The Irish Digital Outlook 2015 From Shane O Leary

The Irish Digital Outlook 2014
Introduction
Hello and welcome to the 2015 itera4on of the Irish Digital
Outlook. A?er a good recep4on last year, I wanted to con4nue the
tradi4on, so in the next few pages, youll nd another pulse
check of the Irish digital sector.
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If youre reading this and thinking whos this fella?, my name is

Shane OLeary. Im a lecturer on digital marke4ng, a brand planner
working at a Dublin agency and a tech, sports, marke4ng
journalist.
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Im also a bit of a digital marke4ng geek

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O?en, yearly predic4ons can be arbitrary, under-dened and seem

either overtly ambi4ous or plain boring. How many 4mes can it be
the year of mobile or the year of wearable?
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But with this outlook, Ive chosen some of the smartest people in
the Irish digital sector, each of whom works at the coalface of our
industry. Ive asked them very specic, personal ques4ons about
their own area, from online journalism right across to search
engine op4misa4on, so theres plenty of great insights in there for
2015. At the start of the outlook, Ive also given some of my own
thoughts for the year.
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We had over 30 respondents this year, and if you want to be

involved in 2016, just shoot me a mail!
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If you nd it useful, and want to connect with me, you can:

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- connect with me on Linkedin here

- follow me on TwiWer here
- subscribe to my blog here
- send me an email here
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The Irish Digital Outlook 2014 is supported by
Social
If 2014 was the year that social fragmented and priva4sed, 2015 is shaping up to be the year
that bigger en44es double down on their mone4sa4on eorts. Irish marketers are nally
coming around to the fact that social (par4cularly Facebook, but increasingly other sites)
should be treated as a paid channel.
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All social sites have have found it dicult to seWle on a scaleable revenue stream that oers
real value for adver4sers, uses their mounds of data eec4vely and also doesnt annoy users.
But the biggest boys, TwiWer and Facebook (including the WhatsApp and Insta stable) have
begun to court brands like Amazon, Starbucks and McDonalds. Though previous promises of
Facebook commerce le? many feeling hollow, the wheel has turned. Direct buy now buWons
are being introduced slowly, which will oer a fric4onless, simplied buying experience to
users, and allow brands to embed their own CRM data into the social ad plaborms. All of this
sounds very juicy, but Id s4ll have some reserva4ons over the propensity to buy directly from
a social stream.
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In the private messaging sphere, brands are saliva4ng at the opportunity that WhatsApp oers
in par4cular. Its likely well see some enhancement of the branding/adver4sing poten4al with
the service this year, but given the delicate nature of the data held on the plaborm, expect a
slow, steady approach. Meanwhile, WeChat is one of the most unheralded, yet interes4ng
plaborms out there at the moment, par4cularly if youre doing business in Asia. It wouldnt
take a huge push for it to reach 4pping point in the Western world either.
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If I were to be bold, I would predict that Snapchat will die a slow death this year, despite, or
perhaps because of, its youthful, cynical usage base. On the other hand, Vine is a channel that
I feel is underappreciated by Irish brands, if not for large scale engagement, but for easy
integra4on into the TwiWer stream.
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Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the baWle for control is set to ramp up between brands
and social channels. One of the key trends of the Web Summit last year was the growing
power of the plaborm. With Facebook set to further squeeze page owners in January, and
TwiWer pushing towards algorithm based content serving, marketers are star4ng to wake up to
the amount of control theyve ceded. For many brands and publishers, anything from 30-80%
of their trac will now come from social, but theres a hazard of being so embedded into
Facebook and TwiWer. Theres nothing to stop either plaborm changing the rules of the game.
Currently, its a symbio4c rela4onship, but if Facebook or TwiWers leverage becomes too high,
its dangerous for brands. Watch this space very closely in this new year.
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Media & Video
All hail our new amateur overlords! One of the biggest ongoing changes in the media and
video landscape revolves around the creator ecosystem. Unbeknownst to many over the age
of 30, were witnessing a serious shi? in youth consump4on of media, fuelled by Vine, Tumblr
and par4cularly YouTube. Talent and video agencies like Fullscreen are cropping up, while
superstars like Zoella, Ask A Ninja, Ale Deyes, Hunter March and Irelands Clisare are changing
the way we think about celebrity culture. For legacy media brands, as if there wasnt enough
confusion and disrup4on, the race to create the next big YouTube network is on. Already,
Nickelodeon have partnered with AwesomenessTV, while Vice have invested heavily in
YouTube with huge success and Whistle Sports have created a millennial voice and des4na4on
for sport. Expect plenty of brand/creator partnerships in 2015.
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Staying in the same space, the great war of video between Facebook and YouTube is reaching
its zenith. In August this year, Facebook video views matched YouTube views, thanks in part to
the Ice Bucket Challenge. While this isnt yet a regular monthly occurrence, Facebooks
tweaked algorithm greatly rewards na4vely uploaded video and denigrates YouTube links,
meaning a major advantage. For me, theres space for both op4ons, though well likely see a
split in brand adver4sing between them. One incredibly important point to remember is that
what Facebook cons4tutes as a view is very dierent to YouTube. On YouTube, a video view is
measured as a single person choosing to watch the video. It's a deliberate ac4on. On
Facebook, a video view is counted if a video is in view for an auto-playing 3 seconds or longer.
Also the lack of a video search op4on hampers the longevity of a single video on the channel.
Instagram, Vine and par4cularly TwiWer, who are building their own video inventory through
an upcoming na4ve video player, all bring up the considerable rear in this highly compe44ve
medium.
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The podcast came back into the common consciousness in 2014, and this year will further
cement its place in our daily media diet. The Irish Times has invested heavily here and is very
well placed to take some ad dollars once media agencies coWon on to the opportunity.
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2015 will also be the year that the paywall nally comes to Irish media. For me, theres s4ll a
fundamental confusion from the big newspaper brands about their digital strategy, with one
daily in par4cular walking the dodgy line between a proposed paywall and Daily Mail esque
social and clickbait strategy. For me, paywall a?er years of freemium is a awed strategy, and
Irish readers will need some serious convincing. The Farmers Journal is s4ll the best example of
a legacy brand that really gets its audience. I also expect a big digital shi? from the Sunday
Business Post this year, the current site experience doesnt reect the excellence of the print
version.
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Wider Digital Space

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Working within the agency space, I cant help but be struck at the con4nuing fragmenta4on. At
an almost monthly rate, were seeing some of the best people in the agency industry strike out
on their own and move into consultancy or startup work. New Irish brands like Wondr, Agility,
Each & Other, Wolfgang and numerous other small, speciality, bou4que shops are bringing a
freshness of thinking to agency land, which some of the bigger en44es cant match. Smart big
boys will be looking closely at a partnership model, which oers exibility. The crea4ve
destruc4on occurring currently at NixonMcInnes in the UK could be a blueprint.
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Of course, content has been the big story of 2014, and according to the MII, Irish marketers
see it as a con4nuing growth area. While crap content overkill is on the horizon, at the very
least brands are star4ng to understand that facilita4on, conversa4on and u4lity are far smarter
traits to emphasise than interrup4on in the digital era. One of the most interes4ng moves of
2014 for me was Intercom hiring a former Irish Times journalist to run their blog. As tradi4onal
journalism becomes squeezed, expect to see more of this sort of recruitment.
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Slowly, the industry here is waking up to the fact that digital display is, in many cases, a box
4cking exercise. Ad blocking, a trend mooted in this outlook last year, grew nearly
70% between June 2013 June 2014, fake clicks are harming the reliability of display and the
sheer vastness of inventory are all trends that are diminishing the importance of display.
From a media point of view, the best agencies are those which arent afraid to push the
boundries and try new formats, channels and crea4ve. My hope is that in 2015 well con4nue
to be awakened to the fact that the focus of media spend is no longer underpinned merely by
reach, but by audience value, personalisa4on, targe4ng and deeper aWen4on metrics. The
rst publisher to charge based upon aWen4on rather than clicks or impressions in Ireland will
have a very lucra4ve story to tell.
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Of course, it doesnt need to be said, but mobile will con4nue to eat the web and Id be very
bullish that Apple Pay will at least push the mobile payments debate forward. Apples sheer
power might even make it a major success. Time will tell.
In the tech industry, wearable fa4gue seems to be setng in, but theres s4ll plenty of mass
market share to be gained by the right product, again Apples brand may be enough on its own
to ensure they win the war.
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Finally, its also heartening to see digital now becoming embedded into the marke4ng
func4on. For too long, many of us have worked in silos, away from the main decision makers,
but the realisa4on is that digital is no longer a separate discipline. As corny as it sounds, digital
is marke4ng now, and 2015 should see a con4nua4on of this.
Hapenny eve
Lines on the horizon by

@coconut2674
http://instagram.com/p/
txPUp2hJKb
Finian Murphy
Finian is founder of Agility, and is one of the leading strategic minds
in the country.
@nianmurphy
ON TRENDS FOR 2015

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Truly integrated campaigns, because the work has to get better. Converting 6 sheets or 25x4 press
ads into internet banners is no longer acceptable and the opportunity for truly great use of digital will
be grabbed. I look forward to seeing smart use of video, personalised content, and mashing up of
APIs.
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CHANGES IN AGENCY LAND

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Ad land is in a real transition as experienced digital thinkers are now at the point where they have
more sway in the boardroom, but agencies and clients might need to be more willing to experiment
with ideas. More importantly, we will continue to see the rise of collaborative work where agencies,
clients and consumers must work together to get the best results.
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MEDIA INDUSTRY IN FLUX

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We are seeing some developments of legacy media brands - but these changes are too slow.
I admire those organisations who prototype products and develop them if they are successful or kill
them o if not. Media organisations have such potential, but they remain to be quite conservative.
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PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

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2014 has been a big year for me - with lots of changes - so hopefully build on these. Agility has
worked with the Web Summit and Other Voices this year, so we look forward to speaking to more
organisations and brands who wish to collaborative on interesting ideas, campaigns and products.
sayhello@thisisagility.com
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Kieran Flanagan
Marke<ng Director EMEA at Hubspot. World renowned content marketer
and search specialist.
@searchbrat
ON TRENDS FOR 2015
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I dont think I would give one big trend as digital rarely works like that. I could come out with the
usual hyperbole like SEO is Dead or Content Marketing is the Future but whats happening is a
continuation of marketers becoming more sophisticated with what they do online.
Organic trac is still a critical way for brands to grow their presence online. Activities that increase
your trac from search engines is still an important part of this. People should call it whatever they
want, SEO, content marketing, brand marketing, it doesnt really matter, what matters is the end
result. I see the skills and tactics in this area continuing to evolve, becoming more complex and the
people who excelling at them be well paid for what they do (and deservedly so).
Marketers relationship and use of social will continue to evolve. On platforms like Twitter and
Facebook, its clear marketers are going to have to spend some cash to reach their target audience,
even if its their own audience. The cost of advertising on these platforms is still low compared to
PPC, but increased competition will drive prices up. Finally, I really hope to see lots more digital
businesses being launched in Ireland (not talking about just agencies, just online businesses in
general). There are so many smart online folk working in this country, I love seeing Irish startups
doing cool things.
BEST CAMPAIGN OF 2014

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This is hard, I see so many cool things throughout the year but rarely bookmark them. Maybe I
should. Im going to go with a really recent example of a great piece of content, Googles year in
search. If I went for a social campaign it would be Legos April fools tweet, just because it was funny:
I hope no one on this round up chooses the ice bucket challenge!
THE FUTURE OF DISPLAY

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There is a lot of interesting things going on in online advertising. There is a heap of opportunities in
running context driven retargeting campaigns across your funnel. Using paid not to generate new
trac to your site, but using paid to increase the conversion rates across your funnel. There is some
really interesting things going on in that space.
In general, there are a lot of new companies oering context driven marketing to get your content
discovered. Platforms like Outbrain can help brands to get more clicks on their content. Whats
interesting is how much ROI companies are seeing from these activities. Ive seen an variety of
results from companies using content discovery platforms, some good, some bad.
In general online advertising is going to try get as context driven as possible to try improve upon the
metrics a standard display ad would get, weather thats on a desktop, mobile, tablet etc.
Ciaran Walsh
Owner of Sweatshop, a smart, forward thinking agency thats changing
Irelands media landscape.
@kowalshki
ON TRENDS FOR 2015
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I think in a lot of respects it's year zero again for the Irish digital scene (but not in a Pol Pot way).
There has been caution and looking over shoulders to see what other businesses have been doing
and a lot of 'next big thing' gu being sprouted in others. Essentially though, various ideas and
models have been tried and tested now. Those test results are in andI think that next year we'll see
some bold movement from the bigger players with some serious punts being made.
Digital is still a fairly nascent scene here but I'm hoping that the sustainable businesses who have
survived the last five years will now start to flourish. They deserve to.
As regards social, every so often Facebook's death knell has been rung, but once again recently they
showed how they could gazump youtube with Facebook video. It's hard to know what, if anything, will
raise to the heights of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but I've enjoyed using Vine, (Yik) Yak, and
Dubsmash. When you consider the possibilities of something like Yo also, with it's most basic
function, anything is possible in social.
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THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

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The paywall (or meter) is coming. That's going to have huge implications.I spoke at an event in the
UCD Innovation centre in October where the head of Irish Times said that for the first time in the
paper's history, digital took the first spot in the agenda for the editorial meeting that morning. The
legacy media outlets look like they are going to go in slightly dierent directions, which is exciting
from the outside but must be incredibly anxious from within. I think a publication like the Irish
Farmers Journal should not be overlooked either. Of all the Irish publications they have grown their
print sales this year while also keenly developing their digital oering.Ultimately, loyalty to brands like
the Indo and the Irish Times will be really tested in 2015.
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I'm almost back in start-up mode having side-stepped Le Cool in 2014 to concentrate on developing
Sweatshop.ie as a digital and creative company. I've had a running start and really just looking to
build on that, to use what I learned since 2001, when I first started working in digital content, to build
a sustainable, long lasting business.I'm looking forward to continuing to work with sites like
Broadsheet.ie and to developing prowlster.com. Weve developed a great network of creatives and
publishers and now I'm looking to create a network of coders and tech people.
I'm looking not to 2015 but to the next five years (but not in a Stalin way).
Lorraine Grin
Lorraine Grin runs her own content marke<ng company and lectures at
DMI and NCI.
@lorrainegrin
ON TRENDS FOR 2015
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Content will move from being the campaign to being a fundamental process within the company. For
years weve insisted digital marketing not be viewed in isolation, the same now applies for content
marketing. I think were going to see more brands hiring people with a journalistic background or
those with video/audio production skills to bolster their marketing line-up. Equally, therell be a
stronger push for user-generation, with brands really working to grab peoples attention and enticing
consumers to get involved. This will involve some level of crowdsourcing or co-creation - people are
always more interested in stu about them!
BEST SOCIAL/DIGITAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

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I thought the Immigrant Council of Irelands Tinder campaign was a game-changer. They used the
social dating app to raise awareness of sex tracking. This showed massive understanding of the
audience and the best way to both interrupt and intrigue them. Very impactful. A really innovative way
to harness social apps for the greater good. Eighty Twenty were the digital agency behind this one. It
got huge coverage globally over 350 articles about the campaign online.
IRISH AGENCY LAND

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Its over 18 months since I worked client-side but as a (one woman) agency I guess Id say Im seeing
more fragmentation in this world - specialists rather than the old-style one-stop shop agencies. This
is because I still think a gap exists between creative advertising execution and eective ongoing and
clever content creation. Creative is always going to be important but for social media and building
relationships, content has to be clever and inspire user-generation.

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I started a business at the end of 2013/early 2014 so last year was all about establishing myself,
preparing pitches and building my client portfolio. There were lots of scary moments and challenges
throughout that process (lecturing to the CEO of an international advertising agency in Manila springs
to mind!). But Ive made it so far and intend to keep pushing myself in 2015. I want to grow the
business, host my own content events and do some radio work. Starting out on my own was
liberating - Ive never looked back. What I love about Ireland at the moment is there is a great feeling
of go for it amongst start-ups and people who are freelancing or out on their own. It can get a little
lonely on your own (I became good buddies with the postman when I first started out!) but once you
tap into start-up communities theres a lot of support there and opportunities for collaboration etc
Etain Kidney
Lecturer in digital marke<ng at the School of Marke<ng in DIT.
@etainkidney
DIGITAL TRENDS IN THE CLASSROOM
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The classroom is becoming more disembodied in many ways we use virtual learning environments
to share notes, ideas, submit assessment and have discussion. This is completely agnostic about
where you access it and mobile support has reached a stage where we can do course work on the
bus or in the bath never mind the library. Learning is a social process now more than ever, as we
reach into subject specific communities to build our knowledge and our networks. The mobile has
become the A4 pad. Theres a great quote from 1815 (The Principals Association):
Students today depend upon paper too much. They dont know how to write on a slate without
getting chalk dust all over themselves. They cant clean a slate properly. What will they do when they
run out of paper?
Mobile has transformed the classroom; it has exponentially increased the potential of the students in
the room. Teachers and lecturers are beginning to unlock this in meaningful ways.
BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

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At a local level I love the @akillersandwich use of social. Its special and its an experience people
want to talk about. I think that we have been hungry for quality authentic experiences more than
anything this year. Big brand to sandwiches every other Fridaywe will talk about it if it is
impressive.
DIGITAL LEARNING & MOOCS

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Id like to see more use of virtual learning environments (and the adoption of better learning
environments), and the considerable range of MOOCs available to us. The range of learning available
for free through www.edx.org is unbelievable, and the platform itself is incredibly user friendly. Id like
to see people take responsibility for developing themselves as education providers, not just the
students. Its such an exciting time, and Im proud to be a part of a college that is embracing the
change.

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I want to continue to strive for excellence in education in my role at DIT. In a field where change is
constant, its exciting to move into a new year. It means that we get to revisit our courses, innovate
with the content, and collaborate with industry to deliver the best.
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Nick McGivney
A renowned copy and content specialist who's currently deep undercover
gearing up for a big 15.
@nmcgivney
ON TRENDS FOR 2015
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Anonymity on social. It's what the kidz want, and Facebook is your auntie's kitchen at this stage.
Comfortable, warm and great for catching up with the fam, but you won't want to bring your friends
around. Although you still might if it's3.30 am, your judgement is three parts Bacardi and your
iPhone still has enough juice left for the really-shouldn't-have selfies.Otherwise it's onwards and
upwards for Snapchat, or the likes of Yik Yak, the anonymous Twitter clone. It's just been given a
$62m cash injection by some investors and is valued at $300. Will it take o? Doesn't matter. If it
doesn't, the next one will. Then Facebook will buy it for 20 times more.
BEST CAMPAIGN OF 2014

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Kim's photoshopped arse failing to crack the internet. Not because it was classy, clearly, but
because Paper Magazine was clearly gaming people and demanding that they click. They did
everything right:Jean-Paul Goude as the snapper, this decade's Paris Hilton as clickbait and an
editorial decision to drive right into the gutter. The Mail Online must've been raging.
THE FUTURE FOR IRISH AGENCY LAND?

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Increasing dichotomy between those who understand that first-point advertising contact can mean
an immediate sale(especially online, and increasingly on mobile), and those who push brand
advertising in vague terms and on the wrong channels at inappropriate times.
I don't know how deeply Irish media agencies are looking into programmatic marketing, but if they're
not they really,really should. Google'sGlobal Head of Marketing,Lorraine Twohill, has said that it
wants to put 60% of its marketing spend there in the immediate future, and Amazon and eBay seem
to have woken up big time to the storehouse of data they're sitting on, all of which points to the
increased shrinking of ATL brand advertising, I feel. Programmatic marketing is a soulless term, I
grant you, but it's where the money's going.

I'm working on a drone app concept with a friend of mine and fellow Cavan man, Mick Brady, and we
believe it'll really take o in 2015. It centres around corporate business speak buzzwords, and aims
to de-jargonise communications.
A complex algorithmic program within the app can 'hear' jargon-infested conversation from a
keyword list of 3,000 terms. The drone does the rest, hovering over the speaker and releasing a kilo
of liquefied Cavan porcine faecal matter. It's called Shitehawk. Beta testing is going well.
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Keith Bohanna
Principal at Near Future, food branding and produc<vity expert.
@keithbohanna
TRENDS FOR 2015

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Indigenous Irish SME eCommerce will reach critical mass and shrug o theinertia that has stunted
its adoption. Thatwill be followed by a major improvement in the collective shared knowledge and
experience of eCommerce initiation and optimisation. That can only be a great thing for Irish
business.
STARTUPS AND BUBBLES

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If a bubble exists it fells more likely that it could be in themultiplicityof incubators - they are hungry
beasts that need feeding and outside of the key urban areasits dicult to see a constantstream of
high potential startups being available. On the funding side the contact I have had with startups who
have received funding shows a laser focus on sales and commercially viable business models.
STARTUP POTENTIAL IN 2015

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I have gotten to know more about Gavin Sheridan this year through my Near Future co-founder
Dermot Casey who is a friend and ex-colleague of his.Vizlegalis his new startup with Fred Logue
and from chatting to Gavin their execution deep into that opportunity will be disruptive, commercially
successful and achieve great transparency in the legal sector.
ON PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

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I want to carve out a small budget to support high quality and focused content creation from sources
like Ben Thompson (@monkbent).
On my food passion side I will keep working

underwww.biabeag.comandwww.slowfoodsoutheast.comto make it easier for great small scale
food producers to get an audience and make a decent living.
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Rob Hartnett
CEO at Sport for Business, a key facilitator for the rela<onship between
Irish sport and business.
@hartneTrob
TRENDS FOR 2015
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Like the tagline for a blockbuster movie, in 2015 it gets personal. Ireland is a small market and we
can lead the way when it comes to creating personal experiences for individuals that can then be
amplified by others.
Everybody should feel they have a chance to get that special oer, special message from a star or
special I was just passing moment. When they do they will like the brand more, love the team or
personality more and become a peer advocate.
We know that we are part of a target for brands to sell goods but we are entering a phase where the
actual selling makes me feel special. Thats a powerful shift.
DIGITAL FAN ACTIVATION & SPONSORSHIPS

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I want to be brought to places Ive never had access to before. I want to be in the dressing room, in
the tunnel, at the track, seeing the training session.
Not all the time, obviously, but content which is controlled by the teams and sports will be vital in
locking in the committed fans and bringing in those who are on the fringes.
The experience of being at the ground needs to improve to the level of immersion I can ironically get
by sitting at home and watching on the TV.
Id also like to see activation of the general public. Smartphones, apps and technology to get us
moving and get us fitter will become more powerful if I have some reward / connection to my teams
based on what I have done for myself.

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To be strong enough and smart enough to deliver for those who have had faith in what we are doing
to improve the ways in which sport, business and society connect.
To be open enough to learn something every day from the people I work and live with.
To be persuasive enough to extend the appeal of what we do to every company that has an interest
in seeing what sport can do for their sta, their customers, their profits and the society in which they
exist.
To bring to life two very exciting projects we are working on at the moment that will enable the first
three hopes to come true.
To find the time to be a good husband, father and son.
Theres 100 more as well because Im a great believer that you have to be ambitious to make a
dierence.
Rosemary Clancy
Product manager at exci<ng Irish social listening startup Cloud90.
@rosemaryclancy
ON TRENDS FOR 2015
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For 2015, I would predict that business units will need to break free of metrics that are no longer fit
for purpose and re-consider metrics that work across the organisation, rather than in rigid silos.
Organisations struggle to find metrics that are relevant for all the business units and relevant for
stakeholders that measure social media activity. PR, Marketing and Customer Service are broadly the
three business units that are most impacted by inbound and outbound social media
communications, however, these areas may be using social media for very dierent purposes, or
reporting stats, sentiment assessments and other measurements may vary based on the needs or
scope of each business unit.
Metrics that have been used in the past may no longer be applicable to newer channels. Take
customer service for example, Average Handling Time (AHT) is a widely used customer service
metric for measuring call duration. However, when this metric is applied to customer service
interactions on social media, we are no longer comparing like for like and the metric becomes
redundant as a key performance indicator in a social channel.
While a one size fits all approach isnt the solution, a one single customer view is. Centralised
business intelligence tools, shared information and real-time data will play a big factor is supporting
organisations to work laterally across teams that actively use social media data.
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IRISH STARTUPS TO WATCH OUT FOR

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While they are out of start-up mode, I think the guys at Popdeem are on a trajectory that has 2015
set as a big year for them. The social rewards platform they have built links social media engagement
to monetary values and allows a brand to set tasks for their community, enabling them to earn real
rewards.
Irish company Drop Kitchen Scales is also one to watch. They have come out from PCHs hardware
accelerator program Highway1 in San Francisco and Drop is now on shelves in Apple Stores and is
shipping worldwide. Drop is a connected kitchen scales that interacts with an app, allowing for foolproof baking. Their marketing looks delicious!
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Im looking forward to retaining and growing the client base we have established with Cloud90.
Personally, its an exciting place to be in and Im looking forward to what 2015 has in store.
Marie Ennis-OConnor
PR prac<<oner with over a decade of experience working in the
life sciences and non-prot sectors in Ireland. Digital health expert.
@JBBC
DIGITAL HEALTH TRENDS
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Digital health is a big future trend driven by wearables and consumer interest in health and wellness.
Using technology to monitor health on-the-go will become more ubiquitous. But wearables will have
to prove themselves as more than mere devices to count steps and log sleep patterns. The flood of
information is increasing at an exponential rate, but were not seeing enough eorts to help people
make sense of this data and turn it into action. To succeed in the new digital healthcare arena,
companies will have to put customer experience and outcomes, interoperability, and meaning as well
as data front and centre.

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Two stood out for me this year the Better Together campaign and the Nose of Tralee.
The Nose of Tralee competition, run by Pet Sitters Ireland, was based around the Rose of Tralee, and
gave pet lovers a chance to show o their pets. It was an innovative way to promote Pet Sitters
while at the same time creating a community spirit.
Better Together is an annual social media campaign to help raise public awareness and support for
charities, community groups, clubs and associations across Ireland. Ive watched it grow bigger each
year since it first began in 2010. This year it included the National Motto campaign which encouraged
people to propose a 60 character motto for Ireland using the hashtag #mottoforireland.
ADVICE TO GRADUATES
!
Keep your pulse on industry news by following influential digital marketing people on social media.
Then create a blog and a strong social media profile to report on the latest digital marketing trends by
adding your own unique perspective. This is a great way to build your personal brand and get
noticed in the industry.

!
My hope is that we take a bigger step towards unleashing the full potential of all individuals to take
control of their health. 2014 has been a big year for health tech, but currently we have a market
saturated with digital innovations designed for young people whose health isnt an issue. The people
who could benefit most from this technology the old and the chronically ill - are not being catered
for. I hope 2015 will see us address the issue of the digitally dispossessed and reach a tipping point
in digital citizenship in our healthcare system.
Geo Scully
M.D. of Shop Direct Ireland and renowned retail expert.
@geo161
USER EXPERIENCE & IRISH E-COMMERCE
!
User experience is an ever evolving piece, with new requirements constantly bubbling to the surface.
I do think it is fair to say that as businesses mature, and build/deliver all the services they need
around their product ( eg click and collect, free shipping, next day delivery etc ), then user experience
tends to get more attention. The best way to improve user experience is to constantly test, this is
costly but important. Many businesses do not have the budgets to do this on an on-going basis, but
those that do tend to end up with sites built around consumer behaviour, observed in a multi variant
testing environment and delivering the best results, but all of this can take time.As the ecommerce
industry matures, the bigger players will consistently move the bar, with personalisation leading the
way, many brands will indeed have to pay more attention to user experience.
TOO MUCH MONEY FLOATING AROUND FOR STARTUPS?

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This is a fair observation, but it just seems to be the way it works. If you look at the USA it is no
dierent, VC's will throw money at start ups, many of whom have no customers, or in some cases no
product. The " build the plane as you fly it" culture is well and truly alive. From a VC's perspective,
you would imagine that the financial returns seem to exist, the minute they don't exist, the money will
dry up. From a startup point of view, the individuals involved are getting invaluable experience in how
to build and scale businesses.
Enterprise Ireland and similar entities oer great support to startups and there does seem to be a lot
of cash available, my one concern would be that many startups can over rely on instinct and
sometimes lack the structure and strategic experience required to scale and can often fall at this
hurdle. I would love to see more programmes developed to help startups navigate this stage of their
development.
PERSONAL HOPES & DREAMS FOR 2015

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I hope Man Utd can get back to the top where they belong!
I also hope to see many more Irish retailers adopt true multi channel strategies. The days of talking
about the threat of ecommerce are long gone, the future is about serving up relevant experiences to
customers through whichever channels they choose to engage. The future of retail is quite exciting if
you consider the opportunities a truly connected business can create, both online and oine,
through data capture, personalisation and dialled up convenience. Done right, retailers can build their
brands better than ever before and drive loyalty and, most importantly, conversions through relevant
experiences.
!
!
Connor Keppel
Marke<ng manager at Phorest Salon So\ware.
@con_keppel
CONTENT IS COMING
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Content marketing is inevitably here to stay for the foreseeable future. 2014 saw unprecedented
numbers of B2B and B2C companies focus on owned media and generating value-add content with
one sole aim: increasing awareness and lead generation by establishing themselves as thought
leaders. I predict this isnt going to change as a philosophy, but I do predict the format of content is
going to change for companies who are successfully implementing this strategy. With more and more
quality content appearing and some companies even hiring journalists as in-house editors, getting
noticed in this space, particularly if not operating in a vertical is going to get much tougher.
While Red Bull can aord to print their own magazines, I see smaller companies such as ours
changing their content formats from text based posts and ebooks to full in-house video productions
in the form of mini-lectures; infographic type videos deep-diving into dierent topics and even mini
feature films capturing the essence of great content in more entertaining forms. I have even gone as
far as to hire a content guy with a masters in film making and that has films featured in festivals etc.
Facebook video is hurtling along at an incredible rate and posting a link to a Youtube channel is no
longer enough on social. I predict the following is going to happen, some of which Phorest has
started:

Answering twitter support issues via a bank of FAQ vines (for small level 1 issues)

Creating bespoke vines to congratulate and thank clients on special occasions

Creating multiple videos for landing pages entries i.e. based on the info entered the end-user is
presented with a dierent video on the thank you page

Creating proper scripted 3-5 minute films on hot content topics
The problem with all of this is scale. But the day of just posting cool content is already beginning to
die in my opinion. People will want amazing interactive content that is personable and targeted. I
think we are going to see more and more of that in 2015.
IRISH STARTUPS
!
I think Charlie, the app that searches your calendar, and gives you a briefing note on the person you
are going to meet is going to be huge! Such a great idea.
Also in Irish terms the likes of Fluid UI for app development and GloFox which is similar to Phorest
except in a dierent vertical. There are so many Irish start-ups that are great and will inevitably be
hugely successful. However, some are busy growing, generating leads and onboarding - it is certainly
not always the ones we hear about that succeed as PR is great for hiring talent or raising money, but
in terms of early growth marketing, a good press book really means very little for the bottom-line.
Connor Keppel
Marke<ng manager at Phorest Salon So\ware.
@con_keppel

!
Based on my answer above, it would be the Honda Civic Type R Youtube campaign. A very clever
interactive use of storytelling, the duality of a brand and totally engages two dierent sides of a
person, and even perhaps two totally dierent markets. With the touch of a keyboard you are turning
the main character from a caring father in a safe car to a stunt driver turned bad boy in a hot hatch.
Smart and unprecedented in its delivery. The product is at the centre of a story, not a sales pitch and
its all beautifully shot. Really great stu.
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PERSONAL HOPES/DREAMS FOR 2015

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I have carefully hired an amazing team over the last few months that work well under autonomy and
have great can-do attitudes. While we are doing great in UK and Ireland, we are nobodies in the US
hair and beauty space. My personal goal is to craft a content strategy that gets noticed in the US and
really establishes us as thought leaders even among the bigger US players. Some of the competition
have raised $25m+ in funding recently - we are bootstrappers and take immense pride in that. Our
mantra as a marketing team here in Phorest is simply: If it takes time, lots of eort and lots of
creativity, then the competition wont do it. But we will well, and well make sure it adds tons of
value for our clients.
My hope and dream is simply that we can take what we have done here in UK/Ireland on a small
budget, localise it for the US, and make the impact we need to grow over there at the rate the CEO
and investors want. However, hoping and dreaming is probably not the way to achieve it!
!
!
!
summer in Dublin
by @shaneoleary1
tP5EHLzYt8/
Graham Nolan
Head of strategy at global digital agency CKSK.
@grahamdotnolan
ON TRENDS FOR 2015

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Theres been so much talk of mobile and yet Irish agencies are still yet to turn that talk into action.
Designing for mobile and all the possibilities it oers is still in the minority in Ireland. Looking around
the are plenty of examples of agencies doing mobile but not sweating it for all it oers. I see lots of
examples of ad and digital agencies lumping the above the line strategy into what appears to be a
digital one. But its not mobile to the core and so underwhelming.
In 2015 I think well see that changing and the recent IAB mobile conference outlined much of what
we can expect to see. Geolocation possibilities, contextual possibilities and wonderful
personalisation powered by mobile capabilities and insights. At CKSK we are in year 3 of our multi
award winning Coors Light mobile platform now and are still seeing continued positive shifts in KPIs.
Weve been able to achieve this by using mobile capabilities to full potential which weve been able
to do after 2 years of activity and by looking at year on year data back to back. Its a learning process
but when I look to our CKSK Sol Search campaign (which imagines how a beer brand can create a
search engine underpinned by the idea of Independence) then we can see beyond just running the
press ad as a mobile expandable. With Sol Search in London and Sao Paulo this year we are oering
an alternative to Google on mobile, enabling admirers of more independent destinations and
experiences to find them via a multi platform search engine thats very UnGoogle in terms of the
usual mainstream results.
Mobile is unique and I think well see more and more brands appreciating that.
FACEBOOK PRIVACY BACKLASH

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Yes. All of our user experience (UX) learnings point to users wanting the brands and the social
channels they interact with to be up front about what they will, and critically, will not do with your
data. Fail to inform, be ambiguous up front and youll under perform no matter if you are a big social
network or a local brand.
Graham Nolan
Head of strategy at global digital agency CKSK.
@grahamdotnolan
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IRISH AGENCY LAND

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We published a post on our http://ckskblog.tumblr.com/ lamenting the lack of truly interactive digital
in the landscape. Everywhere we look today, from Cannes to Irish awards, digital is getting confused
with 21st century advertising. Look at whats winning in so called Cyber categories and youll see
its just a longer video distributed via promoted posts on social media. Brilliant to watch in many
cases but is it digital, is it interactive? No, its just longer video thats shareable.
Cecilia Wogan Silvia, Director of Creative Agency Development at Google rightly points out "The
trend toward the mean-spirited shock video filled with actors faking real-time reactions to disgusting
pranks is the result of the mistaken belief that eyeballs equal success. This mentality is largely a relic
of the measurement of success in television advertising, which isnt surprising.
I agree with that POV and the projects were proudest of in CKSK are the ones where we design
something useful and inspiring that solves problems for people and creates interesting possibilities.

!
Within the last 2 years I have a big soft spot for the Droga5 Recalling 1993 campaign where they
turned old pay phones in New York into geo-located oral history capsules. By dialling a number into a
payphone, users could hear a real story from that specific area and get a glimpse into New York in
1993. Designed to amplify an exhibit at New Yorks New Museum, its a brilliant reimagining of an
analog medium for the digital age and exploit the trend for oral rather than written history.

!
Well Liverpool FC will win the Premiership of course so lets put that hope to the side. Ive been lucky
enough to work on some projects in CKSK where we now have so many proof points of success in
the form of hard and fast KPI indicators that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt our thinking and, in
some cases, the risks we took were well and truly justified.
One thing Ive learned is that you have to package and communicate your successes and weve
gotten good at doing this down on South William Street. CMO and CTOs are under such pressure to
justify investment that when you have the proof, get on the road and let every stakeholder know.
More of the same in 2015 please!
Rachel Ray
Strat planner at Simply Zesty, trends blogger and freelance writer.
Rachel__Ray
A BACKLASH AGAINST FACEBOOK PRIVACY ISSUES?

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I wish people were as concerned as all that but unfortunately they just arent.
I believe this is much more to do with ignorance than complacency. People dont seem to
understand the level of personal information thats available on them. They also dont seem to
understand that this isnt just about who has that data now, but who has it later when it is sold or
when someone else is stirring the ship in the years to come. To be honest, I would be more
concerned with what deviant individuals or other governments are doing with my data than Snapchat
or a bunch of madmen. After all, they are the ones that are forcing the likes of Snapchat to hold onto
all that info in the first place
IRISH AGENCY LAND

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Twitter is awesome, but its not going to be the next Facebook and the laughable Facebook for
Work (in a post-Snowden world) iscertainlynot going to be the next Facebook. The good news for
good agencies is that because using niche platforms in unique engaging ways requires
actuallyunderstandingthose platforms and having real consumer insight, the snake oil salesmen
(read: gurus) should be easier to weed out than before. I also think it means there will be greater
pressure on brands to share data insights with agencies so that we can all do greater things.

!
I dont agree that the solution is as simple as the campaign makes out but as a mechanic, it has to
be Leo Burnetts Second Chance.
PERSONAL HOPES/DREAMS FOR 2015

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That the referendum on gay marriage will have a record turn out and that the outcome will be a first
step in igniting real and progressive change through all aspects of Irish life. Oh, and more pitch wins
please.
Rachel Ray
Strat planner at Simply Zesty, trends blogger and freelance writer.
@rachel_ray
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FACEBOOK FACES EXODUS

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My prediction for 2015 is perhaps a rather dull and obvious one (always, good to start with an
engaging opening line) but it is rooted in a pivotal change in how we do social - the exodus of
businesses and brands from Facebook.
For the last few years, we have witnessed the splintering of consumers (otherwise known as people)
across dierent social platforms that tailor for dierent needs and situations. When you think about it,
its totally natural if we consider the history of other mediums that have gone before. Like TV for
example - where we started o with as little as one supplier and wind up today with an audience that
is dispersed across hundreds of niche providers, channels and multiple platformsall consuming
dierent content in dierent ways. Digital is no dierent - whether youre talking social media,
services, news or retail. It is even more natural when you consider the human condition, specifically,
our need to create and separately maintain multiple identities in dierent aspects of our lives.
We like to,we have to, draw lines of separation around things - the personal and professional, the
parent and the party animal. But Facebook forces all of these aspects of our personality, our past
and our present into one big messy algorithm. It tries to be all things to all men - the home of LOL cat
videos and harrowing ebola updates. It just doesnt work anymore. And despite the mass adoption of
smart mobile devices in this country, numbers are reflecting a fall in popularity for the social giant.
This has encouraged some brands to test out other platforms but unfortunately (due to classic loss
aversion) they havent migrated enough time or marketing budget to them yet. Its like weve all been
waiting around for the next sure thing - the next Facebook - before making the move. A sort of
digital shiny new bus to replace our lovely old one, with the familiar route. I believe (and hope) 2015 is
the year people finally realise that just isnt happening.
And, as Im sure you know, from January 2015 - thanks to Facebooks continued endeavour to sit
around fiddling with itself - our consumer reach will dwindle to near zero and all that money weve
carefully invested growing engaged communities over the last decade is essentially a now valueless
sunk investment. Its rather bemusing that people arent angrier perhaps they are hoping it will all
change again last minute. It just seems a bit ironic that while so many brands worried about handing
control over to the agency or worse, the consumer, it was actually the ignorance of the platform
they really had to worry about. Long term a supplier monopoly is never good for your business
though right?
Sean Earley
Head of Crea<ve Services at New/Slang.
@seanearley
ON TRENDS FOR 2015

!
In 2015 I think well see a lot of platform innovation. Brands are jaded with Facebook after being
burned on organic reach. So well see a lot of experimentation on social outlets like Tumblr, Vine and
Instagram as brands look for the next big channel to connect with consumers on. That said, I dont
think brands will completely abandon Facebook, but media buying will start to dwindle as embittered
buyers look elsewhere for a better return on investment. With ads coming to Snapchat, Instagram
and Pinterest the attention will divert. When it comes to Facebook, whats the point on spending to
build a community of people who never see your message? Media outlets however, will continue to
amp up their Facebook presences. Sites such as JOE.ie, Her.ie and The Irish Daily Mirror still get vast
referral numbers from the platform on a daily basis proving the social giant still serves a large
purpose for some areas of the marketplace.

!
Coming relatively late to the game in 2014, Ted Bakers #TedsElfie is probably my favourite social
activation. They created a holistic campaign which lives through an Instagram treasure hunt, Tweet
activated selfies, Email marketing, Print collateral and In-Store taking the Selfie idea and putting a
cheeky spin on it, to tie into a nice festive feel which combines well thought out, original creative and
copy lines that are heavily influenced by their famously quirky festive in-store POS design.
THE NATIVITY SCENE

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With native content on the rise and banners devalued to next to nothing, 2015 will be the year of
Brand Journalism. Native listicles, sponsored content and branded features all mean marketeers will
almost become seconded journalists to chosen media outlets. As traditional media continues to
decline I also believe well see new roles like brand copywriter crop up in the online media houses.
PERSONAL HOPES FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

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Having gotten engaged in 2014, but put #BanThePlan in place until my better half graduates in April,
Im hoping for us to plan and execute the perfectly social integrated wedding 2.0. (Kidding!) But
getting hitched next year is on the cards. Also trying to figure out why anybody would bother with
Ello is on the To-Do list there somewhere!
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Rob McGovern
Mobile, Web and Digital project lead based in Dubai, UAE,
passionate about tech and crea<ve marke<ng ideas.
@robmcgov
ON TRENDS FOR 2015

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So much has been said about the collapse of Facebooks organic reach for brand posts over the last
12 months, but I think most clients are still unaware of what this means for their brand. Either that or
theyre in denial. I think that 2015 will be the year that SMEs are finally forced into looking at
Facebook for what it now is, a paid marketing tool.
By still seeing it solely as a free communication platform, not only are brands largely wasting their
time and eort, but they are ignoring the potential of using the platform as a great way of running
well-targeted, cost-eective digital ad campaigns.
Hopefully brands will also start considering the potential of moving some of their customer
engagement from social channels to their own websites, where they are the ones ultimately in control
of the relationship. The benefits of creating a space where customers can interact with a brand on
their own site, not to mention the possibilities of owning their own customer data and using that via
email and mobile, will hopefully become more obvious.
VIDEO ADVERTISING
!
Video advertising will continue to grow in popularity and will become more and more accessible to
smaller brands. Expect to see smaller agencies beef up there video production capabilities, and
some larger agencies maybe even distinguishing their video production service from the rest of their
operation to dierentiate between the quick-to-turnaround videos made for social, and more highend, TV quality videos that could be sold as a standalone service. Also, expect Facebooks amped
up video function to steal some of YouTubes thunder.
EXPERIMENTATION
!
Therell continue to be a lot more experimentation from the big players in the tech / mobile space,
capitalising on their resources and user base. Uber for example are testing out a courier service as
well as oering lunch and grocery deliveries in some markets. Most of these types of platforms are
still finding out the dierent ways they can improve users lives and whats actually within their range
of capability. In the same vein, I imagine that well continue to see a lot more moon-shot projects
from the likes of Google, Facebook and Amazon to add to the self-driving car, virtual reality and
drone projects we saw in 2014 respectively.
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Rob McGovern
Mobile, Web and Digital project lead based in Dubai, UAE,
passionate about tech and crea<ve marke<ng ideas.
@robmcgov
MUSIC
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In a music sense, Spotify will have to fend o a new streaming service from YouTube, and expect to
see a revamp of iTunes as well, more than likely integrating the Beats Music streaming platform in
some form, with a fresh emphasis on visuals and premium content.
Apple Pay will roll out globally and hopefully paying for goods with your smartphone will at least start
finding some mainstream adoption in Ireland. Hopefully well see an Android NFC alternative too.
MOBILE HARDWARE
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From a handset point of view, it looks like itll be a tough year for Samsung. The Korean giants are
being squeezed from both the high and low end with Apple introducing larger screens and making
their OS more flexible, and a host of decent quality Chinese Android manufacturers launching their
models in the West. Expect to see decent spec Android devices from the likes of Xiaomi and OnePlus
on sale for as low as 300. Thatll give some people a tough decision over whether they really need
to be shelling out upwards of 700 or tied to a mortgage-like contract with the latest iPhone.
IOT
!
From a Wearables point of view, Im not sure well see too many things that break away from the
niche / novelty realm. Apple Watch is due in the Spring but I really dont see too much potential in the
smartwatch space in its current form. As long as a smartwatch still needs to be connected to a
smartphone to work, its nothing more than an accessory, bringing nothing really revolutionary to the
table.
What Im much more interested in however, are iBeacons and Nearables, sensors that interact with
the smartphones we carry, as opposed to sensors that we wear. Theres a whole host of interesting
players in this space and I really hope we start seeing some real world examples of this type of
technology in a retail capacity in Ireland. The potential there is huge.
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Lisa OBrien
Head of digital and social at Dublin agency Chemistry.
@liobrien
TRENDS FOR 2015
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There will be many, but one of the biggest movements by brands will be mobile first thinking.
Consumers are mobile and are constantly connected, so companies need to prioritise that behaviour
and consumer preference.Companies will move beyond having a responsive site or mobile app, and
focus on mobile first content and social media marketing that scales up to fit desktop, rather than
scaling down to serve mobile. Mobile first will also allow for more personalised experiences for users,
and will prioritise technologies like location based marketing.
Video, content marketing, native and paid for social amplification will all grow significantly too.
!
!

!
The Sweetie campaign blew my mind and achieved amazing results for an important cause.To raise
awarenessof the problem of webcam child sex tourism, D&AD in the Netherlands created a virtual
child called Sweetie in order to identify perpetrators online. Horrifyingly,they caught 1,000
predators from 71 countries in the act of using webcams for child sex tourism. Then they handed
over the files to Interpol, leading to arrests. 1 billion people have seen that campaign and it won
12Golden Lions and Grand Prix for Good at Cannes Lions.Most importantly though, webcam child
sex tourism is now a globally recognised problem, governments are changing policies and around 15
children have been rescued. I will never forget the chill I got when I watched the Sweetie case study
video.
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TALENT WAR
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I think there will be more digital talent hired, and agencies will work across the line in a more cohesive
way.
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PERSONAL HOPES FOR THE NEW YEAR

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I hope to travel further, maybe South America (Shane you can give me some tips when youre back!).
My absolute dream would be to adopt a dog.
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Kathy Troy
Senior Planner and Head of TrendStream at MCCP
@kathyannetroy
TRENDS FOR 2015
!
Video and pictures are obviously going to continue in their importance. You Tube is the second
biggest search platform in the world, Facebook have bolstered the importance of video again in 2014
by making videos in the platform autoplay and Instagram has just surpassed Twitter in user numbers.
Consumers have a short attention span and Millennials particularly expect branded content to be
entertaining. But there is one big trend underpinning all of that and its consumer creation. We now all
have at our finger tips the capacity to produce brand pictures, comments, vines, videos and brands
will need to leverage that in a way that works for them. Brands will need to embrace consumer
participation in the creation of content for the brand. Whether its haul videos, consumer reviews,
Instagrammed photos of meals consumers will be contributing to the creation of a brands identity
online. The most progressive and successful brands will make their brand open source. They will
encourage consumers to co-create and provide them will all of the tools they need to do that.
A great example of a company trail blazing here is Unilever with their All Things Hair You Tube
channel. They realised that the key influencers on their consumers were vloggers and when a typical
consumer had a hair query they were looking up You Tube for inspiration or tips on how to achieve a
style. By allowing non-brand and non-agency people to create collateral for their suite of brands they
became relevant to their audience when they actually needed them. Its not an easy thing for a brand
owner to do and requires a very strong sense of who the brand is and what it stands for. Creative
agencies will also have to adapt the role they play, its no longer enough to be the content creators,
agencies now have to create content that will inspire consumers to do something. The big move well
see in 2015 is the move on social from storytelling to story-doing. And that story-doing will come
from greater consumer empowerment.
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IRISH AGENCY LAND

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Irish agencies have had a tough time for the past few years but there seems to be a bit of movement
now in terms of people, accounts and a return of some marketing spend. Theres amazing creativity
in Ireland and very talented people working in agencies and in 2015 the imperative will be on them to
encourage and support clients to produce outstanding work.
I went to Eurobest in Finland this December and no Irish work was represented on the shortlist. The
Nordic countries were by far the most prolific for engaging, creative and award winning campaigns.
Theres no reason Irish agencies and clients cant produce work thats winning awards in Cannes and
at Eurobest so for 2015 my hope is that Irish agencies push the creativity agenda.
Kathy Troy
Senior Planner and Head of TrendStream at MCCP
@kathyannetroy
THE STATE OF PLANNING
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Planning is crucial to the advertising process and to brand strategy because good planning places
the consumer at the heart of the strategy. Thats going to be even more important in 2015 as the
social and economic landscape undergo a lot of changes. Consumers were slow to fight back at the
beginning of the recession but the tide has turned and consumers are more demanding of brands
now than ever before. Every planner needs to tap the consumer landscape and stay tuned in to
whats going on. So planning needs to play a greater role to keep everything relevant and future
proofed.
I hear more convoluted job titles for planners all of the time and people specialising in very narrow
areas and its losing sight of why were here and the value planners can add. I dont think Planning
or Research are things that agencies need to shy away from. If youre doing these things really well
and contributing value to your colleagues and clients then you dont need to obfuscate the issue.
Ultimately a planners job is to really know what motivates people and represent the voice of the
consumer to our colleagues and clients, to bring a brief to life and to produce work that is eective
for our clients. There are talented people out there and as an industry we need to nurture and grow
that both within our agencies and as a discipline.
In 2015 Id love to see more emphasis on planning, more training at an industry level, more
discussion of ideas among those that work in planning and more recognition of the good planning
thats happening. Were quick to award creativity but planning is still silent and in the shadows. Great
planning doesnt happen by accident and great planners wont just knock on agency doors. We need
to encourage and grow planning talent and well only do that through senior planners and planning
directors making a concerted eort to do that. My experience is that clients really value planning
because when its done well they see the dierence it makes to their business. I think every planner
needs to reframe the question from is planning valued? to how am I adding value?. And then
discuss planning and ideas and celebrate where it happens well.

!
Thats a tough question! Ive been very lucky in the past few years to work with talented clients on
projects that have yielded brilliant results for them. So more of that for 2015! And more good weather
this summer!
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Hugh Curran
Head of digital & social at Dublin agency Atomic.
@hughcurran
ON TRENDS FOR 2015
!
For a long time I've watched these kinds of predictions with interest. The main reason is that I've
spent a couple of years working in mobile and it felt that every year was predicted to be the year of
mobile. So I'm a bit hesitant to stick me neck out...
But I will anyway. I think/hope we'll see mobile payment get traction here in 2015. I've often
wondered why it's taken so long for retailers and banks to get on board with the contactless payment
options and I look at the ungainly way our public transport system utilises it for things like Leap card.
Once the public really catches on to the fact that they don't need to use their debit card for small
payments and their transport card to get on a LUAS they'll embrace NFC and using it for payments.
It's not cause the tech hasn't been there. Android handsets have had NFC for ages. But with Apply
pay coming online I can see appetites changing. Global brands like McDonalds etc will likely be at
the forefront but it would be great if we could get things like the Leap card into a mobile app meaning
one less card to have to carry in my already bulging wallet.
I think the trifecta for uptake is there. 1. The technology is there and now the biggest mobile handset
maker has gotten on board. 2. Big brands like McDonalds and Marks and Spencer are already on
board with contactless payments. 3. Consumers have the appetite for using it. Small value purchases
that they don't even have to take their walled out for? Yes please.
IRISH AGENCY LANDS FUTURE

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It's funny, in 2014 I moved from a more digitally focused agency to a traditional agency so my
perspective on this may have changed over the year. Personally I think that all agencies in Dublin are
beginning to find balance in what they do.
Looking at the volume of agencies that have popped up in the digital/social space I think we'll see a
bit of convergence as larger agencies look to skill up and bring those skills into the fold meaning we'll
see agencies change their tune from wanting to be Creative Agencies to Integrated Agencies.
We certainly hear clients say they wanted integrated thinking on projects so collaboration between
traditional agencies and digital/social agencies is definitely better than it was and I see that
continuing with the above scenario being the obvious next step. 2015 might be a bit soon, but it's
coming.
!
!
Hugh Curran
Head of digital & social at Dublin agency Atomic.
@hughcurran
THE PRIVACY CONUNDRUM

!
You have the likes of Facebook doing God only knows what with our data and selling it o to
advertisers but look at the younger generations. They literally don't care what they put out there so
I'm pretty sure that they don't even consider privacy factors when it comes to things like Facebook.
But they're not the only ones using the internet. I do see there being a backlash. I don't see how that
can't happen. But is the backlash going to be big enough to cause issues? Personally I don't think
people realise just how much of their lives are online and how much data is available.
Case in point being the number of big hacks this year. Even though a good few of them happened on
networks I don't use, I still changed my passwords. I'd hazard a guess of at least 50% of those who
were aected not even doing that. Here is a question. When was the last time you changed your
Facebook password?
Or just look at Tindr or Grindr. I really don't think we've hit that point where people are afraid for their
data.
Data is everywhere and it's collected at so many touchpoints that we've just lost track of it. People
are beginning to try and reign it back, but I think that ship has sailed. Backlash yes. Enough to make
Facebook change their policy? I don't think so.
!
!

!
That's a tough question. Bottom line I want to be successful and work on great campaigns. I like
what I do. I'm lucky. Oh and winning a couple of awards would be nice.
What I'm really looking foward too is the new platforms that are going to come on stream. Bebo beta
just launched. It's a mashup of Whatsapp and Snapchat and it looks like it could be fun.
!
!
!
!
Eoin Kennedy
Founder of the most unique Irish social media gathering, Congrega<on.
@eoink
TRENDS FOR 2015
!
For me 2015 will be the year where data will really start to dominate and its impact will be felt. Big
Data analysis and visualisation will become simpler and more accessible. The impact will be felt from
how campaigns are run, how and what type content is created and decision making will be less
guess work.
Some of these developments will be clearly visible in traditional media, which has invested heavily in
data science and scientists. Data driven articles both topic and content will start to augment gut feel
editorial processes as the news model evolves beyond newspaper/viewspaper and into tailored
personalised content providers.
This has lots of implications for the communications industry. Imagine how dierent pitching an
article will be if a journalist is using an algorithm crunching past views, potential readers, trending
topics, timing, shareability, ad inventory and keywords. Welcome to the world of data driven
journalism.
IRISH STARTUPS WITH BIG POTENTIAL

!
2015 will be a huge year for Irish startups that have put out their stall internationally like Trustev.
Personally I am really looking forward to seeing how Irish start ups that help simplify the process of
creating professional looking content like Viddyad expand internationally. Making data meaningful
and accessible I am hoping Creme Global will make it big in 2015. Linked to the data angle but
merging it with creativity I really like the look of Artomatix in combining data and artificial intelligence
to produce something really useful and remove unnecessary manually iterations.

!
For the last few years blurred lines have formed between PR, SEO and Content Marketing amongst
other specialist areas without any really meaningful collaborative merging and symbiotic meeting of
these functions. Previously there were only possible synergies as each started to drift into each
others backyards but now each of these functions are slightly lacking if they do not have some
component of each other baked in. Outputs from some functions considered bi-product have
started to become central to others. I really hope that 2015 will see some strategic alignments not
just collaborative for todays needs but leveraging o each other to build systems, products and
services that dont currently exists. Each minding their own patch and not only recognizing strengths
but realizing the opportunities will undoubted start to lead to slow and steady decline in the industry.
!
!
Barry Hand
Conversion expert and digital marke<ng consultant at Handmade Marke<ng.
@barryhand
PREDICTIONS FOR 2015
!
People based marketing has been the biggest emerging trend over the last 12 months. Slowly were
seeing the shift in Ireland where visitors, visits and impressions are no longer useful. Facebooks
launch of Atlas should make people sit up and take notice. This people approach works with multi
devices, platforms and publishers to allow brands to connect with real people and stop hiding behind
ineective metrics. I think we will see this trend right across the industry especially as the large
media companies focus on the acquisition of people and not ad impressions.
DIGITAL DISPLAYS FUTURE?

!
Display ads were outdated when they launched, agencies and publishers have had a completely
vested interest in maintaining their existence to generate revenue. Unfortunately this has meant that
the advertiser has been getting the raw end of the deal for too long. Smart brands have long been
utilising performance marketing through personalisation and real-time advertising to connect with
their audience. Were going to see greater education and understanding across the board on how
evolving ad technology can help achieve this. Ireland loves a good bandwagon, and were already
seeing publishers shift to native advertising. Will it replace their falling display revenues? its a
massive gamble, especially with no eective way to measure performance. From the advertisers
perspective, they are much better o creating their own brand stories on neutral platforms (or their
own!)
IRISH AGENCY LAND

!
Some agencies in Ireland has pretty much been shameless and shameful in their approach to digital
marketing over the last 10 years and have no doubt dumbed down the whole industry. It may be
harsh to hear that, but when so many agencies tacked on digital as a service without the ability
deliver there was only going to be one outcome. Weve now seen these larger agencies really
struggle and in some cases having to merge to maintain their existence. Not all bad news though,
Finally were seeing niche agencies who are clued in and are killing it. Theyre now getting the
budgets that bigger agencies squandered as the focus switches to delivering real value.

!
I love the challenge of consulting, as it forces me to constantly research new technologies and
evaluate strategies for dierent businesses. Im also going to develop and deliver more training
programmes, over the past 10 years Ive built up a massive library of guides, notes, tools and tricks
that Id like to share with everyone.
Piers Dillon Scott

Content Strategy & Inbound Marke<ng for Each & Other.
Founder of The Sociable.
@pdscoT
SILOS & SERVICE DESIGN
!
In 2015 were going to see more forward-thinking companies and executives focus on designing the
overall user experience of their company. To do this, 2015s innovators will focus on two main areas,
removal of silos and designing their entire service
- Silos
Well see more companies work to ensure that their digital and bricks-and-mortar touchpoints work
together with more eciency for both the benefit of the company, its sta, and potential customers.
Many companies still operate these touchpoints in silos where the digital department competes
against the physical retail department, while the phone service is outsourced to a third party.
These artificial silos frustrate customers, and only cause friction. When a customer interacts with a
company they make no distinction between the companys physical store, website, social accounts,
apps, or phone service. The removal of these silos is a greater challenge for larger companies, but
these are the very organisations that could benefit the most from removing artificial barriers within
their business.
- Service Design
While removing such barriers is a good start, in 2015 well see more companies focus on redesigning
their services so that theyre easier and more enjoyable to use (too few companies pay attention to
how enjoyable they are to customers). In reality, this will be an expansion of a trend that began in
2014, where medium and large organisations began focusing more on improving how their
customers interacted with their brand. In the past year we saw the White House establish the US
Digital Service, which is tasked with Collaborating with [government] agencies to identify and
address gaps in their capacity to design, develop, deploy and operate excellent citizen-facing
services. The US Digital Service grew out of the HeathCare.gov debacle - after the sites appaling
launch the US Government brought in experts from Google, Oracle, and other similar companies to
first fix, and then improve the service. The US Digital Service follows the UKs Government Digital
Service, which has a similar remit to improve how the government oers online and oine services,
which work seamlessly.
Also in 2014 we saw McDonalds establish its own digital service, and in Ireland Ryanair made a big
splash when it established its Digital Media Lab. The aim of the Lab is to improve the entire Ryanair
experience for customers - from redesigning the site, making it easier for passengers to check-in, to
changing how the company interacts with passengers. And the company is already showing strong
results, Ryanairs 2014 H1 results show an increase in profits by 32% to 795m, which Michael
OLeary credits, in part, to improving our customer experience.
Other companies looking at these results will, no doubt, be aiming to ape Ryanairs success - and
the ones that do will certainly reap the rewards.
Piers Dillon Scott

Content Strategy & Inbound Marke<ng for Each & Other.
Founder of The Sociable.
@pdscoT
FUTURE OF MEDIA
!
I think the Irish print media has taken huge steps in going digital in the past 18 months. Theyre
increasingly reaching out to social media users, and are more willing to source information from these
social networks. But while the Irish news media is beginning to understand digital theyre still looking
at it through the prism of print; so, many sites still suer from outdated digital thinking; such as, few
or no external links in articles, and too much focus on the homepage (just read the leaked New York
Times Innovation report in which they talk about the decreasing importance of the homepage). I
want to see an Irish media outlet take more of a digital native approach, and look more towards the
likes of The Verge, Quartz, and TNW for inspiration for their digital eorts, rather than other
newspapers sites.
IRISH AGENCY LAND

!
Even though its not a new field were seeing more Irish agencies oer User Experience (UX) as a
service - this will continue in 2015.
UX, done right, can help agencies, their clients, and their customers achieve greater outcomes; but in
the race to oer UX we need to ensure that the rigour of the research processes isnt lost. We risk
commoditising UX as another step in the design/development process (UX isnt a synonym for
wireframes) rather than an ethos that guides the overall relationship between agencies, clients, their
customers, and the project itself.

!
In November last year I attended the DCU Hackathon, while there Liam Casey, the CEO of PCH gave
this advice (which Ill paraphrase), Never say no, instead ask, what would it take?. Caseys
argument was that if you say no to an idea, youll stay where you are; but if you ask (and research)
whats involved, then you may be surprised by what you and your team can achieve.
I plan on putting this into action in both my personal and professional lives in 2015.
Ciaran Treacy
Blogger, speaker, writer. Former agency head turned hotel industry
digital marketer.
@coconut2674
TRENDS FOR 2015
!
I think 2015 will be the year when we see our mobile devices working much harder, in terms of how
we use them for day-to-day tasks. At a basic level, this will be things like Apple Pay and basic NFC
uses along those lines. On a more marketing, or commercial end of the scale, things like iBeacons will
become much more important, using customer data to create much more present engaging content
and relevant to the consumer. Wearables will also be make or break, I think that the smartwatch may
begin outpacing dedicated niche devices. In terms of social, well continue to see the fragmentation
of the market. Interestingly, while people talk about Facebook losing its youth audience, what we will
probably see is them migrating to other, Facebook owned platforms, such as messenger or
Instagram, especially has not overtakes Twitter. Music will be very interesting in the first half of the
year, Spotify still leads in terms of social music, but YouTube music may seriously erode its youth
audience.

!
On a local level; Eighty Twenty did a great campaign around awareness of Sex tracking using Tinder.
Coors Light Rocky Mountain game was also very clever in using iBeacons and engaging app content.
More recently, Meteors Christmas campaign was very good, it ties in a lot of dierent elements, but
its well planned and very consistent! On a less local level, NASA would be a good example of
someone who has really embraced social in what is, eectively a rebranding and awareness drive to
shake o a very tired image and get the public engaged on a mass scale.
IRISH AGENCY LAND

!
I think that overall, things are getting a lot more exciting. Not only is there a better confidence in the
economy, but theres a lot more confidence in terms of pushing the boundaries and looking to be a bit
more innovative as more and more interesting consumer tech comes out. In terms of evolution, it
would be great to see that growth of mobile based innovation expand. I think there's a lot of room for
Irish agencies to really utilise the youth market here and mobile penetration to our advantage to do
something very unique.
HOPES FOR 2015

!
Personally, I would love to see what we can get out of wearables. I'm an early adopter, so I've already
got a Pebble, Moto360 etc. and am fascinated by how they could be used to engage with me, not just
for marketing! I also love watching new KickStarters, its great to see small European companies like
Jolla making headlines. I also hope that this year, Irish startups can start getting noticed more
globally, to really cement Dublin and Ireland as a digital hub in Europe.
Ronan Costello
User Experience Specialist for UPC Ireland
@anonymousronan
TRENDS FOR 2015
!
For me 2015 has got to be all about mobile. What were seeing is a massive shift in how people are
interacting with businesses on their mobile devices - dierent contexts and dierent expectations.
Users are more willing than ever to complete a sale on mobile devices. We only need to look as far as
the Twitter & Stripe integration to see how easy mobile commerce is destined/expected to be.
Furthermore, Google have announced plans to identify which of their search results provide a great
mobile user experience. So before a user even gets to your site, their impression of your business is
partially formed. Expect lots more focus on delivering responsive experiences as standard with a
more ruthless content strategy, hopefully providing users with the right content at the right time
regardless of device.
ADVICE TO GRADUATES
!
Put yourself out there! Theres a really great network of helpful folks out there (Twitter, Linkedin etc)
only too willing to discuss all things digital. The UX industry in particular has lots of great events,
often free, organised by groups such as IXDA Dublin. Step outside your comfort zone, join the
conversations and soak up that great bank of knowledge that is out there. Dont wait for something to
come knocking on your door. Pick a project and make something, anything! Create some form of
portfolio to demonstrate your thinking and approach as well as showcasing the final deliverable.
THE GROWING ROLE OF UX

!
Technology gaps between competitors are narrowing in a lot of sectors and as product oerings
begin to look similar, businesses are looking to customer centricity and experience to dierentiate. UX
and UI designers have a crucial role to play in this scenario, helping organisations to understand their
users needs and how they can be met whilst satisfying business goals - creating simple yet engaging
experiences that acquire more customers and create sticky relationships ensuring increased customer
retention.

!
2015 promises to be another crazy year for myself and the team in UPC. Early in the year Im hoping
to have nailed our responsive website experience allowing us to meet and exceed user expectations
regardless of the device their using. Also, Ill be spending a lot more time understanding how our
customers behave and interact with us online and on the back of that hopefully delivering a more
relevant, personalised experience. In the midst of that madness Ill be dipping my toes into the world
of coding to satisfy my desire to make more stu. If I could manage to write a little more along the
way that would surely be an added bonus!
Franks pork by
@psycrow
le4W3zNCPI/
Quinton OReilly
Tech journalist for TheJournal.ie, nalist for Upcoming Journalist in the UCD
Smurt School Business Journalist Awards 2014. Regular contributor to
Newstalk and Today FM.
@qoreilly
TRENDS FOR 2015
!
Bringing things back to basics. Every year brings new sites, apps and tech, which isn't going to
change any time soon, but I think it's relatively safe to assume that the big elements of digital/social
(Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, push notifications, search etc.) are here to stay for the foreseeable
future. Before now, it was a case of having a presence in every area to maximise your audience and
ensure you're reaching as many people as possible, but since not all companies have the resources
to do this without spreading themselves too thin, it rarely works out. Combine that with vast amounts
of info that's brought to us and there's a real need for quality over quantity. It won't happen
immediately, but by now, brands and companies should know what they're good at and stick to it
instead of going for a scattergun approach. Also, we'll likely see more physical events pop up over
the year, with digital/social tying them together. They make brands and businesses more memorable
than a Facebook post.

!
For myself, improving my abilities and quality of my pieces. I'm a broken record for saying this every
year, but while there's been many positives from the last twelve months, there is always room for
improvement. To be honest, I'd be more worried if there wasn't scope for improvement on my end.
On a side note, I'm really happy to see podcasts receive aresurgencein popularity after steadily
growing in recent years. The popularity of Serial has been great for the industry, and hopefully it's
shown non-listeners that there's practically a podcast out there for all interests.
THE FUTURE OF IRISH MEDIA

!
It's honestly hard to say without speculating (stones, glasshouses, that whole connection), but from
the outside looking in, it does feel like most entities are still thinking publication first and digital
second. It's understandable why this approach has been taken, from both a legacy and financial
perspective, but there's still a way to go before we can say digital has been properly embraced by all.
ultimately, digital isn't a checkbox where you say you have a site or app or do a multimedia piece and
share it around, it has its own demands and expectations from those reading that isn't a straight
swap from other mediums. The transition is still ongoing and there will be much change between now
and the next few years, but I think by the end of it, the industry will be stronger and better for it.
IRISH STARTUPS
!
Companies like Adama Innovations, which specialises in health nanotechnology, and Drop, which
has a specialised scale and iPad app to help you with cooking, look like they could really go places.
Martin OLeary
Head of marke<ng at Realex Payments
@mar<noleary
DISTRIBUTION IMPORTANCE
!
When it comes to content marketing the quote If you build it, he (or she) will come from Field of
Dreams is not always true. With around 80 hours of YouTube videos being uploaded and 1,600 blogs
being posted each minute, even the best content can get lost. These days nearly every business is
either taking part or talking about content marketing which makes it harder and harder to stand out.
You could say content marketing has become a victim of its own success. Even if you have a large
organic following your content marketing eorts still need some help. Therefore in 2015, I think
content distribution will become as important as the creation of great content. Paid social
amplification will become a central tactic in content marketing. This will help increase the reach and
lifespan of your content while allowing you to target new and relevant audiences. Content Marketers
will need to pay greater attention to analytics and spend more time testing dierent content types
and dierent social platforms.
OTHER TRENDS IN 2015

!
Mobile first will dominate and digital video will continue to grow. Content Analytics analysed more
than 17,000 e-commerce product pages earlier this year and found that the ones with video are twice
as likely to appear on the first page of Google search results.
I also think in 2015 we will see a strong growth in opportunities for Marketing Technologists who are
so dicult to find they are often referred to as unicorns. Marketing technologists will become an ever
increasing part of the business world and will play a key role in supporting the development and
execution of marketing strategies.
BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGNS OF 2014

!
From a nostalgic perspective, I liked the Netflix campaign where they created the worlds first ever
real-time outdoor billboard campaign using only GIFs. Netflix were able to react to real world events
and turn a pretty dull ad space into something clever and entertaining.
PERSONAL GOALS
!
Ive just started a new role with Realex Payments. It will be my first time working in the payments
industry; its like the first day of school all over again with lots to learn. The payments landscape is
undergoing so much change at present and Im delighted to have joined such a progressive and
innovative Irish business. On personal level I plan on writing some more tech posts for the Hungton
Post. Id also like to get fit, stay healthy, play more 5-aside and lose some weight. Starting a new job
will probably help when it comes to weight loss :)
Hugh Linehan
Digital Development Editor at the Irish Times and a leading thinker on the
future of media and journalism on this island.
@hlinehan
THE CHALLENGE OF FACEBOOK

!
Now that mobile is clearly the dominant consumption channel, we can start to consider what that
actually means in a deeper way, with guesswork replaced by data. The first thing that looms out of
the darkness from my perspective is how eectively Facebook has grabbed the mobile opportunity.
For publishers and other content creators, Facebook is clearly the single most important challenge or
opportunity (take your pick) facing us. Obviously we cant live without it, but should we fear overdependence? And is there anything we can do about it?
ON THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

!
The problem is the new digital reality changes all the time. Its not for me to say where everyone is in
their evolution. But theres no doubt that both organisations have redefined their strategies towards a
faster pivot to digital and are investing accordingly. Whats going to be interesting is to watch them
increasingly diverge, with The Irish Timess paid content strategy (coming soon) backed up by a
rearmation of our commitment to producing the highest quality journalism, optimised for digital
audiences. Being best is more important than being biggest for us. As far as I can see, Independent
News and Medias approach is closer to MailOnlines: pushing for growth and scale above anything
else, with a strong focus on lifestyle/celebrity/entertainment, which in turn dierentiates it further from
its flagship print daily.
PERSONAL HOPES AND DREAMS FOR 2015

!
A few simple things: the emergence of a pre-roll market optimised for online video rather than for TV
(enough with the 30-second ads please!); a further resurgence of the podcast as a form; a
breakthrough in the Mozilla/ New York Times/ Washington Post project to build an open platform for
better online comments; Ireland to beat England in the Rugby World Cup final.
Georgina Bowes
Head of Online & Direct Marke<ng at UPC Ireland.
@ginabo
ON TRENDS FOR 2015

!
Better use of customer data. 2015 could see brands & companies mining the information they get to
better understand customer behaviour. Social platforms are used by all generations, brands now
need to segment and target their messaging to ensure relevancy and eective reach with the budget
they have.
BEST CAMPAIGN OF 2014?

!
It's not a campaign but I love An Gardai Siochana on Twitter. They have the perfect blend of
information, humour & excuse the pun - cop on!
Also really think Electric Ireland do a great job. Powering Kindness was a fantastic campaign
executed so well & 80's power ballads for Electric Picnic was genius! Using video content so well &
tapping into the target audience perfectly.
BEST WEBSITES FOR TECH/DIGITAL NEWS

!
The usual suspects Mashable, Social Media News, Forbes, Social Media Today, Social Media
Examiner. Also can't beat Twitter for an endless source of info.
PERSONAL HOPES FOR THE NEW YEAR

!
I'm working with an amazing team the past year & as we continue to grow & evolve I hope to really
develop the online strategy further. It's such an exciting time professionally, understanding how you
properly mine & use the endless data you have to truly connect with your customer when, how &
where they want. Not paying lip service to it but actually delivering it that's the plan!
I'm in Australia right now so the above depends on me coming back! On a serious note I do think the
work life balance here is better. Switching o when working online can be so hard but it's absolutely
necessary.
!
!
!
!
!
Jim Carroll
Writer and blogger at Irish Times, producer/facilitator at Banter.
@jimcarrollotr
PREDICTIONS FOR 2015
!
A more clued-in, innovative, dierent approach to both digital and social by someone - anyone would be nice, though I am not holding my breath. The great thing about the growth of digital and
social is that we have instant oversight on what's going on everywhere - which leads to the sad fact
that most of the Irish digital and social work I see tends to be a photocopy of something which
someone else has done elsewhere (and done better too). I think there's definite scope for some folks
to make a stand by standing out.
!
!
FUTURE OF MEDIA
!
I really want an end to all this "future of media" ring and some action about the "present of media".
No more executives windbagging with lines like "if you were starting a media business, you wouldn't
start with a legacy printing press" please. The question, though, is defining that new digital reality. On
one hand, it's still constantly changing and hence all this kick-the-can-down-the-road futurescoping.
But the reality can be seen in every set of figures about who's reading what where, when and for how
long and the questions this provokes. Can these readers produce more sustainable revenue now and
in the medium term? Will we see some innovative pricing schemes before the leaky paywalls go up?
And just how long are readers going to put up with click bait, lists and the kind of polarising,
deliberately skewered opinion columns which Kevin Myers or John Waters wouldn't have got away
with in their pomp? I think we're in for more of the same in 2015: cutbacks in areas and sectors
judged to be on the wane, falling sales of hard copies, investment in areas seen as growing (though I
wonder just what sort of real traction legacy print orgs are getting with video content), increasing
digital revenue, scoops from hard-working reporters and the usual quota of outrage, disgust and
pitchfork wielding mob tweeting about the media from the usual suspects (who'd actually really like
to be on the other side).
!
!

!
Time for a new challenge. Our 100th Banter takes place on January 28 and it has been fascinating to
watch it grow and change and take flight. I've a few other things in the pipeline so my hope/dream is
to get at least one of them out of damn pipeline in 2015. Oh and for Tipp to win some hurling
silverware this year.
!
!
There she blows by

@liobrien
qZw2bhhbe7/
About
This document has been compiled with generous help from over 30 Irish tech and digital
thought leaders.
!
All images taken with permission from Instagram or stock photo sites.
!
All comments at beginning of document are personal opinion.

!
If you wish to get in contact about future reports or if youre a designer who wishes to make
the work look preter, please do via email.
!
!
!
!
Top posts from Shane OLeary in 2015

!
Fragmenta4on and the future of media: hWp://bit.ly/1guLY4K
My journey into mindfulness and medita4on: hWp://bit.ly/1Br9tA9
Social media addic4on in Ireland? hWp://bit.ly/ZFhxlG
U4lity and empowerment must be the future of Irish marke4ng: hWp://bit.ly/14akFIw
From Clare to Christchurch - crea4ng a learning environment: hWp://bit.ly/1u68NlB
The Irish Digital Consumer Report 2014: hWp://bit.ly/1BkAWod
The inherent narcissism of social media: hWp://bit.ly/1nOMdGg

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The Irish Digital Outlook 2015 From Shane O Leary

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The Irish Digital Outlook 2014

If youre reading this and thinking whos this fella?, my name is

Im also a bit of a digital marke4ng geek

O?en, yearly predic4ons can be arbitrary, under-dened and seem

We had over 30 respondents this year, and if you want to be

If you nd it useful, and want to connect with me, you can:

- connect with me on Linkedin here

The Irish Digital Outlook 2014 is supported by

Media & Video

Wider Digital Space

Lines on the horizon by

ON TRENDS FOR 2015

CHANGES IN AGENCY LAND

MEDIA INDUSTRY IN FLUX

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

BEST CAMPAIGN OF 2014

I hope no one on this round up chooses the ice bucket challenge!

THE FUTURE OF DISPLAY

THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

BEST SOCIAL/DIGITAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

IRISH AGENCY LAND

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

DIGITAL LEARNING & MOOCS

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

BEST CAMPAIGN OF 2014

THE FUTURE FOR IRISH AGENCY LAND?

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2014

TRENDS FOR 2015

STARTUPS AND BUBBLES

STARTUP POTENTIAL IN 2015

ON PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

On my food passion side I will keep working

DIGITAL FAN ACTIVATION & SPONSORSHIPS

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2014

To find the time to be a good husband, father and son.

IRISH STARTUPS TO WATCH OUT FOR

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2014

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2014

TOO MUCH MONEY FLOATING AROUND FOR STARTUPS?

PERSONAL HOPES & DREAMS FOR 2015

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

PERSONAL HOPES/DREAMS FOR 2015

ON TRENDS FOR 2015

FACEBOOK PRIVACY BACKLASH

IRISH AGENCY LAND

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015

A BACKLASH AGAINST FACEBOOK PRIVACY ISSUES?

IRISH AGENCY LAND

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

PERSONAL HOPES/DREAMS FOR 2015

FACEBOOK FACES EXODUS

ON TRENDS FOR 2015

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

THE NATIVITY SCENE

PERSONAL HOPES FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

ON TRENDS FOR 2015

BEST DIGITAL/SOCIAL CAMPAIGN OF 2014

PERSONAL HOPES FOR THE NEW YEAR

IRISH AGENCY LAND

PERSONAL HOPES FOR 2015