We're delighted with the news that RaboDirect are the proud new sponsors of Newstalk's 'Kickstart Your Business', hosted by George Hook and featuring the expertise of our own Gerard Tannam.

Kickstart Your Business has offered straight talking and supportive advice and direction to over 100 start-ups since the feature launched in 2010, so the arrival on board of Ireland's straightest talking bank makes for a great meeting of brands.

Tim Bicknell, General Manager at RaboDirect said the sponsorship is part of RaboDirect’s strategy to expand its small and medium enterprise customer base by providing an alternative savings option that gives businesses greater control of their money. He adds: “This sponsorship is a great fit for us as we look to shake up the business savings market in Ireland and help customers make the most of their savings. Our goal is to put customers in the driving seat by doing what we do best – providing simple and transparent products that give customers full control of how they save their money.”

Kickstart Your Business continues to broadcast every Saturday morning on Newstalk, immediately after the 11 o'clock news.

We're delighted with the news that Barbara was named Women Mean Business's Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 at a ceremony in Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel earlier today.

Barbara, who set up Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, in order to ensure that her brother Peter Bradley, who had suffered traumatic head injuries following a road accident, could return to his family home and access vital support services. Until then, Peter and others like him who had acquired a brain injury, were consigned to the margins of society and accommodated in services which were ill-equipped to help them tackle their particular challenges.

ABII now provides a range of pioneering, flexible and tailor-made services through its regional network across Ireland, and Barbara's award recognises the vital role which the organisation plays in the lives of those who have acquired a brain injury.

Read more about ABII's essential work at http://www.abiireland.ie

A couple whose business has been described as “the theatrical equivalent of going to bed on Christmas Eve”* has won the 2012 David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Award.  Louis Lovett and Muireann Ahern run Theatre Lovett, which offers ‘Theatre as Adventure’ for children and the young-at-heart!’

The aim of the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards is to nurture and recognise the enterprising spirit in Business, the Arts and in Social/community.  It has become the premier award in Ireland for emerging enterprises.

Gerard Tannam, Chair, David Manley Awards committee, and Brand Director at Islandbridge, comments, “Our heartiest congratulations to Louis and Muireann, as well as to our other finalists Lisa Domican, George Howlett and Philip Gillen.  Our Awards are all about making a significant difference to the business of the winner, using our skills and expertise to help bring them to the next level of success.  We’re very excited about the prospect of working with Theatre Lovett and expect it to be an inspirational and very enjoyable year for all.  We look forward to seeing what we can achieve together!”
  

The David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards honour the enterprising spirit within Business, the Arts and in the Social community.

“We’re looking for entrepreneurs who impress and excite us, with a passionate, can-do attitude, full of potential,” says Dr. Chris Horn, chair of the panel of judges. “We want to find someone who embodies the qualities that made David Manley such an inspiration to entrepreneurs. In return, the sponsors and team behind the David Manley Awards commit to using our skills and expertise to make a major impact on the success of the winner – we want to make a really big difference and bring them up the next few rungs of the ladder to success.

The prize fund for the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Award is worth over €100,000 and the nine short-listed entrants receive mentoring.  In addition, the overall winner gets €10,000 in cash and mentoring and consultancy services from a variety of top companies. Category winners will also receive a cash award as well as mentoring.

The closing date for the first round is 28th September 2011 and nine short-listed people will then be invited to make a more detailed submission, followed by an interview. The winner will be announced in January 2012. 

Further details, including entry form and information on the entry process can be obtained on www.davidmanleyawards.ie

Congratulations to David Manley Emerging Entrepreneurs, Emergent Events, on breaking the Where's Wally? World Record at Dublin's Merrion Square during the Street Performance World Championship.

3,657 people turned up in the iconic striped shirt and bobble hat of the storybook hero to smash the previous records set on Saturday (also in Dublin) and last weekend (in Cork).

Emergent Events, whose own distinctive World Championships now bring over 250,000 people on to the streets of Dublin, Cork and Portlaoise to enjoy the antics of street performers from all over the world, were Arts & Overall Winners of the David Manley Award in 2006.

Islandbridge is proud Brand-Building Partner to the Awards, and keen supporter of the Street Performance World Championships.

What's in a name?

For over fifteen years, our client TMS Consultancy has been guiding its clients in Ireland and the UK through the challenges of managing various aspects of their working environment.

With fresh opportunities to take its customised programmes, software and training services into new markets, TMS decided to take stock and review its position in the market with the help of Islandbridge.

"At the end of last year we decided to talk to our clients, to find out what they thought about our brand and how well it reflected how we work and what we are about. Based on their feedback we realised that we could present ourselves more attractively and use our brand to focus more on our main strengths – our pragmatic and leading-edge approach, accommodating and flexible attitude and in-depth knowledge and experience." Brona Mojzisova, Business Development Manager, Antaris Consulting

The new brand strategy that resulted from this research prompted a change of name and identity for the business as it prepares to move into new markets, and is marked by the launch of a more modern and informative website Antaris Consulting. This is one of many initiatives now under way as the business continues to refine its focus on quality and customer satisfaction.

Antaris, their new trading name, comes from a guiding star that has played a key role in safe navigation since ancient times. The team chose the new name based on how clients described their work and the expert role that Antaris plays in guiding them through the challenges in their management systems.

Alongside our colleagues at Create Design and Amas Online, we're delighted to have been part of the team that in turn guided Antaris Consulting to their new name and identity, and wish them safe passage to the new markets that await them and great success when they get there.

Engines ready… Whilst the early days of a new business are an exciting whirlwind of activity for the entrepreneur, they’re typically filled with an equal measure of exhilaration and anxiety, and the new owner can do with all of the encouragement and advice they can get from others who have traveled a similar road.

Since taking to the air on Newstalk in 2010, Kickstart Your Business, featuring George Hook and Gerard Tannam, has captured the imagination of listeners eager to hear of the courage and initiative of Ireland's latest wave of entrepreneurs.

The show has featured over twenty-five start-ups to date, including a brewery, an online horse-trader and a kettle bell trainer, and has helped deliver dramatic results for business-owners who have acted on the mix of encouragement and advice on offer from George and Gerard.

As Mike McQuillan from Pet Sitters Ireland puts it: “George & Gerard's hard-hitting advice has revitalised our business and helped us to grow our bookings by over 200% in less than one month.”

Now Kickstart Your Business is taking to the road in an extended format, with the first stop being Venture Network at The Gresham Hotel on July 1st.

Gerard is a member of Venture’s Beacon Group, and suggested to George that one of the Network’s signature Joint Venture events would be a great place to kick-start the live initiative. Once George had met with Venture’s Shay Cahill to learn more about what Venture does and how it works, he too was won over to the idea.

During this quick-fire event, George and Gerard will consider the challenges of doing business in 2011, present the five unbreakable rules for business success and kick-start three businesses from around the Venture Network.

George Hook is one of Ireland’s most popular broadcasters and hosts The Right Hook and Hook’s Saturday Sit-In on Newstalk Radio, as well as being a key man in RTE’s legendary team of rugby pundits. Success came late to the outspoken and controversial Corkman and he describes his own failed business efforts over thirty years in Time Added On, his compelling story of a life of misadventure and redemption.

Gerard Tannam is owner of Islandbridge Brand Development and a popular speaker and commentator on branding and business start-ups. Before setting up Islandbridge in 2004, Gerard was a Senior Inspector of Police and moonlight entrepreneur in Hong Kong where his businesses included a events management company and art gallery. He will publish his first book I’ll Buy That: A Business-Owner’s Guide To Brand-Building in 2011.

Islandbridge caught up with an old friend at the launch of the Malthouse Design Centre; in a previous life, Gerard had commissioned designer Shane Holland to create a limited edition sculpture to mark the ESB's Millennium Celebrations, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to admire some of Shane's newest pieces, alongside those of his designer colleagues, in a purpose-designed space off Dublin's North Circular Road.

The Malthouse has been set up by designers Greg Tisdall (who Gerard knows from a previous, previous life, but that's another story) and Arthur Duff, and aims to showcase the best of Irish furniture design through a dedicated enterprise centre.

Resident designers include Jennifer Slattery Textiles, Daria & Niamh, Duff/Tisdall, Jenny Walsh Design and Locker B amongst others, and the cooperative intend to host regular exhibitions to raise the profile of the Centre.

For more, visit www.themalthousedesigncentre.com

We were delighted to celebrate the success of Anne Bedos, Social Entrepreneur and founder of Rother, as she claimed top spot on the podium as winner of the David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Award for 2011.

A not-for-profit initiative, Rothar recycles abandoned bikes in its shop in Phibsboro using a team of in-house mechanics and volunteers, and manages to tackle the problems of waste and social exclusion along the way (its volunteers are drawn from marginalised groups and trained in the basics of bicycle mechanics).

Anne received her Award (including a Cash Prize of €10,000, plus over €100,000 worth of expert services) at a ceremony at Mason Hayes & Curran's headquarters in Dublin on January 20th.

Islandbridge are proud Brand Building Partners to the Awards, and we're looking forward to working with Anne over the coming year to get the wheels spinning even faster in her enterprise so that she can realise her goal of opening more shops across Dublin, and eventually, in cities and towns across Ireland.

At the ceremony it was also announced that our own Gerard Tannam will Chair the Awards Committee for 2011/12.

Need a kick-start to your new business?

Each Saturday, Gerard Tannam of Islandbridge Brand Development joins George on Hook's Saturday Sit-In to chat with a new business-owner and cast a helpful eye over their marketing efforts.

Recent shows have featured HaveTheCraic.com, UrbanFrog.ie and PrettyGirlieThings.ie, with an exciting range of start-ups lined up for shows in the New Year from January 15th.

Listen live between 10am and noon on Saturdays at 106 FM in Ireland , or worldwide at Newstalk.ie (which also features a weekly Playback).

We were immensely proud to attend this morning's launch of CopperTrail Creative's new brand identity at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel in West Dublin.

Why so proud?

CopperTrail's owner, Sharon O'Callaghan, is a recent graduate of our Raising A Brand programme, and has mined a rich seam of purposeful creativity in unearthing the CopperTrail brand identity; one that she's confident will reflect the strong work and productivity ethic that she and her team bring to the business of creating highly effective communications.

We're hoping to tell the Case Story of our work with CopperTrail shortly, but in the meantime, you can follow the trail at www.CopperTrailCreative.com

We were immensely proud to attend this morning's launch of CopperTrail Creative's new brand identity at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel in West Dublin.

Why so proud? CopperTrail's owner, Sharon O'Callaghan, is a recent graduate of our Raising A Brand programme, and has mined a rich seam of creativity in unearthing the CopperTrail brand identity; one that she's confident will reflect the strong work and productivity ethic that she and her team bring to the business of creating powerful  and effective communications.

We're hoping to tell the Case Story of our work with CopperTrail shortly, but in the meantime, you can follow the trail at www.CopperTrailCreative.com

On May 30th, groups across the country sang in the day and sang out Bealtaine 2010 in a Dawn Chorus with a difference. From Carlow to Dollymount and Youghal to Dundrum, daybreak saw people of all ages vying with the birds as they burst into song.

The Bealtaine Festival, which is coordinated by Islandbridge client Age & Opportunity, invited participants from all over Ireland to 'have dreams and speak them without fear', and Dawn Chorus was just one of hundreds of events where older people danced, sang, painted and prompted a whole range of new works and lively conversations.

To listen to this year's Dawn Chorus, check out the Irish Times Dawn Chorus Slideshow.

Congratulations to the teams at Janssen-Cilag and University College Hospital, Galway following their nomination for an Aramark Healthcare Innovation Award.

The Velcade-At-Home Service is both an innovative and compassionate response to the difficulties faced by patients suffering from Multiple Myeloma (a form of leukemia), which spares them the exhausting twice-a-week journey  from remote parts of the country to their treating hospital.

We were privileged to work on the branding of this thoughtful initiative and are delighted to see it recognised at national level as an exemplary model of patient care.

For as anyone who's been seriously ill will tell you, when you're in poor health, there's no place like home.