Category: News

Indeed announced as new show sponsor of Dermot & Dave on Today FM

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Indeed, the number 1 job site in the world, is the new official sponsor of Dermot & Dave’s mid-morning show on Today FM (9AM-12PM).  The sponsorship which was secured and negotiated by Legacy Communications and brokered between Indeed and Media Central will see the job site become an integral part of Dermot & Dave’s show through stings, promotions, cross station digital display and a new ‘employee of the month’ segment for the next 12 months.

Commenting on the new partnership, Dermot & Dave said: “Are we excited about the new partnership? Indeed we are! Working with a huge global brand like Indeed is very exciting for the show. We’re very much looking forward to creating some great content together and we just know our wonderful listeners are going to love the new partnership, especially those that are on the hunt for the next step in their career!”

Conor Byrne, Senior Director Marketing at Indeed said: “Indeed’s mission is to help people get jobs, and we are delighted to partner with Dermot and Dave and to celebrate inspiring employees and employers across the country that work every day to achieve great things. With more than 1,200 employees in Ireland, Indeed is committed to connecting employers and jobseekers and this partnership helps remind listeners that the right job for them is closer than they think.”

Ross McDonnell, Sponsorship Manager at Media Central said “We’re delighted to be working with a global brand like Indeed, Dermot & Dave is a key sponsorship property and Indeed is an excellent fit. Through the partnership we’ll be working with them and Legacy Communications to engage with listeners while they’re working helping jobseekers find the right job for them.”

The award-winning Dermot & Dave Show on Today FM recently celebrated its biggest audience ever with 205,000 listeners tuning into their show every day.

Dermot & Dave are currently the most listened to show in their time slot on commercial radio, and the duo have been a huge part of the Today FM line-up since they launched their weekday mid-morning show back in January 2017. They regularly delight their listeners with a jam-packed show filled with comedy, music, giveaways, celebrity interviews, stories from around the country and of course, Dave’s Bad Jokes.

Help us raise €10k for The Down Syndrome Centre Cork

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Help us raise €10k for The Down Syndrome Centre Cork!

 

One of the core values of Legacy Communications is ‘Be Sound’ and looking out for each other is at the heart of our culture.
In October 2021 Legacy’s Mícheál Brennan and his wife Sarah welcomed their beautiful daughter Leah into the world. Leah was born with Down Syndrome and her smile alone has filled the hearts of Mícheál, Sarah and her two brothers Shay and Aaron.
The team at Legacy plan to undertake a number of challenges to raise funds for Down Syndrome Centre Cork to help support the great work they do for families in Cork, where the Brennan’s are from. The Down Syndrome Centre Cork receives no government funding, they are 100% dependant on donations.

The Brennan’s are kicking off the fundraising by taking part in Challenge 21. Challenge 21 is a sponsored 21 km walk along Cork Harbour on Sunday, 19th June 2022.

Please help us kick off our fundraising by donating here!

Legacy Communications team pledges its support for equality for female inter-county players

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

The Gaelic Players Association are delighted to welcome one of Ireland’s biggest sponsorship, brand and communications firms, Legacy Communications, on board as a preferred sponsorship agency for the players’ body.  Legacy has pledged its support to ensure female inter-county players are compensated at the same level as their male counterparts for promotional activity on behalf of brands and sponsors, where the same work is carried out.

Legacy now join two other major agencies in making the following commitment: “We, the undersigned, will work with the GPA to strive for equal treatment for male and female inter-county players in our industry and will, at all times, use the best of our endeavors to ensure that is recognised in the work we do on behalf of our clients.  This includes how players are compensated for their work on promotional activity, sponsorship activation and product endorsements.  In signing this pledge, we hope that our influence within the sporting industry can further bolster the movement towards equality for female athletes, a movement we whole heartedly endorse and in which we have long sought to take a leading role.”

As part of this arrangement the GPA have now designated Legacy as a preferred sports and sponsorship agency and will endorse them to existing and new commercial partners.

Since its inception Legacy has had strong links to Gaelic games and has worked with some of the biggest sponsors in hurling, camogie and football.  Legacy was originally founded by Dublin football legend Bernard Brogan and his cousin James Brogan and has a highly skilled and talented team handpicked from the best of Marketing; PR; SEO; Content Marketing; Sponsorship and Digital PR talent in Ireland.

Welcoming today’s announcement on behalf of inter-county players, GPA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager Gemma Begley said; “Everyone in the sports industry needs to visibly and practically get behind the push towards equality if it is to become a reality across the board.  It is fantastic to see Legacy throw its considerable weight behind this pledge.  We have been aware for a long time of the work they do to champion female athletes so its is great to have Legacy Communications on board alongside Teneo and Wilson Hartnell from an inter-county player’s perspective. I do want to reiterate that this is not a closed shop by any matter of means.  Should other agencies want to get involved they should not hesitate to contact us.”

Shireen McDonagh, Head of Brand & Sponsorship at Legacy Communications said “Legacy have always been an advocate for and driver of equality both on and off the field, working with our clients to ensure equal rights, diversity and fairness in the work that we produce. In addition to our Sponsorship team, this pledge has backing of the full Legacy team, from senior leadership to administrative level, including SEO, Digital, Brand and Communications teams, so as to ensure all teams within the agency adhere to standards set out by the GPA pledge. We’re delighted to support the GPA in this initiative and pledge, that goes a step further pushing for equality for female inter-county players.

This marks another step on the journey towards equality for female inter-county players.  Already equitable public funding has been secured through government grants, while the GPA has also reshaped its board of directors to have a 50:50 gender split and the executive officers on its National Executive Committee (NEC) are also divided equally. Former Tyrone footballer Gemma Begley was appointed as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manger within the association to oversee work in this area while the members of a new Equality sub-committee of the GPA’s NEC will be announced in the near future.

Laya healthcare is a beat ahead with new advertising campaign

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Fans of Connacht, Leinster and Munster rugby identify what sets their team apart to inform a new campaign as part of its sponsorship of Leinster, Munster, and Connacht Rugby.

Laya healthcare is the proud health and wellbeing partner of Leinster, Munster, and Connacht Rugby and is celebrating eight years of rugby sponsorship in Ireland. The new “A Beat Ahead” campaign brings the best of laya healthcare to provincial rugby and is designed to uniquely connect fans with their team.

To bring the campaign to life, rugby fans from each province were chosen to identify and articulate the nuances of what it is to be a fan of Leinster, Munster, or Connacht Rugby. Through a range of research techniques involving a number or stakeholders, a host of key insights were identified. These points fed into an overarching campaign platform and a bespoke executional strategy for each province, showing exactly what it takes for each club to distinctively be, to be a beat ahead. The results found that:

The Connacht team is about AMBITION, what was once seen as the weakest of the four provinces had a major comeback story in 2015, where Connacht were the Pro-12 champions, beating no less a force than Leinster in an epic encounter in Murrayfield.

Munster’s heritage and community is built on TOGETHERNESS. We found that they are the “team of everyman” – every person is welcome to Thomond Park or Musgrave Park, the club’s home grounds in both Limerick and Cork.

The Leinster team is set apart by their STYLE & EXHILARATION. It’s what Leinster has done with this abundance of talent that makes them unique. They have always looked to foster youngsters who have the ability to light up a stadium.

 

Purpose of campaign

Laya healthcare’s latest campaign for rugby sets a tone for how laya healthcare can breathe life into its sponsorship. This tone is future-focused and designed to inspire powerful momentum for the sponsorship through meaningful engagement with fans. With this creative, we have celebrated the provinces in a new way using storytelling to discover the unique insights that only true supporters would know. The campaign is a fan-centric celebration of each club.

Other client case studies:

Legacy’s shining success with ALDI wine event

Darkness into Light with Pieta House

Lyre’s launch with Legacy

Dublin is easing open

Digital PR: How data and newsjacking landed over 100 pieces of coverage for Legacy

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Newsjacking is a smart Digital PR Tactic used to align a brand with a current event or news story in an attempt to generate additional coverage and boost a brand’s exposure.

When a strong, creative, and timely idea is paired with strong data and knowledge of the news agenda, you can easily use the news cycle to create additional coverage for a client. This is exactly what Legacy set out to do with its most recent Digital PR offering analysing the most stressful airports in Europe at a time when airports were trending in the news for long wait times.

The most stressful airports release secured 104 pieces of strong coverage with features in publications such as Lovin Dublin, District Magazine, The Examiner, The Irish Independent, The Express UK, The Standard, and a whole host of regional publications across the UK, Ireland –  and other parts of the world to boot.

 

The Results

The release generated Blanket coverage with a total reach of over 145,980,741, a total of 104 pieces of coverage not including social mentions. Of the 104 pieces of coverage, 40 included a link, a further 4 included a Legacy branded image and almost all articles mentioned the Legacy brand numerous times.

The release increased search referral traffic by over 400% over two days and Legacy is now ranking number one for online PR companies in the UK thanks to the release generating 68 mentions of Legacy next to the term Digital PR with 53 outlets quoting Legacy within their article.

We also secured 4 on-air brand mentions related to the data on some of Ireland’s biggest radio stations including Newstalk, Red FM, Dermot and Dav,e and Radio Nova. The unexpected coverage drove fame and awareness to huge audiences.

The release also resulted in an interview request from RTE’s Drive Time who reached out to us organically.

The piece was also mentioned on social media by almost all of the publications that covered it, with most publications that shared the story on social mentioned Legacy by name within the tweets. It grabbed hold of the conversation on Twitter and Facebook – a major viral moment that had journalists reaching out organically to ask for the release from social and news coverage.

 

The Creative

While it may seem like ideation is the easiest part of your digital PR campaign, this isn’t always the case. Make sure you do some critical thinking in the early stages to ensure you will be able to actually secure the data you might need later down the line. Brainstorming sessions with your team are key to sense check your ideas before wasting time on data.

For Legacy’s Airport release, we used data from a variety of sources including flight tracking apps, airport ranking sites, and sentiment analysis tools. Tapping into a topic that was already trending right before the Easter travel season began.

 

The Data

Once your data availability has been approved it’s key to spend some time thinking about the best sources to get your data.

To gather the data on sentiment analysis for each of the airport’s Legacy used TensiStrength to analyse the stress score of 100 of the top tweets (2,500 in total) per airport hashtag.

We also calculated the total number of delayed or cancelled flights over the same sample day period per airport to calculate an average score. Meanwhile, data on overall customer satisfaction including for baggage, security checks, WiFi, etc came from an analysis of over 10,000 Flight Radar reviews from travellers.

Analyzing Toy Story Gif By Gif - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

The Timing

The airport release topic was chosen after carefully monitoring news trends during the lead-up to Easter. We also conducted searches on individual journalists and publications to figure out the likelihood of our idea getting coverage.

We also made sure to take a cautious approach to the release date. Especially when releasing around big events, it’s key to make sure you get your story in at the exact right time. Pitching too early or too late can break even the most solid of scoops. With this release, we chose to go out right as news surrounding airport delays peaked ahead of Easter weekend.

 

The Crafting

The key to writing a good press release is keeping a journalist in mind while crafting your release. Make sure to always think about ways to improve your release, if you can add a graphic, a stronger headline, or an expert comment – then do.

The success of Legacy’s airport release was massively helped by being able to take a tiny step back and let the data lead the piece. Remember – if your angle is strong enough, you won’t have to oversell it.

Jim Carrey Reaction GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

The Outreach

Take a look at journalists who have covered similar topics in the past and more recently and create a targeted media list for each release – this method is a lot more effective than using a general list and while it may take you more time, the results are worth it.

Make sure your ideas have a strong news hook but don’t be afraid to think of ways to add a secondary local angle – regionals are an excellent way to boost coverage. Changing the headline per publication and sending it out multiple times with different angles makes a massive difference.

Journalists are usually busy, so don’t take it to heart if you don’t see coverage right away. Retarget, send a follow-up and create new media lists if at all possible – you’ll be surprised at how effective this method can be. With Legacy’s airport release, a significant amount of the coverage didn’t come until day three, with results still rolling in weeks later, so try to keep calm.

Happy Eddie Murphy GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

The SEO

In one campaign Legacy went from ranking at number 7 to number 6 for the term digital pr service in the UK, as well as moving from ranking in nineteenth place to fifth place for the term digital pr company, and from 10 to number one for the term online pr companies.

 

Meanwhile in the US, Legacy went from ranking in twelfth place to fifth for the term digital PR agency, number 7 to number 5 for digital PR services and 10 to 3 for digital PR service, also moving from 0 to 6 for digital PR firm and 18 to 4 for digital PR companies. Our referral traffic also increased by over 400% over the two days.

And if you’re still unsure about how to create more coverage for your next digital PR campaign, don’t be afraid to reach out to us!

Katie Taylor’s Rise to the Top is Paying Off

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

“On her own terms, Katie Taylor has built a brand with universal appeal.”

Last week, Legacy’s Managing Director Kevin Moore wrote an opinion piece in the Irish Independent on Katie Taylor’s recent victory in sport and her authentic brand.

It is hard to fathom the heights that Katie Taylor has climbed in her career. Her story is Oscar-worthy, and the Hollywood film will come in time. As the referee raised Taylor’s arm aloft in the early hours of last Sunday morning, she had well and truly risen to the highest height. A sold-out headline world-title fight in New York’s Madison Square Garden is the pinnacle of any boxer’s career. And usually the pinnacle of any boxer’s earnings.

Taylor fought her way through the amateur ranks in Ireland and paved the way for women’s boxing to stand on its own two feet. Her success eventually brought with it a well-deserved opportunity to benefit commercially.

For a small country, we are blessed with a sporting culture that has often punched well above its weight. We have momentarily reached great heights on the world stage on many occasions. Sitting above these moments are a select group of three Irish sports stars that have elevated themselves to the top of their sport globally and stayed there. They are the inspiration for generations to believe in the impossible.

The three superstars have taken their sport to a new level and created a commercial blueprint for all aspiring elite athletes to follow. They possess similar attributes that led to their sporting success and each one has broken new ground commercially with household brands flocking to be part of their journey.

 

Brian O’Driscoll

The professional era in rugby began in 1995. Right about then a 16-year-old boy from Clontarf was a year away from getting his first international cap at school’s level. His rise to stardom coincided beautifully with the new age of rugby. An age that provided players with the ability to earn a full time living from the sport.

A golden generation of players emerged in the 2000’s and Ireland would taste more sustained success in rugby that ever before. Heineken Cups and Triple Crowns were a regular occurrence. The sport was growing and so was the fan base. Television viewing figures were rapidly increasing, and international rugby matches soon joined football and GAA as the top-rated programmes each year.

Players became household names with O’Driscoll widely regarded as the best of his generation, leading Ireland a Grand Slam victory in 2009, their first in 61 years. His 15-year career saw him become Ireland’s record try scorer and cap holder with 46 tries in 133 test appearances from 1999-2014. His exceptional level of performance earned him lucrative contracts with the IRFU.

O’Driscoll’s growing profile across the world of rugby elevated his own brand and image to another level. A three-time world player of the year nominee and a four-time Lions tourist provided him with more commercial opportunities than his counterparts. Off the pitch, O’Driscoll built a team around him which included his father and sister to help manage his commercial interests and maximise his opportunity to earn.

The commercial opportunities of the previous generations of rugby stars were usually confined to launches, openings and after dinner speaking. O’Driscoll decided to do things differently and created a model that all other rugby stars would try to emulate. He was selective in what brands he worked with and created long-term partnerships rather than one-off launches or openings. Brands like Gillette, Adidas and Lexus partnered with Brian right throughout his playing career, and he still has several long-term partners such as HSBC.

Maintaining performance on the pitch was crucial to his longevity and managing his brand and image off it was equally crucial in maintain his earning power that separated him from all others.

 

Rory McIlroy

The island of Ireland has a long tradition in producing golfers that could compete on the world stage. Back in the 1960’s one of the world’s leading amateurs was J.B. Carr from Dublin who regularly competed and often triumphed against the original golden generation of global golf stars in Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. The subsequent rise in popularity of golf would pave the way for Tiger Woods to emerge onto the scene in the late 1990’s and change the game forever, both on the course and off it. With a reported $1.7 billion in earnings, Woods has no equal.

After winning three majors in an 18-month period from 2007, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington rose to number three in the world and opened the doors to an extraordinary run of Irish major winners- including McDowell, McIlroy, Clarke and Lowry. Around the same time as Harrington’s hot-streak, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, aged just 17, had risen to the top of the world amateur rankings. Turning professional later that year, McIlroy had the world at his feet. He had the potential to rise to greater heights than any Irish golfer before him.

His first win on the European Tour in 2009 was soon followed by his maiden victory in the United States a year later. In 2011, aged 22, he became the youngest player to reach the €10 million earning mark on the European Tour and again just one year later he did the same on the U.S. Tour.

Majors soon followed with McIlroy winning four in three years from 2011 to 2014. In 2012, he became the second youngest player to reach world number one at 22 years and 312 days, behind none other than Tiger Woods. In just a few years McIlroy had already filled his potential and was the closest thing the game had to the untouchable Tiger Woods. The stars had well and truly aligned for the boy from Holywood, Belfast.

While his major run dried up, he maintained his position as one of the world’s top golfers and one of the most marketable brands in the game. In 2017 he signed an extension with Nike in a 10-year deal worth over €180 million. The same year saw him sign a new multi-year endorsement with equipment manufacturer TaylorMade that would boost his bank balance by a further €92 million. Other lucrative partnerships include Swiss watch manufacturer, Omega and EA Sports. Before teeing it up, his annual earnings are believed to be more than €27 million. Coupled with his prize money, last year the Sunday Times Rich List reported McIlroy’s estimated fortune at €192 million.

 

Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor’s single-minded vision to become the very best boxer in the world has never wavered. She possesses a quiet determination and steel that rivals any sporting great. She shares many similar traits with O’Driscoll and McIlroy – a once in a generation skill and craft for her sport, coupled with an insatiable hunger to improve and a ruthless winning mentality.

However, one aspect that has not come as natural to Taylor as it has to O’Driscoll and McIlroy, is playing the commercial game. Taylor is shy and reserved by nature. Her dominance of world amateur boxing and her Olympic Gold lifted her to the top echelons of Irish sport and provided increasing commercial opportunities. Over the course of her Olympic campaigns, she worked with leading brands in Ireland such as P&G and Toyota providing a key revenue stream to an amateur athlete. She was starting to command higher fees and learning to do it on her own terms.

Her decision to move from amateur to professional in 2016 would no doubt have taken some soul searching. She knew she would need to ‘play the game’ and her profile would continue to increase globally, putting herself out there more than ever before.

Her love of the sport and desire to become the best would ultimately come first and working with one of the leading promoters in the UK, Eddie Hearn, she has built a brand and persona that is true to herself. There is no trash talk and drama to hype up her fights. There is theatre, but it is different from most boxing build-ups. Boxing has had its own fair share of controversy and image challenges and Taylor is helping to improve it and building new audiences all at once.

Since turning professional in 2016, Taylor is undefeated with 21 straight wins and has claimed five world title belts. She is ranked as the best pound-for-pound female boxer on the planet and made history by becoming the first female boxer to headline a fight at Madison Square Garden. Over six million people watched the fight. The highest of heights.

She is fast becoming on of the biggest names in world sport and has built a brand that has a universal appeal. She is a role model and has set a blueprint of how this can be done in a way that is truly authentic and inspiring.

Her endorsement deals are becoming more global and higher value with leading fitness brand such as Gymshark signing her up. She is set for further big paydays, with talk of the rematch in Croke Park. Her earnings will continue to grow into the millions as she cements her place as one of the leading figures in the history of her sport.

Legacy walk at sunrise for Pieta’s Darkness Into Light

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Almost 120,000 people across 14 different countries took part in this year’s Darkness Into Light for Pieta. They raised over €3.8 million – funds vital to support the organisation’s free counselling against a backdrop of a 20% rise in demand for services so far this year. Darkness Into Light is so important for ensuring Pieta’s services are freely available to anyone who needs them.

The Legacy team captured some stunning photos while walking at sunrise last weekend for Pieta’s Darkness Into Light. We did the walk in different parts of the country including the Phoenix Park, Malahide Castle and Achill Island. We’re very proud to work with Pieta and give support to their incredible services. This year, the Legacy team raised €1026!

Pieta employs more than 200 qualified therapists and support staff across 20 centres nationally, and their services are free to anyone who needs them. With over 90,000 calls and texts placed to Pieta’s crisis line in 2021, Darkness Into Light is vital to ensure this service remains freely available to everyone 24/7.

Well done to everyone who took part and supported Darkness Into Light last weekend. 🧡

Digital PR – The more you snow: How a smart Christmas campaign led to an avalanche of coverage and links

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Use intelligent data and creativity to avoid getting snowed under when attempting to secure Digital PR coverage

When it comes to digital PR any campaign from any brand no matter how big or small can be hit or miss, especially when you throw the added pressure of keeping on top of the ever-changing news cycle into the equation. Even more so when it’s the Christmas news cycle.

While it’s inevitable (unfortunately) that some releases will miss the mark even if you have covered all your bases, there are a few measures you can take to avoid getting caught up in the pre-Christmas slump.

A recent campaign from our Digital PR Hub to showcase our own offering at Legacy in Digital PR became an overnight hit with a few key ingredients.

screenshot of the sun coverage for legacy digital pr case study

 

Utilising creative thinking, news focused planning, and strong data will always reign supreme when it comes to delivering a top-class digital PR campaign, which is exactly what we attempted to do with our recent story analysing the likelihood of snow in each Irish county for Christmas Day. A simple idea that was supercharged by brilliant data; creative licence and a strong understanding of the news focus across lighter news+ lifestyle media.

Our story secured a whopper 45 pieces of really strong coverage (to date), featuring in publications such as Her.ie, Galway Beo, Spin South West, Ireland Before You Die, four different Sun articles, two Mirror articles – and a multitude of local radio and news sites to boot. Not to mention many articles hosting key links and multiple mentions to drive Legacy website rankings- key for us when it comes to digital pr.

Here’s everything you need to “snow” about how we did it, and how you can garner similar success

Snow Exciting – Ideation:

When it comes to ideation it can be difficult not to get swept away with hundreds of different ideas. However, it’s important to remember that when it comes to creating quality digital PR, brainstorming and sense checking are just as critical as creative thinking.

For our Ireland’s snowiest Christmas counties release, we dedicated time and resources to expanding on the initial idea, finding tools to gather the data we would need and analysing how it would work in practice before starting to run full data collection. We also had a good look at what was already easily available to us- you would be surprised how much is there if you know where to look.

Don’t be afraid to take risks in the ideation stage but be sure you do due diligence on whether the data is actually available. You absolutely need your data team to stress test availability to match the idea.

Snow rest for the wicked – Data:

Once you are greenlit on data availability; think about the best way to gather the information you need.
To calculate the probability of a white Christmas in each county we devised a smart + clear route. Our data and digital PR team used weather data from the past ten years from Met Eireann and weather checking app TimeAndDate.

via GIPHY

However, the website couldn’t find the exact figures for snowfall so instead of abandoning the idea, we decided to think creatively to problem solve a data issue and use the freezing point (the point at which snow could stick to the ground) plus precipitation to calculate the likelihood, working out the percentage based on the same ten-year time frame. Always use your creative to problem solve – even if it is a data issue!

Don’t be a flake – Timing:

We chose the topic based on new cycle trends over the last number of weeks – as well as trends in the news cycle during the lead-up to Christmas over the past number of years.

By searching for what journalists are covering and have covered on a regular basis each year you can get ahead of competitors by offering publications information on topics that you know they’re already going to be interested in. Getting to a story first and at just the right time is key to a campaign’s success.

Snow not tell – Crafting:

When writing your press release it’s important to craft it like you would a news article, if you can do interviews with experts, think of snappy headlines and sub-heads and write in a news language style as much as possible.

This approach adds instant value to your release and means that very few publications will edit much of the content of your release, which is always the goal – and was what we noticed when examining the coverage gained from our white Christmas release.

Break the ice – Outreach:

via GIPHY

You can always give your release an advantage by simply snowing your audience (no, we’re not done with the puns yet). Look at what journalists are already writing about the topic before starting your outreach.

And remember – there’s snow place like home (we warned you) – think local and don’t be afraid to send your release to any smaller regional publications if it has a regional angle, every piece of coverage counts.

Avoid meltdowns – Retargeting:

So, you’ve thought of a great idea, crafted an excellent press release, and perfected your outreach approach but you’re still not getting any coverage. Don’t stress just yet. Falling down the rabbit hole of overthinking your idea is a slippery slope, chances are journalists aren’t freezing you out – they’re just incredibly busy, meaning even if your idea really stands out, it’s not always going to land the first time around.

If it seems like things are moving at a glacial pace, take a breather, go back to the drawing board to see if there are any new angles you can try and retarget.

via GIPHY

For Legacy’s Christmas-themed digital PR when coverage had come to a standstill after the first day or so we decided to ditch the traditional follow-up approach. Instead, we decided to go back to each publication, see what journalists had covered similar stories in recent hours, and add them to the outreach list. You know what they say if at first, you don’t succeed completely freak out – and then try, try again, of course.

Go with the snow – Improvement:

Even the most successful campaigns can always be improved. Take each release as a learning opportunity. Learn about the journalists who love this type of story; what drove the most links and where you couldn’t land coverage. Then call us 🙂

 

Snow off – You’ve earned it!

Make sure to track the things that you *did* get right just as much as the things you may have missed the mark on.

Digital PR can be a bit of a minefield at times, take it easy on yourself, there will always be room to improve something. Chances are you’re doing better than you think – and if you don’t believe that, simply flake it ‘til you make it.

via GIPHY

Snow other benefits, or is there?

The campaign had amazing results in terms of the amount of coverage that it got, but it also came with a ton of other benefits, let me explain.

 

SEO

One of the hardest things to do in SEO is build links, especially to the right pages! With this campaign we were able to build some really nice links to our target page from extremely authoritative websites. these links will help us grow the authority of our site and ultimately our organic traffic.

 

Referral Traffic

As well as all those juicy links, we also saw a huge increase in referral traffic to our website, another great signal that search engines will use to increase our organic traffic. Search engines love popular sites, and use metrics like traffic from other sources to measure the popularity of a site, which is in part why big brands tend to be so hard to compete with when it comes to the first page of the search engine results.

No college football classic denied Ireland a huge economic boost

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

For the full story: https://www.otbsports.com/american-football/college-football-classic-economic-hit-1068218

On a weekend where the Aer Lingus College Football Classic was due to take place in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, OTB’s Saturday Panel including our own MD Kevin Moore, considered the negative impact the absence of a game has had on the Irish economy.

In a year where the uncertain spread of coronavirus quickly put a halt to sporting activity the world over, the cancellation of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic was one sporting casualty among many.

An event that sees two of America’s College football teams play out a competitive tie in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, the scheduled game in 2020 between Notre Dame and Navy was set to be the first in a multi-game series.

Although that is now set to be put back one year where the players and fans of Nebraska and Illinois will travel to Dublin, Padraic O’Kane, one of the key organisers behind the College Football Classic, admitted to Off The Ball that without a vaccine even this game in 2021 will be in jeopardy.

With the sheer number of people it attracts to Ireland, however, the absence of this game of American football played on Irish soil will have a telling economic impact.

“There are various estimates that would float around,” remarked Kevin Moore MD of Legacy Communications about the financial boost that the game brings to the Irish economy. “But the benefit to the economy of that Navy vs Notre Dame game [in 2012] was around €100 million. “

In 2014 (Penn State vs UCF) and 2016 (Boston College vs Georgia Tech) two further games took place in Dublin.

Although the main event is carried out over a short period of time, Moore explained that their seriousness to American football fans has great auxiliary benefits.

“It would have been a very wealthy set of Americans who had traveled over and they holidayed around Ireland,” he remarked of the crowd that follows these games.

“In terms of the auxiliary benefits around the game, it was huge. It really is events like this that will help the country get back on track. Everybody is losing out really.”

In a lengthy discussion about the impact of no College Football Classic in 2020, you can watch back Padraic O’Kane and Kevin Moore explain it all in detail here.

Growing Importance of Diversity within a Tech Workplace

Posted on by Andrea Piackova

Foreward: As an SEO I’ve got a real interest in SEO for Tech/SAAS companies and try to share as much value as I can for people in this industry.

Most of the content I publish for tech companies is around search marketing, but I thought it would be interesting to provide value in a different way for a change.

With this in mind, I was delighted to accept this guest post from Gempool, a specialist tech recruitment agency, on Diversity in a tech workplace.

 

Growing Importance of Diversity within a Tech Workplace

As an employer, especially in today’s market, you want to be known for your all-inclusive approach and perspective when it comes to your tech team. In order to attain equality and cultural diversity within tech, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.

Companies that do not specifically focus on diversity don’t realise the talent pools they are missing out on and the benefits they carry. It has been proven time and again that an inclusive workforce delivers better outcomes and results.

Today, your entire recruitment process can be impacted based on your approach to diversity. The vast majority of individuals in the market are looking for companies that are aware of the inequality that exists in the industry and are trying to make an effort to bridge this gap.

Along with an improved recruitment process using tools such as Linkedin Recruiter, companies have a greater room for innovation when employing a diverse workforce, as you’re able to engage with individuals with different backgrounds and experiences.

This variety of these perspectives adds unmatched value to a company’s growth. Additionally, an inclusive work environment has led to better engagement and retention rates within organisations.

A culturally diverse workforce adds to the organisation’s success on various levels and any organisation that does not acknowledge its importance is going to be missing out!

 

How can you as a tech employer create a diverse workforce?

  • Voice your support on diversity and deliver

While applying for jobs all potential candidates are looking for a promising stand from their potential employer regarding diversity. It is key to address this from the very beginning via a job description that not only states the company’s commitment to diversity but voices it through all the points.

Show your potential talent pool that you’re a welcoming, collaborative, and friendly workplace who appoints individuals based on the skills they are able to bring to the table over any other factor.

Download our guide on writing a gender-diverse job description to help with your recruitment efforts.

  • Make way for training

One of the biggest barriers that create inequality within the workforce is the confidence gap that exists between individuals. The best way to overcome this issue is by providing candidates with the opportunity to learn and develop their skills.

For example: In our own personal recruitment process we decided to shine a light on the training provided which encouraged more people to apply. Outlining the ability to learn on the job broke the confidence barrier that people generally tend to have while entering a new field of work, which in-turn widened the pool of candidates available to us.

  • Ensure equal pay

Providing both men and women with the same opportunity should be the norm for any company. As an employer, if you’re able to demonstrate that you are trying to eliminate this gap and present your employees with similar pay and benefits, the level of talent you’ll be able to attract will grow.

While looking for work, people tend to look into the company brand and the associations attached to it since they look for qualities they resonate with. So, as an employer to be successful in today’s recruitment market it would be essential to get the right associations, and to be known as the employer supporting equal pay. This would essentially make you the employer of choice.

  • Root out unconscious bias

Unconscious bias exists within everyone and is far more difficult to root out as it is predominantly based on the previous experiences of individuals.

As an employer, there are many ways you can eliminate these issues. A few examples to get you started are:

  • Developing training programs
  • Using Artificial Intelligence for your recruitment efforts
  • Arranging ongoing sessions to discuss issues and deal with them consistently
  • Understand your biases and make a conscious effort to overcome them
  • Encourage returners

Be more receptive towards those individuals who took a career break, but still have an exceptional skill set, apt background, and the knowledge to get the work done.

We see many times within tech that women often take a career break, but look to return after a point. As an employer dipping into this pool of talent can only help you reach a winder candidate network that can benefit your organisation in the long run.

Leave no stone unturned, look for talent from all walks of life. The more inclusive atmosphere you can create within your organisation, the great levels of success you will be able to achieve.

We understand that the big changes cannot happen overnight, rather it is a series of steps. The main takeaway from this should be that you need to start now because diversity and inclusion are quickly becoming the focus within the tech recruitment industry. There’s a huge pool of talent for you as an employer to tap into.

If you would like any further information regarding the current tech market insights, we would be happy to share our knowledge with you. You can get in touch by emailing us at info@gempool.ie.