Assignment Overview- The Glencarn

The Glencarn Hotel is situated in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan along the Dublin Road and just minutes walk from the town centre. It is conveniently located mere minutes from Concra Wood Golf club, one of the newest and best designed golf courses in the country. It is situated close to Lough Muckno which is renowned for its fishing; the lake is situated by Black and White Islands which have enjoyable walking tracks for nature lovers. It has two function rooms that can cater for events from 50 to 500 people. As a result of these features we decided that the hotels main target market is golf tours, leisure breaks and weddings.

We chose the Glencarn because it has been in the area for 25 years but does not use its full potential to generate business.

Our aims were to

§  To create a one voice, one look brand image for The Glencarn Hotel

§  To create top of mind awareness in the minds of the local leisure market, potential wedding clients and golf enthusiasts internationally

In the assignment we wanted the hotel to rebrand itself offline and online by using the SOSTAC model and CBBE model. Through these processes the hotel should have a fully integrated marketing plan.

We want them to update the website, use social media such as Facebook and Twitter. This way they can fully communicate with the proposed target market. We should monitor Google ad words and try A&B testing.  

For offline it is extremely important that all the printed documents are integrated with the information that will be online and should have the slogan and logo on them. All the employees should be seen as an internal customer and should be suited in matching uniforms and fully informed on all the information online and offline.

For a more in depth marketing plan please refer to our assignment and prezi.

I have attached the link to hotels website at the moment. Very dull and boring.

http://www.theglencarnhotel.ie/Home 

My Topic Choice - Nokia 3310 to iPhone!

I saw a photo on Facebook the other day that made me think about writing this blog. The photo was of an iPhone and a Nokia 3310. The capture underneath said that if you drop the iPhone on the floor you smash the screen, but if you drop the Nokia 3310 you smash the floor!

I remember clearly getting my first mobile phone which happened to be the solid Nokia 3310. It was the must have phone at the time and I thought that it was the be all and end all!! I was 13 and loved nothing more than downloading ring tones from TV ads! Can you imagine that… paying for music!! I also was a champion at playing the world’s greatest game, Snake.

But soon mobiles started to change. The tones got better, you had a little built in camera, then a little radio and then the biggest development ever…. The decline of talking and the rapid use of those little digitals we call thumbs which aided us with texting! I would also like to mention the changeable covers!!! You could a different one for every day of the week!

But we have come a long long way in a very short space of time. We have Apple to thank for that. They gave the world the iPhone. It is so much more than a phone; in fact the ability to make calls on it is a bonus. It’s a phone that can answer any question, it can save your music, organise your own life in fact. As I said it’s much more than a phone, it’s more like a handheld device that we can use to get in connect with people all over the world without a delay. This is because of apps like Facebook, Twitter and the fact that it has the internet on it altogether. There is an app out there for everyone. Angry birds, heart monitor, and guess what my latest app is..??.... SNAKE!!! I have so happy when I found it! But it did make me think.

Are we ever going to be ‘apped’ out? Maybe things were better when the device was simpler. I watched an interview on the TV this morning with a mobile phone developer and a designer. When the video makes it to YouTube I will upload it to this blog. (YouTube now there is another topic, the ability to find a video on any subject we can think of) The interview was about the latest mobile that these two men were developing. A phone for a very small market it must be said, but a market none the less. The phones we made out of gold and silver and are priced between €9000 and €7000. They will have no apps, no camera, no nothing!! It just has the ability to make and receive calls. The way they plan on marketing the phone is that it will never break and that you will never need to buy another phone because you won’t be disappointed with the product.

We will have to see if the no app phone does take off in this fast paced world of gadgets and technology.

Technology Fast

Thank God that is over. Back to technology and what have I missed?? I did the fast along with my 13 year old cousin Evan, whose phone is permanently attached to his hand. If it’s not texting then it’s Facebook. I’m always saying to him he spends too much time on it. So I proposed that we go cold turkey for TWO DAYS. He agreed to my shock. So before we started we needed to get all our (his) affairs in order, aka where and when he was going to meet his friends (important)

Over the two days I stayed really busy so I wouldn’t have time to text or ‘stalk’ on Facebook. So it wasn’t too bad for me. But poor Evan thought he had lost a limb. The nights were the worst. (drama) When the two days finished and we put our phones back on what was I met with….. Evan 30 call me’s, Niamh……..0!!

The Climb

Well I made it! My father will be proud!! After two failed attempts to climb Croagh Patrick, I finally climbed a MOUNTAIN ….Slieve Foy!!!! OK, ok maybe not a mountain but it was enough for this ‘townie’. The ascent wasn’t too bad, but I am from Drogheda possibly the hilliest town in Ireland! However going down those hills in 4 heels inches on a Saturday night was nothing compared to the death trap that I experience yesterday  :P (April 19^th 2012) The scene of a hundred busy ants (students) making their way over the mucky and rocky terrain, the sound of squelch, squelch and the gasps of all the fallers will never leave me :o

In all honestly and seriousness though it was a really enjoyable day and I am glad the rain stayed off or else we would of had a couple more gasps.