ADVANCES in technology and the massive growth in digital and mobile communications are shaping the future of marketing today, delegates heard at the inaugural MarketLink Open Forum at LIT last week.
The Forum was organised in conjunction with the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII) and was attended by over 100 students and members of the business community in the MidWest. MarketLink is an eight-week multidisciplinary careers, innovation and entrepreneurship programme for 3rd Level students studying in LIT.
Speakers at the event included Lucy Meehan, Managing Director, Impact Media, John Anslow, Retail Marketing Manager, Meteor, Shane McAllister, Director & Founder of MobaNode and Glyn Billinghurst, Sales & Marketing Manager, Munster Rugby. The event was chaired by Ronan O’Brien, Head of Business at LIT and the Official Welcome given by Dr. Maria Hinfelaar, President of LIT.
Lucy Meehan of Impact Media said, “Through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, companies can now tap into the emotional side of their target audience more than ever before . This is enormously powerful and allows companies and brands to enter into a dialogue rather than a monologue with customers.“
However, Ms Meehan cautioned against reducing your marketing spend in the current downturn, “In challenging economic times, a knee jerk reaction in business can often be to reduce the budget and resources within the marketing function. However, the reality is the only way to grow your share in a decreasing market is through marketing.”
MobaNode specialises in delivering targeted, relevant and localised content and messaging to mobile phones and handheld devices. Shane McAllister, Founder of MobaNode told the audience at LIT that mobile devices would be the world’s primary connection tool to the Internet in 2020. Two thirds of the world’s population has a mobile phone and in Ireland mobile penetration is at a phenomenal 120%. With traditional forms of advertising in decline and digital advertising the only growth area, marketers now need to look towards online and digital media for opportunities.
Glyn Billinghurst, Sales & Marketing Manager with Munster Rugby spoke about the commercial success of the business in recent years. Commented Mr. Billinghurst, “We, Munster Rugby, have worked closely with LIT over the years with its close proximity to Thomond Park and our Branch Offices currently on the Campus. I was delighted to provide the students and local entrepreneurs with an overview of the business and objectives of Munster Rugby off-the-pitch and how we are looking to establish a benchmark sporting business to challenge the clubs across Europe.”
Concluded Ronan O’Brien, Head of Business at LIT, “We were delighted with the attendance at our first MarketLink Forum and with the insights provided by the speakers into how to harness marketing for business growth in today’s environment. We are looking forward to welcoming students onto the MarketLink programme in the Autumn.”
Further information about MarketLink is available on www.lit.ie/marketlink.
