Our biggest news is that finally - after much gnashing of teeth and grinding of other extremeties, NEO is moving to its new home in the new Centre for Excellence in Events in January.

The Centre for Excellence in Events (C4EE) has been in planning stages for more than 18 months now. During 2008 we had hoped to have the move completed. Unfortunately, we had to spend a significant amount of time on the Events Industry Skillnet development, and that really took all of our focus away. The Events Industry Skillnet will hopefully be able to stand on its own two feet properly from now on, and we can come back to delivering the professional association for our industry.

What is the Centre for Excellence in Events?
Our aim is for it to be the professional association for all of those involved in the events industry. Membership will be open to all events professionals on varying levels and in various disciplines. Events professionals are sometimes full time and highly experienced, equally they are sometimes part timers. Sometimes, they are events professionals who do not actually organise events, but work in the industry. An example would be conference & banqueting teams in venues - they're not actually organising the events, but they are providing advise and are often more qualified than the organiser. We believe that all events professionals should be recognised as professionals.

Where Does NEO Fit In?
NEO Ireland will remain as the Network for Event Organisers, but it will be owned and operated by the Centre for Excellence in Events. NEO will continue to act as a networking organisation, providing suppliers to the events industry with a marketplace for their products and services, and providing networking opportunities for members. Membership of NEO Ireland will continue to be open to all and membership of the network will continue be free of charge. A directory listing and other promotional opportunities will be charged for separately.

What About the Events Industry Skillnet?
We've heard that a lot of people mix up the Events Industry Skillnet and NEO Ireland. Kinda natural in ways, in that so many members of NEO were involved in helping to get the funding for the training network. Kinda natural in many other ways in that so many people in the industry are members of NEO, and don't see a huge need for two events networks...

Well, let's make sure the record is straight... The Events Industry Skillnet is a training network, funded by the Dept of Enterprise under the National Training Plan. It provides heavily subsidised training to its members, as well as networking opportunities. NEO Ireland is the network for events organisers in Ireland. NEO is privately funded - first by Eventznet and now by the Centre for Excellence in Events. Membership of NEO Ireland is open to anyone who works in the Events Industry in Ireland, North and South.

Many of the same people are involved in both NEO/C4EE and the Events Industry Skillnet. There is a natural cross over and only so many people who are prepared to give their time voluntarily and without pay. We have great plans!

A Special Note Regarding Events Training & the C4EE
We have had fantastic input from DIT, the IAPR and the European Institute on what the C4EE should be delivering. These events training and certification providers have been at it a lot longer than us, and I'm delighted that they are working with us.

Aside from a plea to help the Events Management Degree Course Students get their placements and work experience (contact Lucy Horan!), a special mention should go to the two commercial trainers.

The Irish Academy of Public Relations is run by Ellen Gunning - you've probably read her book on events in Ireland. the IAPR have just released news of their new online diploma in event management- see www.iapr.ie . The diploma will be recognised as a professional qualification at the relevant level by the C4EE.

Online is nothing new to the European Institute, Eugene Grey and his team have been dipping their toes into that pond for a while. Eugene tells me that they have a new diploma in Event Management with Public Relations starting in March - both part time and distance learning. Log on to www.europeaninstitute.ie for more details..

The Events Industry Skillnet will be delivering heavily subsidised training, potentially leading to certification, during 2009 and possibly beyond, depending on the funding circumstances. Visit www.eventsindustryskillnet.com for more information.

We are hoping to work together with all other industry associations to create a common standard and recognised set of qualifications and certifications.

I'm so sorry, I just couldn't resist that headline. Today came the news that Avcom, Ireland's Premier Audio Visual Rental and Staging Company (in case you didn't know) have merged with Sumo Multimedia as of the 17th of July. The deal involves Avcom purchasing all the Audio Visual equipment stock of Sumo Multi Media. Matt Kirwan, MD of Sumo joins the Avcom team to arrange the smooth transfer of Sumo's clients and will remain their point of contact for the foreseeable future.

Tony Murphy, MD of Avcom is delighted with the merger saying that the deal will broaden the scope of work that Avcom have traditionally done in the past and introduce some very important clients to Avcom's already impressive client list.

I'd like to add my congratulations to Avcom and to Matt, and to reminisce a little...
March 2005 - picture the scene, our small office in NovaUCD with 2 developers throwing latex Sumo wrestlers at the ceiling... that was our first introduction to Sumo. We were just considering launching NEO Ireland and were hosting a seminar on the 17th of May where we planned to float the idea.

Sumo kindly agreed to sponsor the A/V and staging and I first met Matthew and Dara Conlon (now with Euro Events) and they were great to us - really. It was a good showcase for them also, but it was the beginning of a relationship that carried right through many events, including the three Events Day Conferences. When Tracey Carney (now with Conference Partners) joined the team, we were delighted, and were so sad to see her move on earlier this year.

This is one of my favourite photos - from Events Day 06 in the Pavilion at Leopardstown. Matthew and Tracey with Paul O'Neill (who I knew from a previous life!) in the middle.

Well done guys on all you achieved so far, thanks very much again for all your help, and the very best of good wishes going forward for the future. And to Edwin and team at Avcom, congratulations! and we look forward to working with you!

So Long Sigrid - you'll be back home in time for MidSummer and I can see you now with flowers in your hair dancing around that maypole - they really do that, you know... very pretty. Thanks a million for all your help, I know you made a good few friends amongst our industry and we're sorry to see you go.

Now, on to less soppy stuff... At Events Day 08 I had the not so pleasant task of presenting on the new Centre for Excellence in Events. As you may already know, the C4EE is to be the new professional body for the events industry. A number of people have already signed up to help to bring it along - but the main thing we need is some funding.

I don't think I did a particularly good job in getting across the real issues involved. Most of you probably know that NEO Ireland only exists because of the hard work of those who have volunteered over the years, as well as the generosity of the major sponsors, and the financial support that Eventznet has contributed. In actual cash terms, Eventznet has supported NEO Ireland at a rate of over 50% of operating expenditure.

Don't get me wrong - I'm in no way sorry that we have done that, and I'm not about to pull the plug - no matter what the accountants say. NEO Ireland has been a very very valuable asset to my company, and we have benefitted both directly and indirectly in very real terms.

However - the new Centre for Excellence in Events is not a trading name of Eventznet Ltd. It is a separate limited liability company. It has some serious work to do if it is to become the professional body for our industry. Networking will be a part of it, but certification, qualifications, standards and continuing professional development will be the more important mission. In my opinion, this can't be done on a part time basis - more importantly, a professional body for an industry can not be controlled by one supplier.

I'd love to get some dialogue going on this - and looked for ideas at Events Day 08. This is where the controversey came in... Read all about it and PLEASE join in the discussion over at the Events Day Conference Blog. Click here to go to the blog...

Our biggest news this month is of course the conference. We really enjoyed the day – all that hard work paid off. It was great meeting so many of our members and supporters, and we loved the speakers. Here is my account of the day – for those of you who weren’t there, I hope to see you there next year!

Conference Report
I arrived bright and early at the Ballsbridge Court Hotel. The event was held in the Grosvenor Suite, a beautiful spacious room which can be divided in two by a folding wall, as in this case. In the showcase room, some of the exhibitors were already setting up their stands. SUMO Multimedia, who were providing the showcase build and the stage set as well as the AV and lighting for the day, had done a fantastic job, as always. The stage set in the conference room really caught the eye, designed to set off the Events Day 08 logo, printed courtesy of Pure Graphics.

The delegates started arriving, first as a trickle, then as a steady stream as more and more people dropped in for a cup of coffee, some networking and a peek at the showcase. I had the great pleasure to meet several of our new NEO Ireland members for the first time, and there were also plenty of familiar (and smiling!) faces in the crowd.

Sessions and Speakers

Then it was time to begin the morning session, so we all filed into the conference room to take our places. Clyde Carroll, who was chairing the conference, wished everyone a warm welcome and started off by outlining some of the achievements of the events industry over the past year, among them the launch of the Events Industry Skillnet and the National Convention Centre.

Then it was time to begin in earnest. Sarah Carroll kickstarted the day with a rousing call to action, inviting the audience to get involved with the Centre for Excellence in Events. Those of you who attended the NEO Ireland Christmas debate back in December will recall that the topic of certification and degree level education in event management made emotions run high. This time, the focus was on how this industry body is to be funded. Once again, the subject managed to spark some controversy among the delegates, showing that these questions are clearly central to the events industry.

Next up was Terry Harmer of NLC Training, whose session on sales techniques was split into two parts, the first one an introduction to the concept of Neuro Linguistic Programming, which was as fascinating as it was entertaining. Having attended one of Terry’s training courses organised by the Events Industry Skillnet, I had been looking forward to this session ever since we confirmed him as a speaker, and I wasn’t disappointed. He was every bit as good as I remembered him to be.

After a well-needed coffee and networking break, we were back for Terry’s next session, which went more in-depth, focussing on practical, hands-on tips and techniques. I found this session a virtual goldmine of information, and it was delivered in a style that made me laugh and learn all at the same time.

Terry’s second session concluded the first part of the day, which meant that it was time for lunch – but first there were spot prizes to be given away. Rachel Daunt of Alternative Caterhire snagged the grand prize – a weekend break at the newly opened Sheraton Athlone. The other lucky winners were Sue Ryan of Fighting Blindness, Hilary Copeland of Copeland Corporate Events, Ciara Feely of FindaConferenceVenue.com, Sam Smythe of Plantlife and Anne Doherty of Happening.

Now, since this day was all focussed on learning and information and useful skills, maybe it seems shallow to be bringing up something so mundane as food. Let me assure you: the food was anything but mundane. Stephen and his team in Unique Dining had done their best for us, and the result was mouth-watering indeed. Unique Dining provided the food for the Members’ Away Day at DerryBawn, which was before I joined the NEO team, and my colleagues have all been going on about how great the food was, so my expectations were quite high. Well, they certainly managed to live up to them. I’m only sorry I didn’t have time for seconds.

First out in the second half of the day was Caitlin O’Connor of Accelerating Performance, presenting a case-study on her new start-up networking organisation Networth. I had looked forward to her session, seeing as how networking is such an important function of NEO, and one that always gets mentioned in the feedback we receive. Caitlin talked about the challenges of getting the numbers in for networking events and how to overcome them, as well as giving a few useful tips and tricks about the actual networking. Caitlin is clearly passionate about her subject, and I found it very inspirational.

Next up, Michael Nolan of iQuest did a session on how to market conferences and exhibitions. This was the first time I have heard him speak, and it was a treat to partake of his vast experience, especially since he is such an engaging speaker. Michael had promised Sarah not to be too provocative, but as soon as he took the podium, he obviously couldn’t resist a bit of controversy, stating that even though the Irish are absolutely brilliant at organising events, they are absolutely awful at marketing them. I have to say hats off to his efficiency - how the man managed to cram so much useful information into only thirty minutes is beyond me.

Equally crammed with information was Ellen Gunnings session on how to best use photos and press releases for PR purposes. I have met Ellen a few times before, and I just love her straight-forward, no-nonsense attitude. This serves her very well as a speaker, since she goes straight to the point without dithering. I have heard the phrase “all foam and no beer” denote something that lacks substance. Well, judging from the rapt attention from the audience, I was not the only one who thought Ellen’s session was all beer and nothing but.

Sarah Carroll then gave us a lesson in e-marketing, what it’s all about and how to best go about it. Sarah is the top woman in her field, and even though the pesky laptop wouldn’t quite cooperate to begin with, she delivered a brilliant presentation which generated great interest and several questions from the audience, leading to an enthusiastic Q & A session with all the speakers in the second part.

After getting all this information into our heads, we all needed to stretch our legs a bit, and so grabbed a cup of coffee and went around the showcase for a last chance to talk to the exhibitors and practice our networking skills.

Siobhan O’Sullivan (Park Plaza Tyrrelstown), Rachel Daunt (Alternative Caterhire) and Gail Findlay Shirras (Alchemy Events) making the most of the networking

The third part of the day was an inspirational piece – Sammy Leslie told the story of how she built up Castle Leslie to a thriving business. Sammy’s love for her family home, and for the business she has created really shone through when she talked about the magic feel of the nature surrounding Castle Leslie. She also talked about the challenges and joys of being a female entrepreneur, admitting that she sometimes sneaks in to work on the floor at one of her own events out of sheer love for the job. All in all, Sammy’s warm and open personality and genuine passion for her work left a deep impression on me.

After this grand finale, it was time for Clyde’s closing remarks, marking the end of a jam-packed day of learning, information, showcasing and networking. Looking around the room, I felt a surge of pride and happiness to be a part of Events Day 08. To my mind, it was a fantastic day, and what made it possible is all the support we have gotten from our sponsors, delegates and showcase exhibitors. Thank you all for being there, and for contributing to making it a brilliant day!

The showcase

This year, our suppliers had really outdone themselves, putting on a great showcase and proving that there really is a lot of resources out there for anyone organising events in Ireland. Thanks to all of our exhibitors for lending style and flair to the event, and for keeping us all up to date on the latest developments in the industry.

Eventznet.ie is Ireland’s leading events software and e-marketing service provider, and deliver all of NEO Ireland’s e-marketing and websites. Eventznet has powered the registration for exhibitions, conferences, seminars, festivals, networking events, product launches, dinners and fundraisers. Neil Foster, who is new to the company, but already an old hand at working the Eventznet Events System, spent the day showing interested delegates how to use it, and what it looked like from the administrator’s side.

The Slieve Russell Hotel – represented on the showcase by Fainchea Donohoe – really has everything you could wish for from a countryside 4-star luxury hotel. The surroundings are absolutely stunning, and for the golfer, there is an 18 hole Championship Golf Course to improve your handicap on. They also cater for conferences with up to 1200 delegates. Take a look at their website to see what I mean about those surroundings – you’ll be longing for your next holiday.

Contact: Fainchea Donohoe – donohoef@quinn-hotels.com - 049 952 5031 - www.quinnhotels.com/slieve_russell.html

In addition to all the tables, linen cloths, eating, drinking & catering utensils they sponsored us with, Leona Rothwell and Leon O’Keefe had brought with them a cool piece of mobile dance floor as backdrop for showing off some of their gorgeous furniture. Whatever you need for your event – chances are Hire All have it, and most likely at a very competitive price and in ten different colours...

Contact: Leona Rothwell – leona@hireall.ie - 01 295 3821 – www.hireall.ie

D4 Hotels are all about offering exclusive hotels in an unbeatable location at exceptional prices. Their rooms are a real treat, newly furnished, spacious and comfortable. They have a host of meeting rooms for every need, and the service we have received from Aine Martin, Lisa Courtney and their team has been friendly, welcoming and professional throughout. D4 Hotels sponsored us with the rooms for the day, and they have been an absolute pleasure to work with.

Contact: Aine Martin – events@d4hotels.com - 01 637 9361 - www.d4hotels.ie

Therese had created a lovely display of her beautiful art and craft pieces. Whether silver, bronze, crystal, wood, copper or ceramic – if you are looking for the perfect corporate gift or award, these pieces are really something out of the ordinary. Whatever event you are organising this year, allow PromoCraft to introduce you to the originality and beauty of contemporary Irish Craft Design.

Contact: Therese O’Regan-Artaud – therese@promocraft.net - 01 843 0816 -www.promocraft.net

Avcom is the leading audio visual hire company in Ireland (you have all seen their ubiquitous vans), and are constantly investing in the latest technology to ensure that they have the best equipment available for hire, such as widescreen projection screens, high definition projectors, high definition plasma and lcd screens (available up to 65”), a comprehensive generic and intelligent lighting stock, high definition cameras and edit suites to record your event in the best possible quality.

Contact: Edwin Whelan – edwin@avcom.ie - 01 295 7213 - www.avcom.ie

Joanna Hannick and Anna Donnelly were showcasing the brand new Sheraton Hotel in Athlone, which had literally only just days before opened its doors to visitors. Judging from the photos, the place is well worth a visit – the design of the place is stunning: cool, clean lines without being stark, and they have state-of-the-art conference facilities for up to 1200 delegates. The Contemporary Urban Spa looks a treat, and so does the Presidential Suite on the very top of the 12-storey tower, which with its private reception & lounge areas is perfect for exclusive private functions. A big thanks for the gift voucher that we got to give away as a spot prize!

Contact: Joanna Hannick – info.athlone@sheraton.com - 090 645 1000 - sheraton.com/athlone

Laura Curtin and Sabine Hoffman from Communicate PR showed us that they are true PR professionals. Watching Laura work a room is always a pleasure – she is a master networker who knows how to get maximum information into a minimum space of time– and I doubt that anyone left without having had a pleasant chat with her or Sabine. Communicate PR is a creative and proactive business management and public relations consultancy offering a practical kind of magic to companies and organisations. They offer an extensive and versatile service, supporting their clients with PR & Promotion Planning, Press Release/Article Writing, Media Relations, Event Management, Conference & Exhibition Organisation, Communications Training and Video/Print Management.

Contact: Laura Curtin – laura@communicatepr.ie - 022 20213 - www.communicatepr.ie

Since Elaine O’Connor was helping us out by working the day, Shane Pollard was manning the stand for Magnum Events, impressing the delegates with the versatility of their service and the grand scope of the events they produce – their name is aptly chosen. First time I met Elaine, she humbly explained that while they organise every kind of event, they tend to specialise in “small to medium-sized festivals, 10-15 000 people or so” which just goes to show that there are more ways than one to use the word “small”. To have the help of a seasoned pro such as Elaine during the day was a great help, and a big thanks to Shane and Slainte Stillorgan for giving us the mineral water.

Contact: Elaine O’Connor – info@magnumevents.eu - 01 201 8882 - www.magnumevents.eu

PJT Insurance Services Ltd are the leading suppliers, risk management and claims management to the Event Industry in Ireland. They signed up to NEO in January, and I was very happy to finally get to meet them in person, even if their CEO, Peter Thomas, unfortunately couldn’t attend. In his stead, Mary McSweeney attended, and she and Colin Donohoe showcased the services of the company, which is Ireland’s leading leisure & entertainment insurance broker as well as covering general commercial, construction and personal lines.

Contact: Peter Thomas – peter.thomas@pjtins.ie - 01 840 1254 - www.pjtins.ie

SUMO Multimedia is the one-stop solution for all your lighting, set design & stage dressing, audio visual and post-production needs. I think their quirky creativity and imagination really shows in the way they designed their showcase stand: after dressing the conference room, building the showcase stands and setting up all the AV and lighting, SUMO Multimedia thought not of their own tired feet but of the delegates’ and so set up a cool little chillout section as their stand.

Contact: Matthew Kirwan – info@sumomultimedia.com - 01 612 0936 - www.sumomultimedia.com

Ciara Feely, who found our venue for us, was showcasing her newly launched venue finding service – FindaConferenceVenue.com. Ciara has an extensive background in the hospitality industry, and she has used her knowledge to build up a great store of detailed information about venues for meetings, conferences and events all around Ireland, all collected in one place and available to clients free of charge. Sounds to good to be true? Check out their website if you don’t believe me.

Events Day 08 was organised in conjunction with the Events Industry Skillnet, so of course the new Network Manager Ceslee Foster was there to showcase the training courses provided through the learning network. With a number of useful and interesting training courses coming up in May and June, there is lots to be learned, so head on over to the website and see if any of the courses catches your fancy. To avail of the heavily subsidized training courses and make sure the grant money is put to good use, sign up for membership online. Ceslee will be delighted to answer any questions you may have about membership, training course schedule or anything else you can think of.

Contact: Ceslee Foster – ceslee@eventsindustryskillnet.com - 01 230 35 48 - www.eventsindustryskillnet.com

Brian O’Reilly, Andy Carroll, David Mooney & Dean Douglas did what it says on the tin – especially as regards the Fun bit. At first, the audience was a bit camera-shy, but after a while we all really got into the spirit and had great fun elbowing our way through the gathering crowd to strike a pose in front of the camera and have our face stuck onto such august bodies as Conan’s, David Beckham’s or, in my case, Lara Croft’s. In the end, I think hardly anyone left without a mouse pad, T-shirt or framed image of themselves trying to keep a straight face and wearing someone else’s body. Fun Foto Imaging is the sister company to Monte Carlo Entertainment – these guys are serious about fun, and will organise your event from start to finish in a friendly and professional manner and make it a memorable occasion.

Contact: Brian O’Reilly – info@funfotoimaging.ie - 01 499 9810 – www.funfotoimaging.ie & www.mcentertain.com

Comments & Feedback

We hardly had time to unpack all our boxes last Thursday before the thank you-emails started to drop in, making our day in every way. Guys, you make us blush…it’s worth every drop of sweat we shed to know that you appreciated the conference, so thank you!! Here’s what some of you said:

“ Thank you very much for a wonderful day yesterday. The speakers all had great knowledge and advice to impart, and it was all done so with such passion and enthusiasm. Thank you very much for making this happen and for the inspiration you bring to the industry.”

“Just wanted to drop you both a quick email to say thank you for yesterday. It was a very interesting event and did meet new contacts and that’s what its all about!!!!”

“… I would like to say a big thank you to Sarah and her team for an excellent day of networking and education at the events day. I look forward to meeting with you again soon.”

“Thank you for your hospitality yesterday at Events Day '08
I thoroughly enjoyed my day and made two very important contacts, which I am already working on following up.”

“Please thank Sarah and the gang, as usual event 08 was a really informative event, I enjoyed Michael Nolan and I thought that Terry Harmer and Ellen Gunning were excellent, it was great to hear real experts share their experience. Thank you again.”

“I would like to thank you for a great day at Events Day 08.
[We] really enjoyed the day and we were furious that we had to leave early and miss the final section. Well done on a great conference.”

“Well done to you both for a well organized event – hard work always pays off.”

As always, we are very grateful for all the feedback we can get, so a big thanks goes to all of you who took the time to fill out the feedback forms and tell us what we did well and what we could do better. It was truly rewarding to read through the comments, some of which I want to share with you:

“This is my first NEO event and I was impressed with this programme/people”

“Great way to get & update skills. Meet people in the same industry”

“V. interesting and relevant”

“Up to date industry information”

“Opportunity to meet other organisers & service providers, learn & get info”

And my personal favourite:

“NEO rocks”

Well, what can we say? It’s a pleasure to organise a conference for people who are so enthusiastic. You rock! I’m already looking forward to next year!

Thanks to our Sponsors & Supporters

We love our sponsors, without whom we couldn’t have pulled this off. Their support makes all the difference for us, and we would like to extend our hugest and warmest thanks to the sponsors of Events Day 08: D4 Hotels for the Grosvenor Suite and all your kind help and brilliant service; FindaConferenceVenue.com for finding us the brilliant venue; SUMO Multimedia for the showcase stands, beautiful staging, excellent AV and lighting and top-notch crew; Pure Graphics for all the high quality printwork: pop-ups, stage set, conference programmes, fliers; Hire All Event & Party Hire for the extra tables, linen cloths, knifes, forks, plates, glasses and all the other catering equipment; Unique Dining for the morning coffee breaks, the skirting for the showcase stands and for generally being so extremely helpful and nice to us; Slainte Stillorgan for the mineral water; the Events Industry Skillnet for working together with us on this one; and last but not least Eventznet for the design work, website, registrations and e-marketing.

Thanks also to Sheraton Athlone for donating the gift voucher spot prize, and to Sammie Leslie and Castle Leslie for those fabulous goodie bags.

Thanks to the Team

If it weren’t for the fact that we had some really good help with organising Events Day 08, we would have had to grow a lot more arms, legs and brains in order to get it all in order, so thanks are in order (am I possibly overusing the word “order”?). The Events Industry Skillnet Steering Group deserves a big thanks in this regard for their input and support. Evelyn O’Sullivan from O’Sullivan Event Marketing has been working with us coming up to the conference and she has been absolutely brilliant to work with and a huge help. She was also there on the day, making sure the registration desk ran like clockwork, working together with our old friend Clare Brady from DIT. Clare is an old hand at managing the registration desk for NEO, and usually she is flanked by fellow DIT student Julie Mullane. This year, due to work engagements, Julie couldn’t make it on the day, but even so she still came down to help us set up the night before, which we greatly appreciated. We were also joined on the day by master organiser Elaine O’Connor from Magnum Events, who ensured a smooth running of the event, as well as by Fern Moore and Cathal Hogan from Eventznet. We also had our ground troop of IA’s, (Invaluable Assistants, that is!): DIT students Fiona, Lisa, Denise, Laura, and Emma.

NEO Ireland has been supported by our sponsors and by membership fees since we launched in July 2005. We've really had a hard time justifying the fees for membership for people who organise events and don't want to advertise in the directory or use the promotional aspects of the website or our ezines. So we've decided to stop charging a membership fee, and instead to set a fee for advertising in the directory, availing of our e-marketing services, posting jobs and attending events.

If you haven't yet joined NEO Ireland (all we need are some details from you about the events you organise and the suppliers you use, then hop on over to the members section and join up now.

Our third annual Events Day takes place on the 30th of April 2008 in the new D4 Hotels Ballsbridge Court (formerly the 5 star Berkely Court Hotel). We were thrilled when Ciara Feeley suggested it to us as a venue - Ciara runs FindAConferenceVenue.com and she offered to help out with finding a venue for us. Which she did! With speed and alacrity and plenty of suggestions and good advice.

Speakers are not yet finalised but we can let you know that the brilliant Terry Harmer will be helping us all focus on figures; Michael Nolan from iQuest will talk some about direct marketing; Ellen Gunning from the IAPR and Laura Curtin of Communicate PR & Events will give us the PR lowdown and we'll have speakers on Advertising, E-Marketing & Web and advise on how to manage too many and too few, too soon and too late as well too much or too little... Register now on the Conference Website to avail of the early registration prices and this weeks special something...