Deirdre Waldron, Managing Director, Agency.com

Job description: Everything – from client meetings, strategic planning sessions, technology events/seminars, creative reviews, production/development reviews, and of course answering emails! Wish I could find someone to do the last bit for me….
Likes: I love the variety – the variety of clients, the variety of campaigns/projects, and most of all the variety of technologies.
Career ladder: I’m a reformed geek, I started out as a programmer, moved into project management, and specifically into product marketing client side, then finally took the plunge and moved agency side and to Agency.com. I joined Agency.com last July, firstly as a management consultant and then moved into the managing director role.
Qualifications: I have a BSC in Computer Applications from Dublin City University.
Working hours: 8-7.
Breaktime: Catch up on missed phone calls, get out for a walk, eat lunch on the roof, or grab a swim (rarely happens).
Social media credentials: Definitely a social media addict, although sometimes the lure is lessened as I’m on Facebook and Twitter so much with work. My mobile is stuck to me 24*7, so I use it for email and social media in and out of work.
News: Digital Buzz, TechCrunch, whatever is new in my inbox!
Onsite or offsite: A good mix of in office and out of office.
I love Mondays because: No matter how crazy my weekend was, I can be sure the week ahead will be even crazier!

The concept sounds unbelievable, but it has worked so well that it is booked out.

In less than two weeks, a conference entitled Funconf takes place on a number of buses in Ireland. Featuring “some of the brightest folks” of the online world, the conference will see speakers and delegates board buses, speak and listen, respectively. The day (Saturday 11, September) includes breakfast, stories from speakers, lunch, more stories followed up with dinner and drinks at in the Guinness Gravity Bar.

While the conference itself may be full up, one of the organisers, Eamon Leonard, who established Funconf with Paul Campbell, explains people are welcome to join in the pre and post conference get togethers.
“It’s a whole weekend of events. We’re going to have a pre event meet up on the Friday night and it’s open to whoever wants to meet up. The conference starts at 8.30 am on Saturday morning with breakfast in l’Gueuleton. Then we’ll be hopping on the buses and heading off for the day. We’ll be coming back at 8pm and we’re having an after party in the Guinness Storehouse, in the Gravity Bar. That’s open for the wider industry, whoever wants to come along.”
To get on the list for the Gravity bar email funconf@gmail.com, to keep up to date in general, keep an eye on the Funconf blog.
Originally, Funconf was to take place on April 24th, but was postponed due to the ‘ash cloud’ restrictions effecting European airspace.
And in other conference news, tickets go on sale shortly for the next Dublin Web Summit which will feature the creator, founder and chairman of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, as a speaker. Dorsey will speak in the evening session of the next Dublin Web Summit which will be a 12-hour event with 50 speakers.

Reduced price online advertising on indigenous websites is now available with the arrival of a new blind network to the advertising scene.

Blind networks or value networks are a group of websites that have unsold banner ad space on a monthly basis. As this inventory is perishable and useless once expired, they are sold to blind networks at a lower price on the condition that the publisher’s identity is not disclosed. This, of course, is to preserve and protect publishers’ key advertiser agreements and regular income streams.
Advertisers will be unable to target by site, but according to Michelle O’Keeffe, managing director of Media Brokers the latest blind network in the Irish market, advertisers can target ads by channel (news, sport, fashion), gender, demographic, just not by site. Media Brokers is also the first with its offering on indigenous Irish websites.
“The reason I think this is important is from a consumer perception and a consumer trust point of view we believe we’ll get higher click through rates. If you’re an Irish person on an Irish site, you’re going to think the advertising around it is meant to be you.” She gives the example of an Irish person on the New York Times website who didn’t feel that an ad for a specific computer company would be relevant to him because he was on a non-Irish site.
“From our tests we are seeing higher click through rates from Irish sites, there are many explanations for this; ads placed within relevant content, brands are aligned with reputable indigenous sites, a sense of consumer trust on respected and well known publishers,” says O’Keeffe.
Media Brokers will conduct pre campaign analysis of the client and the campaign objectives in order to best place the campaign within their platform. Using pre campaign analysis it intends to achieve strong click through rates from the outset and will optimise by publisher and creative throughout the campaign.

In 2011, for the first time, the innovation and talent of individuals and businesses in the gaming industry in Ireland are to be recognised at the 2011 Digital Media Awards, with the introduction of the Best in Gaming Award.

This new award is for any programme using online gaming (e.g. online, mobile or casual).
Says Susan Grant, Event Director, “the reason that gaming was identified is because it is a real evolving market in Ireland. There are a lot of international gaming companies who have come into Ireland and are now making their presence known.”
She adds that it is very reflective of the growth of digital media in the last couple of years. “As it evolves the Digital Media Awards need to recognise this…The industry itself has said this is an area that needs recognition if it is to continue to attract that level of investment into Ireland. It needs to be embraced and rewarded.”
Nominations are now open for the awards which are in their 9th year. Every year the Digital Media Awards recognise and reward the most stylish, creative, and pioneering work within the digital media industry in Ireland.
For 2011, there are 22 categories awarding the innovation and talent of individuals and companies in areas including viral marketing, user experience, best app, financial services, animation, digital advertising, e-learning and best agency.
Ashville Media Group has secured Satellite Broadband Ireland as its partner for the awards for the next three years
For further information on the Satellite Broadband Ireland Digital Media Awards 2011, and to enter, log on to www.digitalmedia.ie.

Digital media graduates from the class of 2010 are to be recognised this winter in the eircom Spider Awards.
The awards, which have been taking place since the mid 1990s, have a category specially designed to seek out “the brightest talent in the online marketplace”.

Nominees for “The Graduate” category must have graduated this year and have an innovative online idea or design which impresses the judges and the industry. According to the awards website, a graduate’s website, which may be a portfolio website, will also be assessed against good practice standards in creativity, web design and innovation.
Awards organisers have also included three new categories this year, bringing the total to 20. They are: the Digital Editor Award, the Best Mobile App Award and The Big Mouth Award.
Chairman of the judging panel and Group Managing Director of Consumer and Small Business, eircom, Stephen Beynon commented, “This year we are very excited about the three new award categories, in particular the Big Mouth Award - the shortlist for which will be determined by the public.”
The Big Mouth Award acknowledges the most influential voice in Irish internet and digital media. This award differs from the conventional nomination process, allowing the public to nominate and comprise a shortlist of “Big Mouths”. Nominees may include active bloggers, online journalists, or other relevant mediums covering topics such as business, charity, culture or politics.
The closing date for nominations for the eircom Spiders Awards – which will take place on Thursday, 18th November 2010 in the Burlington Hotel – is Friday, 17th September 2010.
The 2010 eircom Spiders are hosted in conjunction with Business & Finance Magazine. For further information on the awards and for details on the entry process for each category please visit http://www.eircomspiders.ie.