.

Just like my critic that felt obliged to comment on my error instead of complimenting me on the sentiment …

Why do we subtract when we could be adding ?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Personal development, Positivity | 12 Comments »

Keeping your feet on the ground

April 3, 2012
Greg Canty & Kevin O'Shea, Fuzion at the DMA's 2012

Boys looking sharp at the DMA's

It was a big night for me and the Fuzion crew.

We just received our new business cards with our new brand revealed as we headed out the door to the Nokia Digital Marketing Awards in Dublin at the National Convention Centre where I was a judge and we were sponsors.

We put on the glad rags for this very glamourous and prestigious affair and I made an extra effort taking out the white dickie bow …. very dapper (very Downton Abbey as someone said to me)!

Over we marched to the event and arrived early so we could liaise with the event crew about the workings of the Fuzion twitter quiz, which was to run between courses during the night. We were greeted by the event signage where our new branding was on display alongside household names such as Nokia. Dee kindly jumped in and photographed me and our fab creative director Kevin O’Shea in front of the branding …. all done quickly before people arrived!

The night was a huge success and a very proud one for us and for me personally. Our brand was on display constantly as the quiz ran during the evening and then came the moment when I had to go on stage and present Blue Cube with an award for the Best Social Media campaign – this was the “real deal“, opening the envelope, cameras everywhere and posing for photos ..

When I was walking from the stage Barry Murphy, the MC from Aprez Match fame made a comment that I should win a smart dressed award … this night was getting better and better!

We had a cool crew at our table including the “boys about town” from B Scene, Brendan Scully and Sean Montague who whisked us off to Lillies Bordello – do you think we had to queue? No chance …. our boys were so well known that our crew were whisked quickly in past the queue and marched straight upstairs to the VIP room.

We sat around, ordered our Mojitos  and chit chatted as the fab hostess looked after her bunch of VIPs!

Unable to contain myself I was busy tweeting about my fabulous night of accomplishments and all of a sudden I misjudged my balance, the stool wobbled and I quickly tipped backwards and ended up with my two legs up in the air with the full VIP section of Lillies looking at me ….. “pathetic drunk” …. no one said that but I’m guessing that’s what some of them were thinking!

Red faced I finished my drink, put my twitter machine away and asked if anyone fancied a whopper in Burger King.

Guess I needed to get my feet back on the ground!

Thanks for reading ….. (it was a great night)

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Marketing, Personal development, Positivity, PR, Social Media, Teamwork | 3 Comments »

The three very “different” Wise Men

March 27, 2012
Three Wise Men

I don't know which gift is best!

In we went all three of us, armed with our presentation slides, our printed copies to leave behind and mock-ups  of  possible adverts and a clear idea of who was going to cover each of the different sections. At this stage we had been through a detailed briefing meeting and spent days working to bring it to this point.

This was quite a complex pitch as there were a few different businesses all under the one operation and our proposal had to incorporate all of them. We felt really confident as we had a lot of unique experience in the different aspects of  their business, which we felt would be a huge asset in working with them.

Our presentation was very detailed, demonstrating an understanding of their proposition, an understanding of the communication challenges and objectives, and outlining clearly our approach including some clever initiatives that would drive media coverage and most importantly increase business.

We were pitching to the “Three Wise Men“, the key decision makers including our main point of contact, the Marketing Director. The presentation went well, there was a good level of engagement and discussion around some of the proposed initiatives. Our allocated time ran well over due to the level of interaction, which is always a good thing as long as it is constructive.

The presentation came to an end and as we left we could see one of our competitors waiting  outside ready to make their pitch. Apparently in total the Three Wise Men were taking proposals from three different agencies.

About a week later I received a call from the Marketing Director to pop down to have a “finalisation” chat – it looked like we were in!! I had been quietly confident but in this world nothing surprises me so I never get carried away with it.

I met with him and sure enough Fuzion were chosen and now it was all about getting the whole plan going. As we relaxed over lunch I asked the Marketing Director how he would have summarised each of the different pitches – I would never ask for copies but I must admit I was curious as to how each of us was different. We are never really in a position to find this out so I was bursting to get a fresh perspective on content, substance, style and delivery.

He opened up …. “Well, each of the presentations were quite different. One was very fancy, with bells and whistles and a little gimmicky, another was nod nod, wink wink, we know everyone, we will promise you great coverage and yours was somewhere in between!” …. what a summary!

He wasn’t finished, and this was the part that totally blew me away .. “Each of the three of us preferred a different presentation so in the end they left it up to me to decide and I chose Fuzion as for me you were clearly what we were looking for” … there wasn’t even a consensus!

There was a big lesson for me in all of this – we are all different and have different styles, likes and dislikes, we have different backgrounds and different collective experiences, we come from different places and carry different viewpoints and prejudices and even when you have broken your back on a proposal and think you are in prime position it often doesn’t matter – sometimes they just like the other guy!

A week later we got a call to say that the arrangement had to be cancelled as the place went into receivership..

Great win for Fuzion!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Hospitality, Positivity, PR | 4 Comments »

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