Shane O Leary

Over the last 15 years, we've learned a good deal about the power of reputation and how to harness this for client transformation and growth, grounded in world class measurement and strategy. In this video I explore some of our most fundamental learnings. This year's Ireland RepTrak 2024 report is on https://lnkd.in/eNXwbWRx #IrlRepTrak24

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Hey, Andrew here from Social For Good Ireland. Thoughts on my website please? 😁 - https://socialforgood.ie/ Here is a #GA4 Halloween Tip! Many charities & nonprofits rely on GA4 default key event counting method, once per event when tracking non-transactional conversions like newsletter signups, form submissions or downloads. The setting often inflates your conversion counts, giving you misleading data. GA4 offers two options for counting key events. 1. Once per event: This fires every time the event occurs and is good for tracking purchase or donations. 2. Once per session: This fires only once during a session and is better for actions that typically occur just once per visit, like form submission. The problem with "once per event" is if you are tracking conversions that should happen "once per session", like signups and your using "once per event", GA4 can count multiple conversions from the same user in one session. Instead, use "once per session" for most non-transactional conversions, this method will give a more realistic view of user behaviour. #charities #nonprofits #digitalfundraising #PaidMedia

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Really enjoyed teaching the Charities Institute Ireland digital module, we discussed Google Analytics 4, Meta Ads and lots more.... 👍 😁 1. What Facebook ad campaign goal will you select? Less budget is required to make an impact with top of funnel objectives than with bottom funnel objectives 2. How long are you going to run the digital fundraising campmaign for? Consider your ad spend, have you advertised before, will you give your ads time to learn etc.. 3. What is your primary KPI? 4. Do you have a realistic budget? 5. Don't over complicate your Facebook ad campaign, keep it simple. 6. Do you need to set up Facebook Conversion API? Meanwhile, did you know Facebook is testing a new control that allows businesses / charities to turn off the comments on their Facebook and Instagram ads? 🤔 https://lnkd.in/ek457SfV #DigitalFundriaising #SocialFundraising #PaidAds #MetaAds

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As businesses experiment and learn more about generative AI, I often hear questions like: ➡ “What tools are our agencies using?” ➡ “Should we be putting policies in place for how our agencies use AI?” ➡ “Our meetings are automatically transcribed but nobody ever asked me if that was okay – do we need to outline some guidelines around this?” ➡ “How can I tell if something was created with AI?” ➡ “Can I expect agency costs to come down?”   ➡ “What are others doing?” ➡ “If we’re using AI tools, how can we be sure that the business context and data we feed these tools is safe?” Register to join this webinar with IAPI - Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland in Ireland on 24th May, where I share insights on what is top of mind for marketing leaders around generative AI, give an overview of how the marketing landscape is evolving, and offer guidance on how agencies can support their clients to experiment safely. #marketing #futureofwork #generativeai #agency

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Front seat reflections from the dad taxi today. 🚕 Inspired by a David Bowie and Prince tribute performance and the lessons we can learn as communicators. Tagging my biggest Bowie And Prince backers Shonali Burke and Lisa Arledge Powell, APR because.... #MarketingStrategy #Messaging #StrattegicCommunication

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Resilience is something you earn for yourself rather than a natural talent. I’m sure everyone has had a moment in their career that put them in the resilience “red zone” - mine was during the pandemic doing crisis response. In this ep Annie and I share ours honestly, how it’s taken a longer time than you’d expect to process these experiences, and the things that have helped us strengthen the resilience muscle. Knowing the signals, active management, long term mindsets and more - you'll find it in this ep. There are also some excellent resources in the show notes too - in particular an exercise I learned at a mental health first aid course for stress management, and support for those whose experiences might need more professional support. We hope you find something useful amongst it all, and that there’s a bit of self care carved out in your weekend ✌️ 🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e_9EK4Wc 🎧 Apple: https://lnkd.in/e9jq-iDt #resilience

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When in Ireland, there's no getting around Halloween 🎃 In October, houses and outdoor spaces in Ireland are decorated with the spookiest Halloween figures, which made me wonder: what would Halloween look like from a marketing perspective? For everyone working on their SEO strategy, I share some exaggeratedly 'frightening' reasons 😉 why a strategy might be 'jinxed.' It's a reminder that we shouldn’t shy away from figuring out how to make SEO work and that approaching it with a light-hearted attitude and a smile can make the process more enjoyable and less daunting. If your website’s underperforming, you might be missing these key signs. Here are 5 signs your SEO strategy might be haunted 👻 and needs a refresh: 1) New content brings no traffic. If fresh content isn’t attracting visitors, it’s a red flag that it may not be optimized for what people are actively searching for. 2) Low rankings keep your ideal customers away. When your content is buried deep in search results, potential clients can’t find you—leaving valuable opportunities untapped. 3) Your email list stagnates due to low lead magnet downloads. If people aren’t downloading your lead magnets, they might be hidden from your ideal clients, preventing list growth. 4) Your website feels like a ghost town. With little to no traffic, your site is like a deserted house—not visible to visitors. 5) You’re missing out on search demand. If your content isn’t aligned with what people are currently searching for, it won’t attract the right audience. A solid content strategy starts with understanding real-time search demand. Don’t let these signs drain your SEO efforts! A well-rounded #SEO strategy should bring the right visitors to your website, encourage them to download your lead magnets, and ideally, lead to booking discovery calls. Ready to overcome even the scariest SEO challenges? You can invest hundreds into a full website audit, or simply get started today over the bank holiday with our SEO checklist! It includes 50 questions and strategy hints you can complete in under 1 hour. Download the SEO Checklist for coaches, consultants, and service entrepreneurs from our website: https://lnkd.in/edP4XZFm Happy Halloween 2024 🎃 #SearchEngineOptimization #Halloween

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"𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙" was the theme of my Cannes keynote. One of the best case studies that that I have seen is 𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙢 𝙉𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣....the billion dollar brand that you have never heard. I am proud to say, its an Irish brand that is #1 in its category globally, is growing exponentially, doing hundreds of millions online and selling in 90 countries. Added bonus - I get to work with them! Let's dive into the case study: -> Optimum Nutrition is a $1bn brand that is part of the Glanbia Group - a business in Ireland that grew from being a farmer's co-op fifty years ago to a world dominating brand. -> “Unlock More You” is the latest articulation of the global brand campaign “There’s more of you in you”, which has been running since late 2022. -> The goals of the campaign were to focus on the consumer as the insight is that "sports nutrition only works if you do", drive consistency via Distinctive Brand Assets every time consumers interact with the brand and show that they are the category leader. -> The campaign is built off the universal human truth that "we all have more potential inside us waiting to be unlocked" and ON helps support unlocking that potential. -> The #1 goal all the time is “relentless recruitment of motivated consumers”. with 'Unlock More You' giving a clear call to action -> The ON team, lead by CMO Colin Westcott-Pitt and Global Brand Director Mark Ryan, created a completely integrated campaign that encompassed D2C, marketplaces, influencers, athletes, instore and in-gym activations, Formula 1 city activations with Mclaren F1 stars, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri across the globe. -> Results were ahead of target - and also delivered on KPIs that were specific to their online channel that ensured results were completlely 'omnichannel'. To me, Optimum Nutrition are one of those brands that is executing better than any of the brands who getting the PR in marketing publications. And, they are going to explode in both brand awareness - and, more importantly, revenues as they are just getting started. You heard it here first! .  

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There's some brilliant stuff in this post from Richard Shotton. I particularly like the idea of negative social proof - there are some great studies about the impact of this on people completing tax returns on time and using hotels towels more than once. Can think of lots of ways we can apply this to some of the perennial challenges that all professional services firms (e.g. getting people to use CRM systems, completing mandatory training courses, sending bills and collecting cash etc.)

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PATTRNS has been on a rocket ship since 2021, and September 2024 is no different! Over the moon to shout about the teams wins this month: 👣 Kara Michael-Brown, Bethany Baxter, Sandra Furmane and Clóda Scanlon produced viral content across Dublin, London & Reading driving measurable footfall uplifts for retailers.👣 🇬🇧 Jack McLaren flew the PATTRNS flag on 2 podcasts, led the charge on our latest DTC event and is hosting the Sphere Digital Recruitment | Best Small Company 2022 Digital Maturity & Privacy panel! 🇬🇧 🇿🇦 Reyhana Dollie and the Cape Town team successfully onboarded 4 new brands! 🇿🇦 🌟 Zoe Benwell and the retail team received 5 campaign briefs and delivered 6 PCA’s. The real win here is the feedback from the destination marketing manager: “you guys are one of the best and most responsive agencies i've ever worked with, thank you for all you energy and creativity” 🌟 🎟️ PATTRNS first THE DTC MARKETING CLUB event is set to be a sell out event! 30 carefully selected brands are registered to attend. 🎟️ 🏐Most impressive win this month may actually be that our volleyball team secured 2 wins at the BLUE14 Summer Party 👀 🏐 Not to mention 2 large CPG discovery calls to kick off a huge EMEA step change… more on that next week! #DigitalTransformation #DigitalMarketing #Retail #Placemaking #DTC #FTSE100 #CPG

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Marketing mob, plenty here that crosses over from politics. Frank's job is to understand voters & craft messages to connect with them and he's done it for some of the biggest names in politics. A willingness to listen and learn from voters, and reach them on their level. "I've probably done more focus groups than any living human being....Tell me the truth, not what you think I want to hear, but what you really think." The importance of language & the crafting of words. Telling people what you stand for & delivering on it. The importance of mission, vision and emotion. Thanks Alastair & Rory. I always finish your podcasts better informed, plus I can laugh at Rory pronouncing issue.

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🍻 Could you turn your bar into a museum to get tax incentives? This is part of what LePub And Publicis Dublin's did for their latest brilliant marketing campaign for Heineken. Irish pubs are known around the world not only for their amazing beer but also as crucial elements of local history. After a challenging period for the hospitality sector where historical pubs were being shut down, Publicis had an idea: 👉 What if we preserve Ireland's bars heritage by transforming them into virtual museums? This would make them eligible for the financial advantages typically granted to cultural institutions. ✨ Enters The HEINEKEN Company ✨ To become a museum, the pubs introduced the use of AR. The campaign employs AR technology to showcase the stories of historic pubs, some of which are reputed to be the oldest pubs in the world. Visitors can scan a QR code on a plaque outside the pubs with their phones, which activates an AR overlay that narrates local legends. And there's more. Heineken added a section on their webpage where historic pub owners can fill out a form and apply to become a museum. ✅ This way, Heineken is not only serving beer, but preserving history. 🚨 More examples like this #casestudy on my profile and/or visiting #UrgellCaseStudies

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We are living all wrong. And there's a thing or two we could all learn from the Irish about living right.   So, I was chatting with John, my associate in Cork, and I started venting about my climate anxiety. We got onto the topic of those breathtaking spots in Ireland, and I was worried about how people might literally be loving them to death, ruining the pristine beauty just by visiting them, leaving behind a trail of pollution.   I see it in India every day.   John, then, shared something profound with me: They have a rule - LEAVE NO TRACE   Turns out, when the Irish visit these beautiful spots, they make sure not to leave any evidence of their presence. No trash, no footprints, nothing. But it gets better—they actually go the extra mile. They take preventive steps to avoid causing any further harm to the environment. They stick to specific trails to prevent soil erosion and keep nature as untouched as possible.   It's just so considerate and thoughtful. It's like this code ingrained in the whole country to keep nature's beauty intact. It's all about respecting the amazing gifts nature has given us.   Imagine if we all adopted this mindset? Next time you're out in nature, think like the Irish: Leave No Trace and take care of our precious environment.   The only way this can be locally adopted is if we start telling our friends and family about it and let it trickle down the roots. Share this with your friends and start a movement of thoughtful, eco-friendly, conscious outdoor behaviour. #LeaveNoTrace #Sustainability #Climate

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In the inevitable search for Q4 growth...at what point does the continuous Christmas creep become so inadvertently commercially motivated for it to damage our good old "Brand Christmas" ? Some WARC reflections .... mind the growth 😁 Why Christmas keeps getting earlier Christmas creep, the phenomenon by which the hallmarks of the Christmas period – decorations, products, music, ads – arrive earlier and earlier each year happens for a reason. The trouble with Christmas Timing is everything, especially in such a crowded moment. Brands known for their Christmas advertising, such as the retailer John Lewis Partnership, have aimed for a first-mover advantage with their annually awaited Christmas spot, which tends to be its own news storm. Emotionally led campaigns also need time to bed in and lodge themselves in the memory – there is strong evidence that good ideas can improve over time, even over years. So is context: the sheer messaging congestion during the Christmas advertising period has driven others to take radical new steps in channel selection when the competition could simply outspend you. Why Christmas matters The Christmas period is vital for many brands, especially in retail, with that importance reflected in consistent Q4 spikes in ad spending over the last 10 years globally. But, effectively, the rush comes down to the hard deadline of 24th of December, by which time brands need to land a message that performs. This is shifting, however, with Christmas campaigns now designed to boost brand equity long beyond the Christmas period, or to find a winning idea that can wear in over many years of Christmas activation. Reasons to creep "Christmas creep" is not new; it is, in many ways customary for people to grumble about Christmas getting earlier. It comes down to retailers becoming increasingly reliant on a strong final quarter of the year, a time when they'd rather get their festive talking points out of the way early rather than risk “holiday fatigue”. The Christmas season is getting earlier The Guardian observes that activity for the period has consistently crept forward over the last four decades. Its analysis is based on three areas: Christmas music: according to the UK music charts, it appears that it’s now acceptable to listen to festive music from mid-November, a steady creep from a two-week period leading up to the 25th, which had been common in the 1990s. Christmas products: The average launch date for mince pies across four major UK supermarkets shows a significant pie creep, with the date this year coming down to 7 September. By comparison, in 2020, the average launch was 28 September. Christmas markets: Around the country, Christmas markets are opening earlier, with the typical date of opening now around a week ahead of the last decade. Sourced from WARC, The Guardian. Image source: Adobe

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As we approach the Local Council elections in Ireland, I can't help but draw a parallel to the world of marketing. It's strikingly similar to how bad marketing operates – aggressively shoving products and services in people's faces during a time of desperation to sell, instead of maintaining visibility on important matters consistently over the years. Local elections are essential, as they shape policy decisions at the local level, affecting areas such as planning, roads, traffic, housing, environmental services, recreation, and community development. Yet, we often see a surge in political activity only as the election date approaches. I understand why that is, but this sudden burst of visibility feels more like a desperate sales pitch rather than a genuine commitment to public service. It just reminds me of all the times they were NOT visible. Let's face it, politicians want to be elected for reasons that are not always about serving the public. Power, influence, and control over budgets and resources are significant motivators. This is why many politicians only become visible now, during election season. They know that by being in office, they gain access to decision-making processes that can shape their own careers, pensions and personal agendas. It's a reminder that, just like in marketing, the focus shouldn't be solely on the desperate push for votes or sales when the time is critical. Genuine engagement, consistent visibility, and a real commitment to addressing important issues year-round are what build trust and credibility – whether you're a brand or a public servant. Let's hope for more authenticity and less opportunism, both in politics and in marketing. The latter is more likely. #Marketing #LocalElections2024 #Politics

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Over the past week, I have spent almost ten hours completing my judging duties for the 2024 Prime Awards alongside my fellow category judges David Leahy Nayana Wade. As someone who has judged many awards over the past few years, it’s always a privilege to see the impact that well-executed campaigns can have, especially when they make a real difference in people’s lives. While I can’t reveal too much (you’ll have to wait until November to see the impressive list of winners), here are four key insights from my experience as a judge in this year’s Prime Awards: 1. The most successful entries were those with highly considered strategies that engaged multiple audiences through diverse tactics. These campaigns didn’t just address broad stakeholder groups – they went deeper, considering the unique needs of each sub-audience within that overarching group. Tailoring campaign messaging for each of these sub-audiences ultimately creates a campaign that resonates with audiences on a deeper level. 2. The campaigns that stood out to me were the ones that took every asset and made it work hard as its own entity. The best way to do this is to repurpose content across multiple platforms, whether turning a single piece of content into a social media post, transforming it into an infographic, or repackaging it into a downloadable guide or video. These campaigns maximised their reach and engagement by ensuring that every piece of content contributed to the overall goal. 3. In my opinion, some of the best campaigns were rooted in solid insights and thorough consultation. Starting with a robust form of research – such as stakeholder interviews or media audits – ensured that the campaign messaging was relevant and impactful from start to finish. These insights also acted as a compass for the allocation of resources, ensuring that every dollar and hour spent ultimately brought the campaign closer to its key objectives. 4. One thing I have learned from judging over the past few years is that the most impactful campaigns always begin with a clear outcome in mind. While this might seem obvious, you would be surprised how many lack this core foundation. A successful campaign is just as strategic as it is creative, so without a defined goal, even the most innovative tactics can fall flat. A more relaxed approach may reap some results or short-term noise, but they rarely reach the same levels of success as campaigns that purposefully align their actions with their measurable goals. What do you think are the hallmarks of a successful campaign? Let me know what I’ve missed in the comments! #PublicRelations #Marketing #PrimeAwards #PRTips #MediaCoverage

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Authenticity & Trust are the major gains from engaging with Creators on TikTok 🌟 I really enjoyed listening to Rachael Ryan Head of Research & Insights at TikTok. The Galway Girl now NYC gave some really useful info. for anyone working in digital marketing or sales with the evening organised by the Sales Professionals Network. She spoke about her focus in TikTok around how people make decisions, how they are behaving and how they are going through the world when making brand decisions. Key Takeaways: ⭐️ Influence has shifted from Celebrities influencing Top Down to creators influencing from the bottom up ⭐️ Relatability sets creators apart from conventional brand content. 67% of social / video platform users find TikTok creator content to be relatable ⭐️ According to social media users 68% of TikTok creators seem approachable & 64% of TikTok creator content feels authentic ⭐️ After seeing creator focused ads on TikTok 67% of viewers trust the brand more ⭐️ TikTok creators are the new word of mouth. 84% of TikTok users are likely to create content of their own after purchasing from a TikTok creators recommendation ⭐️ Brands should let creators tell their stories. They will be more authentic and do better than any brand creative once briefed *Stats taken from a sample of 20,000 participants globally The event was set in the fresh surrounds of the Alcantara Building space in Bonham Quay Genesys Triona Barrett

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