Congratulations to Loretta Dignam of Jacob Fruitfield on scooping the Marketer of the Year award at a ceremony on Thursday, November 17th at the Cliff Townhouse on St Stephen’s Green. She was a worthy winner, having given Jacob’s Fig Rolls, Kimberley, Mikado and Coconut Creams a major revamp.
The shortlist also included Rita Kirwan, Largo Foods (Tayto and Hunky Dorys); Walter Drenth, Heineken Ireland for Coors Light; and Julien Lelorrain of Renault Ireland.
The event was organised by Michael Cullen of Marketing.ie and marketing recruitment specialists Alternatives. Last year’s winner was Fáilte Ireland’s John Concannon for Discover Ireland’s Fun Starts Here campaign.
Each of the final four had outstanding results to help make the task for the judges a difficult one. Apart from Dignam, Renault’s Lelorrain had created the unmissable car scrappage scheme, Largo Foods’ Kirwan helped Tayto win back market share, launch a family theme park and make the headlines with Hunky Dorys’ risqué campaigns, and Heineken’s Drenth helped make Coors Light popular among male beer drinkers by using the brand’s rugged Rocky Mountains image.
From the Alternatives site:
Damien McLoughlin, professor of marketing at Smurfit School of Business, chaired the judging panel and said that despite the recession, this year’s entries achieved the highest standard ever since the award’s launch in 1993.
