Just like this year working with David Keane and his Connemara oyster business. It’s been a joy. We’ve both learned along the way and most importantly it’s been a hugely successful media campaign.

With the hospitality sector shuttered David and his team have been working hard at developing and opening new markets, both here in Ireland domestically as well as for export to new customers in France, Norway, Estonia, The Netherlands and South Korea.

All the while, whether for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or Easter they have been busy dispatching a Taste of the Atlantic, fresh Connemara Oysters from Letterfrack to your letterbox all over Ireland, ordered online from their website www.dkconnemaraoysters.com

And it’s a media campaign that has caught the attention of the Connacht Tribune, Woman’s Way, Dundalk Democrat, LMFM Radio and Conor Pope of The Irish Times, among others.

Social media and our photography have been central also to the success of this media strategy.

It’s a campaign that’s ongoing as the business continues to evolve and pivot with the constantly changing and sometimes challenging environment.

Next up is a focus on the Farm Tours and Oyster Picnics that David provides in the midst of the stunning scenery on the verge of the Connemara National Park. This experience will be on offer again this summer, once it’s safe to travel and it’s also as you might imagine a firm favourite with overseas visitors, when we can welcome them ashore once more.

DKConnemara Oysters are all the time looking ahead and exploring these opportunities and are currently marketing the Farm visits and oyster picnics to tour operators from all over the world at the Meitheal online marketing showcase in association with Fáilte Ireland.

“We asked John to help us commercialise our online presence. It worked. It was a great decision and we achieved our goals using his expertise. He became a team player overnight and worked with us in a really committed fashion to achieve our objectives and is continuing to do so,” explains David Keane.

Like Communicate Ireland, David Keane likes to deliver the goods, leave a good taste and a memorable experience.

That’s healthy. That’s good business.

And that’s just a flavour of what we do here at Communicate Ireland.

Watch this space…

Portlaoise GAA mates, Zach Tuohy and Murry Rogers have teamed up for this business venture and the possibilities and prospects for some interesting storylines are endless. This was further demonstrated when I got a sneak preview of the exquisite and classy offering which the new coffee shop had in store.

In that regard it got me thinking a bit about how we do things differently and how we can see things so differently in different places and parts of the world.

One person’s graffiti, an act of vandalism and hooliganism which requires prosecution, punishment painted over, is another person’s masterpiece, which should be preserved, prized and promoted, as a work of art and of urban heritage and social significance.

The back alleys and narrow laneways of Melbourne instead of being viewed as the grotty hangouts of gougers and best avoided are celebrated landmarks, social hubs, their graffiti cherished and protected with conservation orders, all with their own distinctive names and stories to tell. Books have been written. Stories which percolate, resonate and ricochet as locals and visitors rub shoulders in the cities famous street cafés and coffee shops.

This is something that has been harnessed and promoted by the State tourism board, Visit Victoria.

“Melbourne is a big city that feels small, thanks to the compact inner-city grid with its network of laneways running like capillaries off the main arteries. Around corners and down stairs, the city’s history is laid bare in its lanes, alleys and arcades, some furtive and obscure, others loudly proclaiming their presence with lights and layers upon layers of spray paint. Each laneway has something unique about it: a motif, an artwork or a venue; each arcade bears the hallmarks of its era. The only way to find out Melbourne’s secrets is to spend time lost in its latticework of laneways.” (Alex Greig, April 28, 2021, for Qantas in association with Visit Victoria).

It’s most appropriate therefore that Murry Rogers and Zach Tuohy should take their shared Melbourne experience and import/export a serving of it on Bull Lane in their own home town. There’s something brewing on Bull Lane in the heart of Portlaoise town centre and it’s more than just specialty coffee

Zach is of course a story in himself, popular naturally in Portlaoise, but Down Under he’s in a different league altogether. In Australia he’s a brand. And not just with the Geelong fans or in the football mad city of Melbourne where 50,000 fans at the weekly Aussie Rules AFL matches is standard.

Zach has honed an identity and brand recognition across broader Australian society landscape. Known for his uncompromising style of no-quarter-asked-or-given play and his good humoured, always smiling, quick wit and turn of phrase which have made him a favourite with the fans and media off the pitch. He is much sought after as a pundit, panellist and to front up media and marketing campaigns for everything from insurance products to selling the delights of The Greater Geelong and The Bellarine district on the TV for the tourism board. Much of this is embedded in his charming banter and Irish brogue with a hint of an Ozzie accent and mischief mixed in for good measure.

“That’s brilliant John, great read. You could almost do that for a living ya know,” says Zach, stirring more than his coffee. He didn’t have a bad game himself against Richmond on Friday night at the MCG either…

If Zach keeps up this slagging I am toying around with the idea of a new song based off the Bill Wither’s classic, Lovely Day…

When I wake up in the morning, love

And I know it’s going to be

A lovely day,

In Zach’s Café

Lovely day, lovely day…you know the one I mean?

Tús maith leath na hoibre and it was great to see the coffees, donuts and gourmet melts flying out the door, literally selling like hot cakes, all weekend at The Wandering Elk, so much so that they sold out completely on Saturday and had to wrap up earlier than planned…

PS I also have to mention the classy retro and understated signage down at The Wandering Elk, love it!