MARKETING SOCIETY - Key Persons
Ciara has 15 years experience in the market research industry and works as a Director with RED C Research. She is a graduate of DIT Marketing and holds a masters degree in MSc Marketing Practice from the UCD Smurfit School. She also recently completed Mark Ritson's Mini MBA programme to add further knowledge to her already comprehensive understanding of the marketing landscape.
Ciara's specialisms include Advertising & Brand Research where most recently she has helped brands grow through development of Distinctive Brand Assets and Category Entry Point insight programmes, plus working on the importance of attention in advertising impact, and has been lucky enough to work with specialists in the field including Peter Field and Karen Nelson Field. Ciara also leads the Customer Experience side of the business at RED C, delivering best in class voice of the customer programmes to clients around the world.
Ciara is passionate and enthusiastic about using market research insight to grow brands both in Ireland and internationally. She gets a buzz from working with clients and colleagues alike, exchanging views and ideas on new technologies and techniques and how these can best be harnessed to provide real insight.
Job Titles:
- Research Project Manager at RED C Research
Colm is Research Project Manager at RED C Research and Marketing with over four years' experience in market research. Colm works heavily on political polling as well as doing private work for clients across the aerospace, finance, FMCG, charity, tourism and tech sectors. Colm holds an MA in Philosophy from TCD as well as a certificate in Data Analytics from UCD. Colm's main interests are in understanding and predicting consumer behaviour through the lens of the most cutting-edge statistical techniques grounded in quantitative studies. Some ongoing research interests include consumer confidence in the economy, trends towards sustainable living and shifting political and social attitudes.
David has worked in the world of insight and research for over 20 years, since graduating with an MPhil Research from TUD and a BSc. In Management from Trinity College Dublin and he holds an MII (Grad). He has held senior positions with a number of research agencies, including as Managing Director of OI Research, which he founded and Joint Managing Director as RED C. Prior to this David worked in senior positions in Kantar Millward Brown and the statistical software company, SPSS. More recently David has established the strategic consulting firm Bayes and Becker, which has been operating successfully for the past 4 years, and has recently acquired Opinions Market Research which has since been experiencing significant growth with David operating as its CEO. Finally, David is also a recently accredited AIBF Thought Leader (Research and Strategy), a contributor to UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and has served as Programme Director for Maynooth's MSc. Design Innovation (Food) Programme.
So, having successfully established a number of successful insight businesses and having been involved at a senior level in larger agencies, I feel that I can add something different to the society in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship and business consulting.
David is the Insights Manager for Kerry Taste & Nutrition and is focused on delivering insights that inspire and inform. With 10+ years of experience across industry, agency and big four management consulting, his career to date has been built on the premise that everything must begin with a solid foundation of insight.
He champions human-centered design thinking to help build solutions that lead to a better working world. He is a strong advocate of exploring cultural forces and the broader macro environment to understand their impact on populations. This context leads to supercharged primary research that unlocks living insight into why we humans do what we do. These outputs are designed to support action, impact and growth. David is a Young ESOMAR finalist and won the 2022 Marketing Society Research Excellence Award with Kerry in the Sustainability category.
David was an inaugural member of the Marketing Society Future Council. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and an MSc in Marketing Practice from University of Galway, and a PGDip in International Business from TU Dublin.
Job Titles:
- Partnerships Marketing Account Executive
Emily O'Neill is a Branded Partnerships Marketing Account Executive in IMAGE Media and has 5 years' experience in the marketing industry. Emily graduated from Waterford Institute of Technology with a BA Honours Degree in Marketing and Digital Media.
Emily started her career in Media as a Digital Intern in Spark Foundry part of Core in 2018 and then progressed throughout the company over the span of almost 5 years before joining IMAGE in 2023. She has a passion for all things Content, Sponsorship and Digital related and plans to bring these skills to the Future Council!
Jennifer is a Director at Edelman leading a number of award-winning, integrated accounts including Unilever, Deep RiverRock, Mars and Pfizer. Jennifer works with the leadership team to develop the agency strategy both at a local and international level and is passionate about the value of delivering insight-led, evidence-based creative solutions to client's business challenges.
Jennifer has over 9 years experience in the communications industry and has worked in Edelman since 2013 delivering strategic advice to clients through an integrated approach across insight, planning, strategy, creative and digital and is focused on leading an offer that has its heritage in storytelling and puts the audience first to deliver real impact. Passionate about the power of creativity for brands and businesses, Jennifer represented Ireland as a Young Lion at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in 2017. Jennifer has an keen interest in the Food & Beverage sector and sits as the Ireland lead on the Edelman EMEA F&B team, knowledge sharing and working with other markets to build trusted connections among people, brands, business and institutions in the sector.
Jennifer graduated from Dublin City University in 2013 with an M.Sc. in Digital Marketing Management and also holds a B.A in Communications Studies from Dublin City University. More recently Jennifer returned to TUD to complete the CPD in Creative Thinking in Creative Commercial Communications.
Job Titles:
- Edelman in 2021 As an Account Manager
Kate joined Edelman in 2021 as an Account Manager, prior to this she worked on the Consumer team in Wilson Hartnell. Kate has a track record of delivering best-in-class campaigns for clients across the finance, FMCG, culture and tourism, and retail sectors. She has a wealth of experience in communicating brand key messages to a range of audiences through social first campaigns, traditional media relations, digital content creation, influencer engagement and collaboration, and experiential activation.She has worked with a mix of domestic and international brands including Coca-Cola, AIB, Xylem, The Guinness Storehouse, Topo Chico, Homesense, Hellmann's, Rockshore, Brady Family, and Smirnoff.
Kate represented Ireland at the 2022 Cannes Young Lions global competition in the PR category, having been shortlisted for the same competition in 2020. She also previously interned with the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.
She was awarded a distinction in the Postgraduate Diploma in PR and Communications by the Fitzwilliam Institute and has a BSc in Government from University College Cork.
Laura Cassidy is a Consultant currently working in Accenture Song. Laura graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in Business, Economics, and Social Studies and, after a brief stint in management consulting, moved into the content & creative space within Accenture Song. In this time, she has had the opportunity to work with a range of global clients as well as the amazing team at Droga5 Dublin to develop, create, and manage a wide variety of content within Accenture Song's growing Content Studio. This type of work opened Laura up to the advertising and marketing industry in Ireland and led her to compete in Cannes Young Lions 2022, in which she and her creative partner won the Media Category and went on to represent Ireland in the global competition. Laura's role allows her to hone her leadership and managerial skills while flexing her creative muscles and building her passion for all things ad-world in Ireland. Laura is looking forward to working with the Future Council to create opportunities that open up the advertising & marketing industry in Ireland to new audiences and to empower those beginning their careers.
Louise is a communications professional with over 10 years' experience across both agency and in-house roles. She joined Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland as External Communications Manager in 2022 and previously spent eight years with Drury, as a Director in its Corporate and Financial PR team working for clients including Cairn Homes, Three Ireland, Ulster Bank and Musgrave.
At Coca-Cola HBC, Louise leads all external communications activity across areas including sustainability, employer branding and public engagement initiatives such as Designated Driver, YouthEmpowered and partnerships with FoodCloud and FareShare NI. She also leads the strategy and rollout of internal communications creating fully integrated campaigns designed to engage over 700 employees across the island of Ireland. Louise brings strategic thinking and insights to her work to deliver impactful communications campaigns.
Louise was awarded Young Communications Professional of the Year in 2018 by the PRCA. She holds a BA in English and New Media from the University of Limerick, an MA in Public Relations from Dublin Institute of Technology and in 2020 she received a Distinction from the Institute of Banking for the Professional Certificate in Responsible and Sustainable Finance.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair
- Marketing Manager With HEINEKEN Ireland
A native of County Fermanagh and a Marketing Graduate from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Mark has over 10 years' experience in FMCG and Alcoholic Beverages industries.
Currently a Marketing Manager with HEINEKEN Ireland, Mark leads the iconic Heineken® Brand as it looks to strengthen it's market-leading position within the Irish alcohol industry. He is responsible for the development of both Heineken® & Heineken 0.0%, across all ATL & BTL platforms.
Prior to working at HEINEKEN Ireland, Mark started his career working in the UK across much loved consumer brands such as IRN-BRU, Orangina & Rockstar Energy Drink - before joining HEINEKEN UK in 2015, playing a pivotal lead role in accelerating the growth of Birra Moretti - the UK's fastest growing Beer brand of the last decade.
Mark has a proven track record of delivering sustainable, long-term business growth and building brands through meaningful campaigns. He is particularly passionate about the power of building great teams - both internally and with agency partners - to deliver world class programmes underpinned by true consumer insight and creativity at every touchpoint. Mark hopes to bring the same passion into the Marketing Council to contribute to raising the profile of our industry in Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Senior Client Manager in Zenith Ireland
Michael Dargan is currently a Senior Client Manager in Zenith Ireland, part of Core, with 2 & half years' experience in media planning & buying. Michael holds an MSc in Digital Marketing from Dublin City University, following on from completing a bachelor's degree in Marketing, Innovation, & Technology, also from DCU. Both achievements reflect a passion for learning about exciting and innovating technologies, and how to drive effectiveness and success in marketing using such.
Michael's role focuses on designing and executing solution-focused paid media plans in response to briefs from clients/brands. He has worked across multiple national and international brands within the FMCG, alcohol, technology, motor, & insurance sectors.
Nandini is a seasoned marketer with over a decade of experience in marketing Fortune 500 brands who have embraced her entrepreneurial spirit to deliver consistent business performance leveraging creative excellence.
She is currently the Head of Marketing of Spirits for Diageo Ireland and is shaping the future of the spirits portfolio for Diageo in Ireland. She has moved to Ireland recently from India where she has been instrumental in driving the growth of iconic brands and in turning around challenger brands to drive impact on Business, consumers' lives and society at large.
With Diageo India, she has delivered a. outstanding Business results - turning around the world's largest whisky brand (30Mn cases) through a category-disruptive brand transformation delivering the highest share gain on the brand in 13 years. b. Impacted Consumer lives- campaigns like Friendship day enabling 100,000+ friends to exchange virtual hugs during the pandemic outbreak, c. Societal impact with responsible drinking campaigns enrolling 6.5Mn+ to never drink & drive, championing progressive gender portrayal and going beyond the stereotypical casting.
A lifelong student herself, she is committed to creating an environment for herself and teams for learning. She is a peer mentor for the "Marketing Leadership Masterclass" with Thomas Barta & Syl Saller.
Job Titles:
- Honorary Secretary
- Associate Director in B & a
- Key Contributor to the Annual ‘B & a Sign
Niall is an Associate Director in B&A who works with a large cross section of clients in both a qualitative and quantitative capacity. He has a strong background and keen interest in the use of behavioural economics in market research and integrates this into the design, fieldwork and analysis process of research projects at B&A.
Over the past number of years, Niall has been a key contributor to the annual ‘B&A Sign of the Times' report, having deep dived into emerging areas of interest such as the changing role of the home during Covid, evolving consumer purchasing and decision making and understanding attitudes towards sustainability. In terms of methodologies, Niall has increasingly been pioneering new research approaches such as digital ethnography in both a national and international context.
Prior to joining B&A, Niall worked as a researcher in MCCP. In terms of qualifications, Niall holds a MSc degree in Human Decision Science from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and a Bachelor of Business Studies from DCU. This provides Niall with a solid understanding of business dynamics, as well as specialist insight into how people make the decisions that they do.
Job Titles:
- Council Member
- Marketing Manager With Britvic Ireland
A native of Carlingford, Co. Louth, Orlagh has over 15 years marketing experience working on some of Ireland's top FMCG brands. A double Masters graduate from UCD Michael Smurfit Business school, Orlagh sees herself as a highly strategic, commercial and creatively minded Marketing Manager.
Currently a Marketing Manager with Britvic Ireland, Orlagh recently led the multi award winning relaunch of Ireland's No. 1 and original bottled water, Ballygowan. Not only did this most recent campaign of Orlagh's result in further increasing market share, it also positively impacted the planet by removing 1500 tonnes of virgin plastic.
This passion for sustainability has led to even more studies for Orlagh, with her currently undertaking the Sustainability Business Management course at Cambridge.
Orlagh's fervour for brands and strategy started whilst in her first role in Danone and continued to grow whilst undertaking various roles in Kerry, Mars and UCD Smurfit Business School. Having completed the New York and Mount Fuji marathon's, Orlagh hopes to take the same drive to further drive sustainability with the marketing council, not only as a mandated initiative for brands but rather a key driver of their future growth.
With over 20+ years of experience, working on both the client and agency side of our business, Pauline has an established track record for delivering commercial value using research and insights and championing this discipline throughout the business; directly influencing and shaping performance assessment, strategy and outcomes.
Pauline's current role with Uisce Eireann is to use research and insights to develop and inform corporate reputation development, communications' strategy, stakeholder management, media, performance management and business strategy. Partnering with key teams within the company we've integrated insights into all aspects of planning, strategy development and business evaluation.
Pauline has a strong commercial background in planning across the Irish and European financial service sector through work with Aviva Insurance. On the research agency side with Lansdowne Millward Brown, Pauline led projects in customer experience, brand strategy, product testing, pricing positioning, media monitoring, advertisement development, tracking and evaluation across a variety of sectors including financial services, media, leisure, FMCG, telecommunications and retail.
Pauline is committed to helping to continue to drive the research and insights sector forward into the future by keeping it at the heart of business decision making.
Pauline is a graduate from Belfast College of Technology and Liverpool Business School in Marketing and Production Management.
As the Insights & Planning Specialist within Bord Bia, Rawaa works with a multitude of clients so that insights is embedded in their culture & central to their decision process. She helps them by determining their research needs, consulting on the best approach & ensures outputs deliver clear actionable recommendations, to help clients make smart decisions.
As part of this role, Rawaa works with a number of MR agencies in Ireland & worldwide, allowing her to tap into new ideas, techniques & the latest innovative research solutions. Prior to Bord Bia, Rawaa was working agency-side in the UK for 7years, where she worked with consumer & healthcare brands. Her dedication to delivering impactful insights saw her team Highly Commended in the 2019 BHBIA Best Business Impact category, where the research findings reshaped a brand's strategy.
Beyond conducting research, Rawaa is also passionate about tackling challenges within MR to further its effectiveness. Using innovation, her previous role included developing a gamified offering, focused on increasing survey engagement, delivering more reliable data & consequently better insights.
Job Titles:
- Council Member
- Head of Advertising
Róisín is currently the Head of Advertising including digital, social and brand for Ulster Bank Ireland. A DIT Marketing Graduate, Róisín has over 15 year experience working in the marketing communications industry. Róisín has experience working with both Irish and Global clients implementing through-the-line campaigns having worked in Dublin and London during her time in creative agency. During her 6 years as Client Service Director with Guns or Knives (part of the Rothco Group) she lead some of the agencies most awarded campaigns including the global launch of Hailo and subsequent rebrand to mytaxi, Heineken Ireland and Samsung to name a few. In 2017 Róisín moved brand side taking on her current role with Ulster Bank where she has added strong stakeholder management and commercial acumen to her strategic and creative skills. Having worked both as an agency lead and a client, Róisín is a strong believe in the power or creativity and an advocate for collaborative working relationships to drive commercial results.
Job Titles:
- Council Member
- Global Vice President of Glanbia Performance Nutrition 's Insight
Rory McDonnell is currently Global Vice President of Glanbia Performance Nutrition's Insight and Analytics function based here in Dublin where he leads out consumer insight work on the Optimum Nutrition and Slimfast brands. With over 23 years industry experience, Rory has worked both agency and client side in the consumer research, insight and strategy space. Prior to joining Glanbia in March of this year, Rory headed up Bord Bia's Thinking House as Director of Strategic Planning and Insight. In that capacity he was responsible for the creation of Bord Bia's new three year strategy and management of team of insight specialists working exclusively with the food and drink sector.
A five time winner of research excellence awards at the Marketing Society, Rory has previously worked client side with Diageo as a Strategic Planner and agency side as an Account Director with Millward Brown Lansdowne, Mercator and for a number of years in his own consultancy ideaction.
Sarah has over 20 years' experience working in marketing in both London and Dublin. Her experience is both agency and client side.
Sarah graduated from UCD (Politics & French) and then completed a postgraduate diploma in Business Studies in UCD Smurfit. Her early career years were spent at the forefront of digital marketing in London. She worked in the music industry, an industry whose business model was turned upside down with the arrival of Napster and other streaming services. While working in marketing at Virgin Records she was lucky enough to work with some of the most creative music and marketing talent in the world. Working with artists, using new tech platforms to build their brands, fanbase and create new revenue streams.
On returning to Dublin, she joined Huskies working on clients such as Guinness and Fáilte Ireland. Since joining Boys and Girls in 2016 as Business Director I have worked on fantastic award-winning clients across all industries. (Three, RTÉ, Screen Ireland, Energia, ŠKODA)
Sarah is a strategic brand marketeer and is passionate about great marketing and creative work and believes as an industry we have a job to do to drive the passion and grá for great work that delivers demonstrable results for businesses.
Steven is an Innovation Strategist with jump! Innovates and has three years' experience in the marketing industry. After starting his career in the craft beer and cider industry Steven joined jump! with the aim of combining his interests in human behaviour and creativity. Since joining jump! Steven has worked in sectors such as FMCG, Sports, Tourism, Telecommunications and Insurance both domestically and internationally.