Blog

I wanted to write a longer post that explores the idea of "Actual Value" vs "Perceived Value" as introduced in this Knowledge Project podcast with Rory Sutherland. I think this is a great axis to divide brand value and equity into two core areas. Most brand strategies would adopt aspects of both. However, a definitive call on which type of value you want your consumer to recognise would aid marketers in delivering clear and simple messages.

I recently returned to Dublin following a year living in New York City. Amongst many things, working and living in the city gave me a great insight into some of the latest and best brands currently making waves in the US. Below are some of my favourite items and trends that I came across in a whole host of industries during my year in NYC. I found it really interesting to see how my generation of "Millennials" can share incredibly similar tastes with older generations for certain brands and simultaneously there are a wave of new brands rewriting the rules of popular culture. For some of the categories, the products are going to be more male focused, just given what I was personally catching my own interests.

Since the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, we have had 14 leaders of Ireland. While this represents a short period of time in the long history of Ireland, I found I knew quite little about the majority of these dudes. Ireland has changed enormously over the past century since began independently ruling ourselves. I thought it would be interesting to track the big decisions and moments that our leaders made over the past 100 years and try get a greater sense of how we got to where we are today!

I often wonder in a modern connected world of Yelp ratings and online reviews, how do the restaurants and places with one/two star reviews stay open and compete? We live in a ‘Black Mirror’ type world where everything is increasingly rated and quantified for us. This certainly doesn’t bode well for poorly rated establishments. Surely, the negative publicity would cause everybody to turn their backs on the lowest rated local eateries and restaurants?

A list of some of the greatest political one-liners and debate performances over the years.

The speed of the modern news cycle is faster than ever. Important top stories can be brushed aside in hours when something else sweeps in. The modern news cycle is optimised towards the "new" and the "viral" rather than the "important".

For the 25 years of my life, Ireland has been a major benefactor of globalisation. The Irish have been such embracers of a globalised world that it is hard to contend with the idea of an insular and inward looking Ireland that existed in the early protectionist years of our independent nation. Opening our economy to trade and foreign investment has transformed Ireland and her identity. We are consistently looking outward to new and wider frontiers. Our people travel and are spread all over the world.

I am obsessed with meeting celebrities. There’s something that makes me quite giddy and excited about seeing and talking to a famous person. For the most part, my icons only appear to me as a 2D image on a TV, laptop, phone or magazine. Seeing them in person brings them to life, and there’s something extremely special and intimate about that experience. The fact that the occasion is so rare, it is now dogmatic that you need to capture the moment, not just for yourself, but to rub it in the face of others and spread it far and wide.