Day Three
Last night I got to be front row during ‘Front Line.’ Ireland’s political debate show. First, it surprised me how similar Ireland’s economic situation is to the United States. I learned a lot because the panel was very informed and we saw four well done short documentaries. The host was quick and witty and handled the panel of speakers and crowd well. As for thee technical part of the show, it was shot live with four camera men (one was a woman!). They covered the show well. One thing that surprised me was that the boom was always in the shot! I guess by the end, it was a little more evident that it would be hard to keep this from happening with a live audience of speakers and guests talking about their opinion, but it just seemed weird and sloppy at first compared to something you may see in the United State. Either way, the show as great and I was extremely glad we got to go.
Today Gerry Davis, Chief Executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland spoke to us about PR. He was very friendly and the one point that stood out to me was that he didn’t have a background in PR. He was in the army for years and he played a large role in strategy. This helped him in his profession today.
Next we went to Ogilvy & Mather and spoke with an Account Planner and also a Digital Media specialist. It was great to hear Jo talk about her daily job in the agency and I could compare it to Smith Brothers Agency. Ogilvy & Mather also works for Heinz in Ireland. It was cool to see the comparison between their work and the work that Heinz has in Pittsburgh. Also, Claire spoke about Digital Media in their agency and it shocked me as to how far behind they are from the United states. Just beginning to put together a digital team and talk clients into a move to the internet.
After we had the rest of the day to eat, nap, and do whatever we chose. We wound up eating delicious Italian and then going to O’Shea’s to have a few drinks. The night turned into singing and dancing with the locals as a band played. They taught us Irish set dancing and we sang to American song’s for them. I felt very accepted and that by the end of the night, that we made a good impression on them. That was one of the best times so far.
