Business
Galway’s first Digital Summit takes place on January 29 next
The first ever Galway Digital Summit will take place on Thursday next, January 29, at The Ardilaun Hotel on Taylors Hill in Galway City.
Organised by Online Marketing in Galway (OMiG), the event gets underway at 6.30pm and presents guest speakers in topics such as online marketing, digital marketing, mobile marketing, web marketing, e-marketing and more.
OMiG is a network group, open to all businesses and professionals in the West of Ireland, to share best practices, exchange knowledge and allow small businesses to make the most out of online tools and online marketing strategies.
Set up by Maricka Burke Keogh, an ex-Google employee who moved back to Galway in August 2011, OMiG is about joining up the dots, filling in the gaps and using the motto that ‘two heads are better than one’ in this case 600 heads are better than one.
To date more than 50 meetings have taken place and some top names in the field have spoken including Hugh Linehan of The Irish Times, Niall McGarry of Joe.ie, Peter Bellew of Ryanair and John Smyths of Micks Garage.
Many local companies have been represented as well such as My Kids Time and Touchwood. Attendees each month reach up to 100, and surveys are carried out regularly to make sure the organisation gives attendees what they want and relevant content. Some of the best digital minds in the country are heading West, making sure that Galway is on the digital map and well able to host events of this calibre.
Anyone with an interest in digital marketing is urged to attend this summit. Speakers will share how they have got to grips with the digital change, and will offer thoughts on the years ahead. An important part of the evening will look into the thought-leaders’ experience of both traditional and new media including its integration.
Aidan Coughlan of Newstalk Radio and Hugh Linehan of The Irish Times will explain how they have got to grips with a digital platform and providing the most up to date news and sport as it happens, podcasting and even videos.
Tourism Ireland Brian Harte Head of Customer Engagement and eMarketing Tourism Ireland will also present how social media has helped build ‘Brand Ireland’. Stephen O’Leary, media analyst from Olytico will present how social media has changed reporting forever. Jenny Taffe of marketing agency I Zest will also present practical tips on how to plan your digital strategy in 2015.
For more information visit www.galwaymarketing.ie/summit.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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