Podcasts about Guinness Storehouse

Paul Marden heads to the AVEA conference in front of a LIVE audience to find out why gift shops are such an important part of the attraction mix. Joining him is Jennifer Kennedy, Retail Consultant, JK Consulting and Michael Dolan, MD of Shamrock Gift Company. They discuss why your gift shop is an integral part of your brand and why it needs to be just as good as the experience you have on offer. This coinsides with the launch of our brand new playbook: ‘The Retail Ready Guide To Going Beyond The Gift Shop', where you can find out exactly how to improve your online offering to take your ecommerce to the next level. Download your FREE copy here:  https://pages.crowdconvert.co.uk/skip-the-queue-playbookBut that's not all. Paul walks the conference floor and speaks to:Susanne Reid, CEO of Christchurch Cathedral Dublin, on how they are celebrating their millennium anniversary - 1000 years!Charles Coyle, Managing Director, Emerald Park, on how they are bringing AI integrations to enhance their booking processesRay Dempsey, General Manager of The Old Jamerson Distillery on how they offering more accessible touring optionsIt's a mega episode and one you'll not want to miss. Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn. Show references:  Jennifer Kennedy — Founder, JK Consultinghttps://jkconsultingnyc.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-kennedy-aba75712/Michael Dolan — Managing Director, Shamrock Gift Companyhttps://www.shamrockgiftcompany.com/Catherine Toolan — Managing Director, Guinness Storehouse & Global Head of Brand Homes, Diageohttp://diageo.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinetoolan/Máirín Walsh — Operations Manager, Waterford Museumhttps://www.waterfordtreasures.com/Dean Kelly — Photography & Visitor Experience Specialist https://www.wearephotoexperience.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-kelly-1259a316/Charles Coyle — Managing Director, Emerald Parkhttps://www.emeraldpark.ieSusanne Reid — CEO, Christ Church Cathedral Dublinhttp://www.christchurchcathedral.iehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/susannereid/Ray Dempsey — General Manager, Jameson Distilleryhttps://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-ie/visit-our-distilleries/jameson-bow-street-distillery-tour/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-dempsey-37a8665a/ Transcription: Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast that tells the stories behind the world's best attractions and the amazing people that work in them. In today's episode, I'm at the AVEA 2025 conference in Waterford, Ireland, and we're talking about gift shop best practices. With Jennifer Kennedy from JK Consulting, a tourism and retail consultancy. And Jennifer led retail at Guinness Storehouse for more years than she would care to mention, I think. And we're also here with Michael Dolan, MD of Shamrock Gift Company, who has brought along the most amazing array of gift shop merchandise, which I'm sure we'll get into talking a little something about later on. And I've also got an amazing live audience. Say hello, everybody.Everyone: Hello.Paul Marden: There we go. So we always start with icebreaker that I don't prepare the two of you. Now this is probably a very unfair question for the pair of you, actually. What's the quirkiest souvenir you've ever bought? I can think of those little, the ones that you get in Spain are the little pooping santas.Jennifer  Kennedy: I have a thing for Christmas decorations when I go on travel, so for me, there always tends to be something around having a little decoration on my tree every year. That if I've had one or two holidays or I've been away, that has some little thing that comes back that ends up on the tree of Christmas. I have a lovely little lemon from Amalfi that's a Christmas decoration, and so you know, so a little kind of quirky things like that.Paul Marden: Michael, what about you? Michael  Dolan: One of our designers who will remain nameless? She has a thing about poo. So everyone brings her back to some poo relation. Paul Marden: Sadly, there's quite a lot of that around at the moment, isn't there? That's a bit disappointing. First question then, what's the point of a gift shop? If I put that in a more eloquent way, why are gift shops such an important part of the attraction mix?Jennifer  Kennedy: Okay, it was from my point of view, the gift shop in an attraction or a destination is the ultimate touch point that the brand has to leave a lasting memory when visitors go away. So for me, they're intrinsically important in the complete 360 of how your brand shows up— as a destination or an attraction. And without a really good gift shop and really good product to take away from it, you're letting your brand down. And it's an integral piece that people can share. From a marketing point of view, every piece of your own product that's been developed, that's taken away to any part of the world can sit in someone's kitchen. It can be in multiple forms. It can be a fridge magnet. It could be a tea towel. It could be anything. But it's a connection to your brand and the home that they visited when they chose to be wherever they're visiting. So for me, I'm very passionate about the fact that your gift shop should be as good as everything else your experience has to offer. So that's my view on it. Michael  Dolan: Sometimes it's neglected when people create a new visitor attraction. They don't put enough time into the retail element. I think that's changing, and a very good example of that would be Game of Thrones in Banbridge. We worked with them for two years developing the range, but also the shop. So the shop reflects the... I actually think the shop is the best part of the whole experience. But the shop reflects the actual whole experience.  Jennifer  Kennedy: The teaming.Michael  Dolan: The teaming. So you have banners throughout the shop, the music, the lighting, it looks like a dungeon. All the display stands have swords in them, reflecting the theme of the entrance.Jennifer  Kennedy: Yeah, it's a good example of how a brand like that has incorporated the full essence and theme of why they exist into their physical retail space.Paul Marden: They definitely loosened a few pounds out of my pocket. Michael  Dolan: Another good example is Titanic Belfast. So they spent 80 million on that visitor attraction, which was opened in 2012, but they forgot about the shop. So the architect who designed the building designed the shop that looked like something out of the Tate Gallery. Yeah, and we went and said, 'This shop is not functional; it won't work for our type of product.' They said, 'We don't have anything in the budget to redevelop the shop.' So we paid a Dublin architect to redesign the shop. So the shop you have today, that design was paid for by Shamrock Gift Company. And if you've been in the shop, it's all brass, wood, ropes. So it's an integral part of the overall experience. But unfortunately... you can miss the shop on the way out.Paul Marden: Yeah, it is very easy to walk out the building and not engage in the shop itself. It's a bit like a dessert for a meal, isn't it? The meal's not complete if you've not had a dessert. And I think the gift shop experience is a little bit like that. The trip to the experience isn't finished.  If you haven't exited through the gate. Michael  Dolan: But it's the lasting memories that people bring back to the office in New York, put the mug on the table to remind people of when they're in Belfast or Dublin to go to. You know, storehouse or Titanic. So those last impressions are indelibly, you know, set.Paul Marden: So we've already said the positioning of the shop then is super important, how it feels, but product is super important, isn't it? What product you fill into the shop is a make or break experience? How do you go about curating the right product? Michael  Dolan: Most important is authenticity. You know, it has to be relevant to the visitor attraction. So it's not a question of just banging out a few key rings and magnets. So I brought you along some samples there. So we're doing two new ranges, one for Titanic and one for the Royal Yacht Britannia, and they're totally different. But reflect the personality of each attraction.Paul Marden: Absolutely.Michael  Dolan: I mean, a good example, we worked together or collaborated together on many, many projects in Guinness. But we also worked in St. Patrick's Cathedral.Jennifer  Kennedy: Yeah.Michael  Dolan: You were the consultant.Jennifer  Kennedy: Yeah, yeah. So I suppose, again, from the product point of view. Yeah, if you can root product in why the experience exists. So in that example, a cathedral is a great example of how you can create really great product by utilising. Well, the main reason people are there is because this amazing building exists and the historic elements of it. So I suppose to make it real, some examples of products that connected with the audience in that environment are things like a little stone coaster. But the stone coaster is a replica of the floor you're standing on. So I suppose the other balance in attractions is realistic price points and realistic products. So there's no point in creating a range of products that's outside the price point of what your visitors are prepared to pay. So it's that fine balance of creating product that connects with them, which is, I'm using the cathedral as an example because you've got architraves, you've got stained glass windows, you've got stunning tiles. So all the elements of the fabric of that building. Can be utilised to create really beautiful products, but castles, you know, cathedrals, all of those sorts of spaces.Jennifer  Kennedy: When we start talking about product, always we go to, 'why are we here?' And also the storytelling elements. There's some beautiful stories that can, I can give you another really great example of a product that was created for another cathedral, which was... So in cathedral spaces, there's all these stunning doors that run the whole way through, like they're spectacular; they're like pieces of art in their own right. And every one of them has a very unique ornate key that unlocks each door. So one of the products that did one of the cathedrals was we wanted to create a ring of brass keys with replicas of all the keys in the cathedral. But as we were progressing, we forgot at the start— it was like we forgot to tell them to scale them down. They weren't the same size as all the keys in the cathedral. So it was a very intrinsically specific gift to this particular cathedral. And it's been used ever since as kind of the special gift they give to people who come to visit from all over the world. They get quite emotional about this particular gift because it's like this is the actual replica of all the keys to all the doors in the cathedral.Jennifer  Kennedy: So it's a product that's completely born. It can never be replicated anywhere else. And it's completely unique to that particular space. And I think that's the power of, for me, that's what authenticity feels and looks like in these environments. It has to be connected to the fabric of why you exist.Paul Marden: Yeah, so I was at Big Pit in Wales six months ago, I think it was. Museums Wales are redeveloping all of their gift shops and they are going through exactly that process that you're talking about, but bringing it back to the place itself because all, I think, it's six of their museums, the gift shops had much the same set of product. They described it as, you know, you were just walking into a generic Welsh gift shop with the dressed lady.Jennifer  Kennedy: And it's hard— like it really takes an awful lot of work— like it doesn't just happen, like you really have to put a lot of thought and planning into what our product should and could look like. And then, when you've aligned on with the team of people managing and running these businesses, that this is the direction you want to take, then it's the operational element of it. It's about sourcing, MOQs, and price, and all of that stuff that comes into it. Minimum order quantities.Michael  Dolan: That's where we come in. So, you know, we met Jennifer in St. Patrick's and we met Liz then, we met the Dean. So we really sat around and talked about what were the most important elements in the cathedral that we wanted to celebrate in product.Michael  Dolan: And St. Patrick obviously was the obvious number one element. Then they have a harp stained glass window. And then they have a shamrock version of that as well. So they were the three elements that we hit on. You know, it took a year to put those three ranges together. So we would have started out with our concept drawings, which we presented to the team in St. Patrick's. They would have approved them. Then we would have talked to them about the size of the range and what products we were looking at. So then we would have done the artwork for those separate ranges, brought them back in to get them approved, go to sampling, bring the samples back in, then sit down and talk about pricing, minimum order quantities, delivery times.Michael  Dolan: So the sample, you know, so that all goes out to order and then it arrives in about four or five months later into our warehouse. So we carry all the risk. We design everything, we source it, make sure that it's safely made, all the tests are confirmed that the products are good. In conformity with all EU legislation. It'll be in our warehouse and then it's called off the weekly basis. So we carry, we do everything.  So one stop shop. Paul Marden: So the traction isn't even sitting on stock that they've invested in. We know what we're doing and we're quite happy to carry the risk. So one of the things we were talking about just before we started the episode was the challenges of sourcing locally. It's really important, isn't it? But it can be challenging to do that.Jennifer  Kennedy: It can. And, you know, but I would say in recent years, there's a lot more creators and makers have come to the fore after COVID. So in kind of more... Specifically, kind of artisan kind of product types. So things like candles are a great example where, you know, now you can find great candle makers all over Ireland with, you know, small minimum quantity requirements. And also they can bespoke or tailor it to your brand. So if you're a museum or if you're a, again, whatever the nature of your brand is, a national store or whatever, you can have a small batch made. Which lets you have something that has provenance. And here it's Irish made, it's Irish owned. And then there's some, you know, it just it gives you an opportunity.Jennifer  Kennedy: Unfortunately, we're never going to be in a position where we can source everything we want in Ireland. It just isn't realistic. And commercially, it's not viable. As much as you can, you should try and connect with the makers and creators that they are available and see if small batches are available. And they're beautiful to have within your gift store, but they also have to be the balance of other commercial products that will have to be sourced outside of Ireland will also have to play a significant role as well.Máirín Walsh: I think there needs to be a good price point as well. Like, you know, we find that in our museum, that, you know, if something is above 20, 25 euro, the customer has to kind of really think about purchasing it, where if it's 20 euro or under, you know, it's...Michael  Dolan: More of an input item, yeah.Máirín Walsh: Yes, exactly, yeah.Paul Marden: And so when it's over that price point, that's when you need to be sourcing locally again. Máirín Walsh: It's a harder sell. You're kind of maybe explaining a bit more to them and trying to get them to purchase it. You know, they have to think about it.Jennifer  Kennedy: But it's also good for the storytelling elements as well because it helps you engage. So I've often found as well that even train the teams and the customer service. It's actually a lovely space to have, to be able to use it as part of storytelling that we have this locally made or it's made in Cork or wherever it's coming from, that it's Irish made.Máirín Walsh: We have, what have we got? We've kind of got scarves and that and we have local— we had candles a few years ago actually. I think they were made or... up the country or whatever. But anyway, it was at Reginald's Tower and there were different kinds of candles of different attractions around and they really connected with your audience.Michael  Dolan: So 20% of our turnover would be food and all that is made in Ireland. Virtually all of that is sourced locally here in Ireland. And that's a very important part of our overall product portfolio and growing as well.Paul Marden: Is it important to serve different audiences with the right product? So I'm thinking... Making sure that there's pocket money items in there for kids, because often when they come to a museum or attraction, it's their first time they ever get to spend their own money on a transaction. Yeah, that would be their first memory of shopping. So giving them what they need, but at the same time having that 25 euro and over price point. To have a real set piece item is?Jennifer  Kennedy: I would say that's very specific to the brand. Paul Marden: Really? Jennifer  Kennedy: Yes, because some brands can't actually sell products or shouldn't be selling products to children. Paul Marden: Really? I'm looking at the Guinness items at the end of the table.Jennifer  Kennedy: So it depends on the brand. So obviously, in many of the destinations around Ireland, some of them are quite heavily family-oriented. And absolutely in those environments where you've got gardens, playgrounds or theme parks. Absolutely. You have to have that range of product that's very much tailored to young families and children. In other environments, not necessarily. But you still need to have a range that appeals to the masses. Because you will have visitors from all walks of life and with all perspectives. So it's more about having something. I'm going to keep bringing it back to it. It's specific to why this brand is here. And if you can create product within a fair price point, and Mairin is absolutely right. The balance of how much your products cost to the consumer will make or break how your retail performs. And in most destinations, what you're actually aiming to do is basket size. You want them to go away with three, four, five products from you, not necessarily one.Jennifer  Kennedy: Because if you think about it, that's more beneficial for the brand. I mean, most people are buying for gifting purposes. They're bringing things back to multiple people. So, if I'm able to pick up a nice candle and it's eight or 10 euros, well, I might buy three of them if it's a beautiful candle in a nice package. Whereas, if I went in and the only option available to me was a 35-euro candle, I probably might buy that, but I'm only buying one product. And I'm only giving that to either myself or one other person. Whereas, if you can create a range that's a good price, but it's also appealing and very connected to why they came to visit you in the first place, then that's a much more powerful, for the brand point of view, that's a much more... Powerful purchasing options are available to have a basket size that's growing.Michael  Dolan: We worked together in the National Stud in Kildare, so we did a great kids range of stationery, which worked really well. We've just done a new range for the GAA museum, all stationery-related, because they get a lot of kids. Again, we would have collaborated on that.Jennifer  Kennedy: And actually, the natural studs are a really nice example as well, because from even a textile point of view, you can lean into equine as the, so you can do beautiful products with ponies and horses. Yeah. You know, so again, some brands make it very, it's easy to see the path that you can take with product. And then others are, you know, you have to think harder. It's a little bit more challenging. So, and particularly for cultural and heritage sites, then that really has to be grounded in what are the collections, what is on offer in these sites, in these museums, in these heritage sites, and really start to unravel the stories that you can turn into product.Paul Marden: But a product isn't enough, is it?Jennifer  Kennedy: Absolutely not.Paul Marden: Set making, merchandising, storytelling, they all engage the customer, don't they?Jennifer  Kennedy: 100%.Paul Marden: Where have you seen that being done well in Ireland?Michael  Dolan: Get a store is the preeminent example, I would think. I mean, it's a stunning shop. Have you met Catherine too? Paul Marden: No, not yet. Lovely to meet you, Catherine.  Michael  Dolan: Catherine is in charge of getting the stories. Paul Marden: Okay. Any other examples that aren't, maybe, sat at the table? Game of Thrones is a really good example and Titanic.Michael  Dolan: Game of Thrones.  I think Titanic's good. The new shop in Trinity College is very strong, I think. So it's a temporary digital exhibition while they're revamping the library. They've done an excellent job in creating a wonderful new shop, even on a temporary basis.Jennifer  Kennedy: I would say Crowe Park as well. The GAA museum there has undergone a full refurbishment and it's very tailored towards their audience. So they're very, it's high volume, very specific to their... And the look and feel is very much in keeping with the nature of the reason why people go to Crowe Park. I would say the Irish National Asteroid as well. And Colmar Abbey, Cliffs of Moher. We've got some really great offers all over the island of Ireland.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. I was at W5 recently in Belfast and I think that is a brilliant example of what a Science Centre gift shop could be like. Because often there will be the kind of generic stuff that you'll see in any attraction— a notebook with rubber and a pencil— but they also had lots of, there were lots of science-led toys and engineering-led toys, so they had... big Lego section. It was like going into a proper toy shop. It was just a really impressive gift shop that you could imagine engaging a kid.Catherine Toolan: And if I could come in there for an example outside of Ireland, you've got the House of Lego in Billund. I don't know if anybody has been there, but they've got a customised range, which is only available. Really? Yes, and it's so special. They've got a really unique building, so the Lego set is in the shape of the building. They've got their original dock. But the retail store in that space, it's very geared towards children as Lego is, but also imagination play. So they've done a brilliant job on looking at, you know, the texture of their product, the colour of their product. And whilst it's usually geared to children, it's also geared to adult lovers of Lego. So it's beautiful. Huge tech as well. They've incredible RFID wristbands, which you get from your ticket at the beginning of the experience. So all of your photo ops and everything you can download from the RFID wristband. Very cool.Jennifer  Kennedy: Actually, I would say it's probably from a tech point of view, one of the best attractions I've been to in recent years. Like, it's phenomenal. I remember going there the year it opened first because it was fascinating. I have two boys who are absolutely Lego nuts. And I just— we went to the home of LEGO in Billund when it opened that year and I just was blown away. I had never experienced, and I go to experiences everywhere, but I've never, from a tech point of view and a brand engagement perspective, understood the nature, the type of product that they deliver. For me, it's, like I said, I tell everyone to go to Billund. Paul Marden: Really? We've got such amazing jobs, haven't we? However, as you're both talking, I'm thinking you're a bit like me. You don't get to go and enjoy the experience for the experience's own sake because you're looking at what everybody's doing.Jennifer  Kennedy: But can I actually just add to that? There's another one in the Swarovski Crystal in Austria.Paul Marden: Really?Jennifer  Kennedy: That is phenomenal. And in terms of their retail space, it's like, I like a bit of sparkle, so I'm not going to lie. It was like walking into heaven. And their retail offering there is world-class in that store. And the whole brand experience from start to finish, which is what you're always trying to achieve. It's the full 360 of full immersion. You're literally standing inside a giant crystal. It's like being in a dream. Right. A crystal, sparkly dream from start to finish. And then, every year, they partner and collaborate with whoever— designers, musicians, whoever's iconic or, you know, very... present in that year or whatever. And they do these wonderful collaborations and partnerships with artists, designers, you name it.Paul Marden: Sorry, Catherine, there you go.Catherine Toolan: Thank you very much. It's on my list of places to go, but I do know the team there and what they're also doing is looking at the premiumization. So they close their retail store for high net worth individuals to come in and buy unique and special pieces. You know, they use their core experience for the daytime. And we all talk about the challenges. I know, Tom, you talk about this, you know, how do you scale up visitor experience when you're at capacity and still make sure you've a brilliant net promoter score and that the experience of the customer is fantastic. So that is about sweating the acid and you know it's that good, better, best. You know they have something for everybody but they have that halo effect as well.  So it's really cool.Paul Marden: Wow. Thank you. I'm a bit of a geek. I love a bit of technology. What do you think technology is doing to the gift shop experience? Are there new technologies that are coming along that are going to fundamentally change the way the gift shop experience works?Jennifer  Kennedy: I think that's rooted in the overall experience. So I don't think it's a separate piece. I think there's loads of things out there now where you can, you know, virtual mirrors have been around for years and all these other really interesting. The whole gamification piece, if you're in an amazing experience and you're getting prompts and things to move an offer today, but so that's that's been around for quite some time. I'm not sure that it's been fully utilised yet across the board, especially in I would say there's a way to go in how it influences the stores in Ireland in attractions at the moment. There'll be only a handful who I'd say are using technology, mainly digital screens, is what I'm experiencing and seeing generally. And then, if there is a big attraction, some sort of prompts throughout that and how you're communicating digitally through the whole experience to get people back into the retail space. Paul Marden: Yeah, I can imagine using tech to be able to prompt somebody at the quiet times of the gift shop. Michael  Dolan: Yeah, also Guinness now you can order a pint glass with your own message on it in advance. It's ready for you when you finish your tour. You go to a locker and you just open the locker and you walk out with your glass. Catherine Toolan: Could I just say, though, that you just don't open a locker like it's actually lockers? There's a lot of customisation to the lockers because the idea came from the original Parcel Motel. So the locker is actually you key in a code and then when you open the customised locker, there's a Guinness quote inside it and your personalised glass is inside it. And the amount of customers and guests that we get to say, could we lock the door again? We want to actually open it and have that. whole experience so you know that's where I think in you know and one of the questions that would be really interesting to talk about is you know, what about self-scanning and you know, the idea of checkouts that are not having the human connection. Is that a thing that will work when you've got real experiences? I don't know. But we know that the personalisation of the engraved glasses and how we've custom designed the lockers— not to just be set of lockers— has made that difference. So they're very unique, they're colourful, they're very Guinnessified. And of course, the little personal quote that you get when you open the locker from our archives, make that a retail experience that's elevated. Paul Marden: Wow.Jennifer  Kennedy: But I would also say to your point on that, that the actual, the real magic is also in the people, in the destinations, because it's not like gift shops and destinations and experiences. They're not like high street and they shouldn't be. It should be a very different experience that people are having when they've paid to come and participate with you in your destination. So I actually think technology inevitably plays a role and it's a support and it will create lovely quirks and unusual little elements throughout the years.Paul Marden: I think personalisation is great.  Jennifer  Kennedy: And personalisation, absolutely. But the actual, like I would be quite against the idea of automating checkout and payouts in gift shops, in destinations, because for me... That takes away the whole essence of the final touch point is actually whoever's talked to you when you did that transaction and whoever said goodbye or asked how your experience was or did you enjoy yourself? So those you can't you can't replace that with without a human personal touch. So for me, that's intrinsically important, that it has to be retained, that the personal touch is always there for the goodbye.Dean Kelly: I'm very happy that you brought up the human touch. I'm a photo company, I do pictures. And all the time when we're talking to operators, they're like, 'Can we make it self-serve? Can we get rid of the staffing costs?' I'm like, 'I'm a photographer. Photographers take pictures of people. We need each other to engage, react, and put the groups together. No, we don't want the staff costs. But I'm like, it's not about the staff costs. It's about the customer's experience. So all day long, our challenge is, more so in the UK now, because we operate in the UK, and everybody over there is very, we don't want the staff.' And I think, if you lose the staff engagement, especially taking a picture, you lose the memory and you lose the moment. And photographers have a really good job to do, a very interesting job, is where to capture people together. And if you lose that person— touch point of getting the togetherness— You just have people touching the screen, which they might as well be on their phone.Paul Marden: And the photo won't look as good, will it? Anybody could take a photo, but it takes a photographer to make people look like they're engaged and happy and in the moment.Dean Kelly: Yeah, exactly, and a couple of other points that you mentioned— with the brand, personalisation, gamification, all that kind of cool, juicy stuff, all the retail stuff, people going home with the memory, the moment, all that stuff's cool, but nobody mentioned photos until Cashin, you mentioned photos. We've had a long conversation with photos for a long time, and we'll probably be still chatting for another long time as well. But photography is a super, super retail revenue stream. But it's not about the revenue, it's about the moment and the magic. Jennifer  Kennedy: Yeah, you're capturing the magic. Dean Kelly: Capturing it. And fair enough that what you guys do at Shamrock is very interesting because you talk to the operators. You kind of go, 'What gifts are going to work for your visitors?' And you turn that into a product. And that's exactly what we do with all the experiences. We take pictures.Dean Kelly: But what's your demographic saying? What's your price points? What's your brand? What's your message? And let's turn that into a personalised souvenir, put the people in the brand, and let them take it home and engage with it.Paul Marden: So... I think one of the most important things is how you blend the gift shop with the rest of the experience. You were giving a good example of exiting through the gift shop. It's a very important thing, isn't it? But if you put it in the wrong place, you don't get that. How do you blend the gift shop into the experience?Jennifer  Kennedy: Well, I would say I wouldn't call it a blend. For me, the retail element of the brand should be a wow. Like it should be as invaluable, as important as everything else. So my perspective would be get eyes on your retail offering sooner rather than later. Not necessarily that they will participate there and then.Jennifer  Kennedy: The visual and the impact it has on seeing a wow— this looks like an amazing space. This looks like with all these products, but it's also— I was always chasing the wow. I want you to go, wow, this looks amazing. Because, to me, that's when you've engaged someone that they're not leaving until they've gotten in there. It is important that people can potentially move through it at the end. And, you know, it depends on the building. It depends on the structure. You know, a lot of these things are taken out of your hands. You've got to work with what you've got. Jennifer  Kennedy: But you have to work with what you've got, not just to blend it, to make it stand out as exceptional. Because that's actually where the magic really starts. And it doesn't matter what brand that is. The aim should always be that your retail offering is exceptional from every touch point. And it shouldn't be obvious that we've spent millions in creating this wonderful experience. And now you're being shoehorned into the poor relation that was forgotten a little bit and now has ten years later looks a bit ramshackle. And we're trying to figure out why we don't get what we should out of it.Michael  Dolan: And it has to be an integral part of the whole experience.Jennifer  Kennedy: Yeah, and I think for new experiences that are in planning stages, I've seen that more and more in recent years. Now, where I was being called to retrofix or rip out things going, this doesn't work, I'm like, okay, well, we have to retro do this. Now, when people are doing new builds or new investments into new spaces, I'm getting those calls at the planning stages where it's like, we've allocated this amount of space to retail. Do you think that's enough? And I don't think I've ever said yes, ever. At every single turn, I'm like... No, it's not enough. And, you know, what's your anticipated football? Oh, that's the numbers start to play a role in it. But it's not just about that. It's about the future proofing. It's like what happens in five years, 10 years, 15? Because I've been very lucky to work in buildings where it's not easy to figure out where you're going to go next. And particularly heritage sites and cultural heritage. Like I can't go in and knock a hole in the crypt in Christchurch Cathedral. But I need a bigger retail space there.Jennifer  Kennedy: The earlier you start to put retail as a central commercial revenue stream in your business, the more eyes you have on it from the get-go, the more likely it is that it will be successful. Not now, not in five years, not in ten years, but that you're building blocks for this, what can become. Like it should be one of your strongest revenue streams after ticket sales because that's what it can become. But you have to go at it as this is going to be amazing.Catherine Toolan: I think it's important that it's not a hard sell and that's in your face. And, you know, that's where, when you think about the consumer journey, we always think about the behavioural science of the beginning, the middle, and the end. And people remember three things. You know, there's lots of other touch points. But if retail is a really hard sell throughout the experience, I don't think the net promoter score of your overall experience will, you know, come out, especially if you're, you know, and we're not a children's destination. An over 25 adult destination at the Guinness Storehouse and at our alcohol brand homes. But what's really important is that it's authentic, it's really good, and it's highly merchandised, and that it's unique. I think that uniqueness is it— something that you can get that you can't get anywhere else. You know, how do you actually, one of the things that we would have done if we had it again, we would be able to make our retail store available to the domestic audience, to the public without buying a ticket. So, you know, you've got that opportunity if your brand is the right brand that you can have walk-in off the high street, for example.Catherine Toolan: So, you know, there's so many other things that you can think about because that's an extension of your revenue opportunity where you don't have to come in to do the whole experience. And that is a way to connect the domestic audience, which is something I know a lot of the members of the Association, AVEA are trying to do. You know, how do we engage and connect and get repeat visits and and retail is a big opportunity to do that, especially at gifting season.Paul Marden: Yeah, yeah, sustainability is increasingly important to the narrative of the whole retail experience, isn't it? How do you make sure that we're not going about just selling plastic tat that nobody's going to look after?Michael  Dolan: We've made this a core value for Shamrock Gift Company, so we've engaged with a company called Clearstream Solutions, the same company that Guinness Store has. have worked with them. So it's a long-term partnership. So they've measured our carbon footprint from 2019 to 2023. So we've set ourselves the ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2030.Michael  Dolan: So just some of the elements that we've engaged in. So we put 700 solar panels on our roof as of last summer. All our deliveries in Dublin are done with electric vans, which we've recently purchased. All the lights in the building now are LED. Motion-sensored as well. All the cars are electric or that we've purchased recently, and we've got a gas boiler. So we've also now our shipments from China we're looking at biodiesel. So that's fully sustainable. And we also, where we can't use biodiesel, we're doing carbon offsetting as well.Paul Marden: So a lot of work being done in terms of the cost of CO2 of the transport that you're doing. What about the product itself? How do you make sure that the product itself is inherently something that people are going to treasure and is not a throwaway item?Michael  Dolan: We're using more sustainable materials, so a lot more stone, a lot more wood. Paul Marden: Oh, really? Michael  Dolan: Yeah. Also, it begins with great design. Yeah. So, you know, and obviously working with our retail partners, make sure that the goods are very well designed, very well manufactured. So we're working with some wonderful, well, best in class manufacturers around the world. Absolutely.Jennifer  Kennedy: I think as well, if... you can, and it's becoming easier to do, if you can collaborate with some creators and makers that are actually within your location.Jennifer  Kennedy: Within Ireland, there's a lot more of that happening, which means sourcing is closer to home. But you also have this other economy that's like the underbelly of the craft makers market in Ireland, which is fabulous, which needs to be brought to the fore. So collaborations with brands can also form a very integral part of product development that's close to home and connected to people who are here—people who are actually creating product in Ireland.Paul Marden: This is just instinct, not knowledge at all. But I would imagine that when you're dealing with those local crafters and makers, that they are inherently more sustainable because they're creating things local to you. It's not just the distance that's...Jennifer  Kennedy: Absolutely, but in any instances that I'm aware of that I've been involved with, anyway, even the materials and their mythology, yeah, is all grounded in sustainability and which is fabulous to see. Like, there's more and there's more and more coming all the time.Michael  Dolan: We've got rid of 3 million bags a year. Key rings, mags used to be individually bagged. And now there are 12 key rings in a bag that's biodegradable. That alone is 2 million bags.Paul Marden: It's amazing, isn't it? When you look at something as innocuous as the bag itself that it's packaged in before it's shipped out. You can engineer out of the supply chain quite a lot of unnecessary packaging Michael  Dolan: And likewise, then for the retailer, they don't have to dispose of all that packaging. So it's a lot easier and cleaner to put the product on the shelf. Yes.Paul Marden: Something close to my heart, online retail. Have you seen examples where Irish attractions have extended their gift shop experience online, particularly well?Jennifer  Kennedy: For instance, there are a few examples, but what I was thinking more about on that particular thought was around the nature of the brand again and the product that, in my experience, the brands that can do that successfully tend to have something on offer that's very nostalgic or collectible. Or memorabilia and I think there are some examples in the UK potentially that are where they can be successful online because they have a brand or a product that people are collecting.Paul Marden: Yeah, so one of my clients is Jane Austen House, only about two miles away from where I live. And it blew me away the importance of their online shop to them. They're tiny. I mean, it is a little cottage in the middle of Hampshire, but they have an international audience for their gift shop. And it's because they've got this really, really committed audience of Jane Austen fans who want to buy something from the house. Then everybody talks about the Tank Museum in Dorset.Paul Marden: Who make a fortune selling fluffy tank slippers and all you could possibly imagine memorabilia related to tanks. Because again, it's that collection of highly curated products and this really, really committed audience of people worldwide. Catherine Toolan: The Tank were here last year presenting at the AVEA conference and it was such an incredible story about their success and, you know, how they went from a very small museum with a lot of support from government to COVID to having an incredible retail store, which is now driving their commercial success.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Nick has done a load of work. Yeah, that leads me nicely onto a note. So listeners, for a long time, Skip the Queue has been totally focused on the podcast. But today we have launched our first playbook. Which is hopefully the first of many. But the playbook that we're launching today is all about how attractions can focus on best practice for gift shop e-commerce. So we work with partners, Rubber Cheese, Navigate, and Stephen Spencer Associates. So Steve and his team has helped us to contribute to some sections to the guide around, how do you curate your product? How do you identify who the audience is? How do you create that collection? The team at Rubber Cheese talk about the mechanics of how do you put it online and then our friends at Navigate help you to figure out what the best way is to get bums on seats. So it was a crackpot idea of mine six months ago to put it together, and it is now huge.Paul Marden: It's packed full of advice, and that's gone live today. So you can go over to skipthequeue.fm and click on the Playbooks link there to go and download that. Thank you. So, Jennifer, Michael, it has been absolutely wonderful to talk to both of you. Thank you to my audience. You've also been fabulous. Well done. And what a packed episode that was. I get the feeling you two quite enjoy gift shops and retailing. You could talk quite a lot about it.Jennifer  Kennedy: I mean, I love it.  Paul Marden: That didn't come over at all. Jennifer  Kennedy: Well, I just think it's such a lovely way of connecting with people and keeping a connection, particularly from a brand point of view. It should be the icing on the cake, you know?Paul Marden: You're not just a market store salesperson, are you?Jennifer  Kennedy: And I thoroughly believe that the most successful ones are because the experiences that they're a part of sow the seeds. They plant the love, the emotion, the energy. All you're really doing is making sure that that magic stays with people when they go away. The brand experience is the piece that's actually got them there in the first place. Paul Marden: Now let's go over to the conference floor to hear from some Irish operators and suppliers.Charles  Coyle: I'm Charles Coyle. I'm the managing director of Emerald Park. We're Ireland's only theme park and zoo. We opened in November 2010, which shows you how naive and foolish we were that we opened a visitor attraction in the middle of winter. Fortunately, we survived it.Paul Marden: But you wouldn't open a visitor attraction in the middle of summer, so give yourself a little bit of a run-up to it. It's not a bad idea.Charles  Coyle: Well, that's true, actually. You know what? I'll say that from now on, that we had the genius to open in the winter. We're open 15 years now, and we have grown from very small, humble aspirations of maybe getting 150,000 people a year to we welcomed 810,000 last year. And we'll probably be in and around the same this year as well.  Paul Marden: Wowzers, that is really impressive. So we are here on the floor. We've already heard some really interesting talks. We've been talking about AI in the most recent one. What can we expect to happen for you in the season coming in?Charles  Coyle: Well, we are hopefully going to be integrating a lot of AI. There's possibly putting in a new booking system and things like that. A lot of that will have AI dynamic pricing, which has got a bad rap recently, but it has been done for years and years in hotels.Paul Marden: Human nature, if you ask people, should I be punished for travelling during the summer holidays and visiting in a park? No, that sounds terrible. Should I be rewarded for visiting during a quiet period? Oh, yes! Yes, I should definitely. It's all about perspective, isn't it? Very much so. And it is how much you don't want to price gouge people. You've got to be really careful. But I do think dynamic pricing has its place.Charles  Coyle: Oh, absolutely. I mean, a perfect example of it is right now, our top price is not going to go any higher, but it'll just be our lower price will be there more constantly, you know, and we'll... Be encouraging people to come in on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as you said, rewarding people for coming in at times in which we're not that busy and they're probably going to have a better day as a result.Susanne Reid: Hi, Suzanne Reid here. I'm the CEO at Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin. What are you here to get out of the conference? First and foremost, the conference is a great opportunity every year to... catch up with people that you may only see once a year from all corners of the country and it's also an opportunity to find out what's new and trending within tourism. We've just come from a really energising session on AI and also a very thought-provoking session on crisis management and the dangers of solar panels.Paul Marden: Yes, absolutely. Yeah, the story of We the Curious is definitely an interesting one. So we've just come off the back of the summer season. So how was that for you?Susanne Reid:Summer season started slower than we would have liked this year in 2025, but the two big American football matches were very strong for us in Dublin. Dublin had a reasonable season, I would say, and we're very pleased so far on the 13th of the month at how October is playing out. So hoping for a very strong finish to the year. So coming up to Christmas at Christchurch, we'll have a number of cathedral events. So typically our carol concerts, they tend to sell out throughout the season. Then we have our normal pattern of services and things as well.Paul Marden: I think it's really important, isn't it? You have to think back to this being a place of worship. Yes, it is a visitor attraction. Yes, that's an aside, isn't it? And the reason it is a place of worship.Susanne Reid: I think that's obviously back to what our earlier speaker was talking about today. That's our charitable purpose, the promotion of religion, Christianity. However, you know, Christchurch is one of the most visited attractions in the city.Susanne Reid: Primarily, people do come because it will be there a thousand years in 2028. So there is, you know, the stones speak really. And, you know, one of the sessions I've really benefited from this morning was around accessible tourism. And certainly that's a journey we're on at the cathedral because, you know, a medieval building never designed for access, really. Paul Marden: No, not hugely. Susanne Reid: Not at all. So that's part of our programming and our thinking and our commitment to the city and to those that come to it from our local communities. But also from further afield, that they can come and enjoy the splendour of this sacred space.Paul Marden: I've been thinking long and hard, and been interviewing people, especially people like We The Curious, where they're coming into their 25th anniversary. They were a Millennium Project. I hadn't even thought about interviewing an attraction that was a thousand years old. A genuine millennium project.Susanne Reid: Yeah, so we're working towards that, Paul. And, you know, obviously there's a committee in-house thinking of how we might celebrate that. One of the things that, you know, I know others may have seen elsewhere, but... We've commissioned a Lego builder to build a Lego model of the cathedral. There will obviously be some beautiful music commissioned to surround the celebration of a thousand years of Christchurch at the heart of the city. There'll be a conference. We're also commissioning a new audio tour called the ACE Tour, Adults, Children and Everyone, which will read the cathedral for people who have no sense of what they're looking at when they maybe see a baptismal font, for example. You know, we're really excited about this and we're hoping the city will be celebratory mood with us in 2028.Paul Marden: Well, maybe you can bring me back and I'll come and do an episode and focus on your thousand year anniversary.Susanne Reid: You'd be so welcome.Paul Marden: Oh, wonderful. Thank you, Suzanne.Paul Marden: I am back on the floor. We have wrapped up day one. And I am here with Ray Dempsey from Jameson Distillery. Ray, what's it been like today?Ray  Dempsey: Paul, it's been a great day. I have to say, I always loved the AVEA conference. It brings in such great insights into our industry and into our sector. And it's hosted here in Waterford, a city that I'm a native of. And, you know, seeing it through the eyes of a tourist is just amazing, actually, because normally I fly through here. And I don't have the chance to kind of stop and think, but the overall development of Waterford and the presentation from the Waterford County Council was really, really good. It's fantastic. They have a plan. A plan that really is driving tourism. Waterford, as a tourist destination, whereas before, you passed through Waterford. It was Waterford Crystal's stop and that was it. But they have put so much into the restoration of buildings, the introduction of lovely artisan products, very complimentary to people coming to here, whether it is for a day, a weekend, or a week. Fantastic.Paul Marden: What is it? We're in the middle of October and it's a bit grey and drizzly out there. But let's be fair, the town has been packed. The town has been packed.With coaches outside, so my hotel this morning full of tourists.Ray  Dempsey: Amazing, yeah it's a great hub, a great hub, and they've done so much with the city to enable that, and you see, as you pass down the keys, you know that new bridge there to enable extra traffic coming straight into the heart of the city, it's fantastic. We're all learning from it, and hopefully, bring it all back to our own hometowns.Paul Marden: I think it's been really interesting. We were talking earlier on, before I got the microphone out, saying how it's been a real mixed bag this year across the island of Ireland, hasn't it? So some people really, really busy, some people rubbish year.Ray  Dempsey: Yeah, I mean, I feel privileged the fact that, you know, we haven't seen that in Dublin. So, you know, there's a it's been a very strong year, a little bit after a little bit of a bumpy start in January, February. But, like, for the rest of the year onwards, it's been fantastic. It's been back to back festivals and lots of things, lots of reasons why people come to Dublin. And, of course, with the introduction of the NFL. That's new to us this year. And hopefully, we'll see it for a number of years to come. But they're great builders for organic growth for our visitor numbers. So I'm happy to say that I'm seeing a growth in both revenue and in visitor numbers in the Jameson Distillery. So I'm happy to see that. Now, naturally, I'm going to have to work harder to make sure it happens next year and the year after. But I'm happy to say that the tourism product in Dublin has definitely improved. And Dublin-based visitor attractions are doing well. Paul Marden: Exciting plans for summer 26? Ray  Dempsey: Yes, every year is exciting, Paul. And every year brings a challenge and everything else. But I'm delighted to say that our focus for 2026 really is on building inclusion. So we're looking at language tours.Ray  Dempsey: We're looking at tours for... you know, margins in society. And I think it's a really interesting way for us to be able to embrace accessibility to our story. And also, we have increased our experience repertoire to engage more high-end experiences, not private experiences. More demand for those. Okay. So we're delighted to say that we have the product in order to be able to do that. So that's exciting for us, you know, to be building into 2026. Great. Paul Marden: Thank you so much for joining us. I am the only thing standing in the way of you and a drink at the cocktail reception later on. So I think we should call it quits. Ray  Dempsey: And for sure. Paul Marden: If you enjoyed today's episode, then please like and comment in your podcast app. It really does help others to find us. Today's episode was written by me, Paul Marden, with help from Emily Burrows from Plaster. It was edited by Steve Folland and produced by Wenalyn Dionaldo. See you next week. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Back for another exciting LIVE podcast. On this edition we head to DUBLIN Dublin, Ireland's vibrant capital, is a city where historic charm meets modern energy, offering a rich cultural tapestry of literary heritage, lively pub culture, and diverse culinary scenes. Visitors can explore landmarks like Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse, discover hidden literary gems, enjoy world-class dining, and immerse themselves in the infectious atmosphere of its friendly streets. I get the opportunity to get involved, meet new friends and get a sense of the Irish "Craic"

We have had a huge amount of tourists visiting Ireland over the course of this summer, and generally they tend to frequent a lot of the same spots: the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry, the Guinness Storehouse, etc.However, a new (and slightly odd) tourism attraction has recently emerged in Limerick city, thanks to Blindboy Boatclub.Fans of the author and podcaster have started flocking to Limerick's “bird shit district”.So, what is it? Blindboy Boatclub joins Seán to discuss.

We have had a huge amount of tourists visiting Ireland over the course of this summer, and generally they tend to frequent a lot of the same spots: the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry, the Guinness Storehouse, etc.However, a new (and slightly odd) tourism attraction has recently emerged in Limerick city, thanks to Blindboy Boatclub.Fans of the author and podcaster have started flocking to Limerick's “bird shit district”.So, what is it? Blindboy Boatclub joins Seán to discuss.

The Experience Economy consists of businesses and organisations that create immersive, memorable experiences for people, in addition to selling goods and services. It spans the arts, cultural, sporting and heritage sectors, as well as hospitality, retail, travel, tourism, entertainment, and events and the supply chain that supports them.In this episode of Ibec Responds, Aviné McNally, Head of Membership, Ibec, is joined by Catherine Toolan, Managing Director, Diageo Irish Brand Homes, home of the Guinness Storehouse & Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group, they explore the need for increased investment in Ireland's Experience Economy as part of Budget 2026.Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here. Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Looking for daily inspiration?  Get a quote from the top leaders in the industry in your inbox every morning.   Tired of outdated systems holding your attraction back? Gatemaster believes technology is part of the experience, transforming every touchpoint into an opportunity. Imagine seamless online booking, effortless mobile ordering, and data-driven insights at your fingertips. Ready to revolutionize your guest journey and maximize revenue? Power your attraction with Gatemaster. Discover the future at Gatemaster.com. Tyler Adams is the General Manager of the Buffalo Trace Distillery Home Place. With a career that began in the attractions industry at Cedar Point, Tyler brings decades of experience in guest services, marketing, and operations. At Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky, he now leads one of the most immersive brand-based visitor experiences in the spirits industry. Buffalo Trace is not only a functioning distillery but also a destination attracting over 700,000 visitors annually. In this interview, Tyler talks about bourbon as an attraction, creating connections with consumers, and recovering before the crisis starts. Bourbon as an Attraction “A lot of our visitors say this was like an adult Disneyland for them.” Tyler describes the Buffalo Trace Distillery as a pilgrimage destination for bourbon enthusiasts. While some visitors may arrive with no prior interest in spirits, many leave with a deep appreciation for the experience. The distillery is steeped in history, with active production taking place on a site that has been distilling for hundreds of years. Unlike fabricated environments, guests witness the genuine operations, including forklifts and barrel transport, as part of their tour. This authenticity, paired with complimentary tastings and educational touchpoints, creates a unique environment where bourbon is not just a beverage—it's the centerpiece of a full-fledged attraction experience. The sensory immersion of walking through historic warehouses and experiencing the sounds and aromas of production connects guests to the brand in a meaningful way. Tyler highlights how guests often leave with a deeper understanding, even if they never become bourbon drinkers. This inclusive approach—paired with tangible takeaways like handcrafted items made from retired barrels—turns Buffalo Trace into a destination that mirrors the magic of traditional theme parks, but with the cultural and historic significance of Kentucky bourbon. Creating Connections with Consumers “Our whole mission is to create connections with our consumers to bring a brand to life.” At Buffalo Trace, the visitor experience is part of the marketing department—deliberately designed to transform consumers into brand advocates. Tyler compares the distillery to other brand homes like World of Coke or the Guinness Storehouse, but emphasizes that Buffalo Trace offers something distinct: authenticity without theming. Rather than a stylized walkthrough, guests engage with the actual production process in real time. These interactions create deep brand loyalty and foster connections not only between the brand and consumers, but also among guests themselves. Tyler notes that many visitors bond with each other during their tours, united by a shared passion. The distillery encourages storytelling, with team members who listen and respond to guests' personal narratives. Through elements like bourbon tastings and handcrafted woodcrafts, visitors leave with more than just a souvenir—they leave with a story and a relationship to the brand. Recovering Before the Crisis Starts “We were preparing for it. And we got to the point where we did everything we could… and actually started planning for recovery.” In early 2024, Buffalo Trace experienced a major flood due to record water levels in the Kentucky River. Tyler shares how the team used forecasting models to anticipate the crisis before it fully struck, allowing them to shift into recovery mode even before the peak flooding occurred. This proactive approach enabled them to reopen in phases—first with pop-up tastings, followed by partial retail access, and eventually full tours. Tyler emphasizes that the key to their successful recovery was collaboration and communication. The leadership team divided responsibilities based on both timing and physical space. Some team members focused on immediate cleanup, while others strategized for future phases of reopening. Communication was also prioritized across all 200 team members, including live video broadcasts and daily updates to ensure transparency. Tyler believes this level of engagement—both internally and externally—was not only critical to recovery, but also a reflection of the brand's value of authenticity. The crisis became a real-time demonstration of Buffalo Trace's commitment to its people and guests.   Visitors interested in touring the distillery can learn more and book a free tour at buffalotracedistillery.com. To connect directly with Tyler Adams, the best place to reach him is on LinkedIn. This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our faaaaaantastic team:   Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas Audio and Video editing by Abby Giganan   To connect with AttractionPros: AttractionPros.com AttractionPros@gmail.com AttractionPros on Facebook AttractionPros on LinkedIn AttractionPros on Instagram AttractionPros on Twitter (X)

The Best of the Month episode is now Patreon-only. Public subscribers get the first 20 minutes or so of the episode as a free preview. Members get to hear the whole episode on Patreon as part of a €5 a month subscription so come join us! It's the return of our monthly Patreon episode, but this time with a special guest. Andrea is taking the summer off the podcast and listening parties, so I asked Mo Cultivation's Bekah Molony to join me in enthusing about our favourite music of the past month. Bekah joins us to talk about Tyler, The Creator's recent Dublin gig, Forbidden Fruit, Lovely Days at Guinness Storehouse and more. Then we discuss our favourite music from PinkPantheress, Khamari, Baxter Dury, Evan Miles, Mhaol, Billy Woods, Sammy Virji and Skepta, For Those I Love, Katie Phelan, Loyle Carner and Erika De Casier. Plus some song of the summer contenders and chats about Sinners the film and TV shows we're catching. Listen on Apple | Android | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS Feed | Podlink * Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get event discounts, playlists, ad-free episodes and join our Discord community Albums and tracks mentioned For Those I Love - Of The Sorrows Sammy Virji; Skepta - Cops & Robbers billy woods - Golliwog (album) Khamari - Head in a Jar Baxter Dury, JGrrey - Allbarone katie phelan - nothing stays the same Erika de Casier - Lifetime (album) Evan Miles - It's On Me Mhaol - Something Soft (album) PinkPantheress - Stateside PinkPantheress - Illegal Sofia Kourtesis; Daphni - Unidos Selena Gomez; benny blanco - Bluest Flame Loyle Carner - all i need

Gustavo Pifano (Portfolio Manager) highlights his recent visit to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin for Diageo's investor day.To learn more about Gabelli Funds' fundamental, research-driven approach to investing, visit https://m.gabelli.com/gtv_cu or email invest@gabelli.com.Connect with Gabelli Funds:• X - https://x.com/InvestGabelli• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/investgabelli/ • Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/InvestGabelli • LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/investgabelli/ http://www.Gabelli.com Invest with Us 1-800-GABELLI (800-422-3554)

In dieser Episode nominiert Torsten die TOP 3 der besten Markenwelten. Folgende Markenwelten treten u.a. gegeneinander an: GUINNESS Storehouse in Dublin, LINDT Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg, World of COCA-COLA in Atlanta, BMW Welt in München, Maison HENNESY in Cognac.

Often voted the No. 1 site for visitors to see, the Guinness Storehouse has been variously described as a Willy Wonka Factory for alcohol and a brilliant marketing tool for a global brand. Kevin Flanagan shares his views on Dublin's most visited tourist attraction and offers an alternative! Listen to the end to discover another fabulous visitor experience.Do visit our website at www.TheTopTravelDestinations.comYou can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinationsX: @becreativkev

The Irish football legend Denis Irwin joined Colm Boohig in the Off The Ball studio for a look back at his remarkable career. From the incredible highs of playing for Manchester United during the club's most successful era, to how he became such a free-kick specialist, there was also plenty to discuss about his playing days with Ireland and why he never made the move into football management. It's a brilliant chat that was made possible by ‘Match Day at Guinness Storehouse' – Ireland's Highest Premier League Fanzone.

Xavi Pons Cladera, director comercial de Viatges Magon, ens apropa al proper Viatge Magon Plus que ens du a una illa ben diferent de Menorca, Irlanda.  És una destinació fascinant per a qualsevol turista espanyol que vulgui gaudir d'un viatge ple de natura, cultura i ambient acollidor. Durant el mes de maig, aquest país ofereix una experiència especialment encantadora, amb temperatures suaus, dies més llargs i una agenda cultural plena d'esdeveniments.El clima al maigTot i que Irlanda és coneguda per la seva pluja intermitent, al maig les temperatures solen ser agradables, oscil·lant entre els 10 i els 15 graus. A més, amb la primavera en plena esplendor, els paisatges verds es tornen encara més vibrants i les flors cobreixen camps i jardins.Què veure i fer a Irlanda al maig?1. Dublin i la seva cultura: La capital irlandesa ofereix una barreja perfecta entre història i modernitat. Pots visitar la famosa Guinness Storehouse, la històrica Trinity College amb el seu impressionant "Book of Kells" i gaudir de l'ambient als pubs de Temple Bar.2. La Calçada del Gegant: Aquest impressionant paratge natural situat al nord del país és una de les atraccions més sorprenents d'Irlanda, ideal per als amants de la natura i la fotografia.3. Els penya-segats de Moher: Considerats una de les meravelles naturals del món, aquests penya-segats ofereixen unes vistes espectaculars sobre l'oceà Atlàntic.4. El Cercle de Kerry: Aquesta ruta paisatgística és perfecta per als qui volen recórrer pobles encantadors, castells i muntanyes majestuoses.Festivals i esdevenimentsEl mes de maig a Irlanda està ple d'activitats culturals. Algunes destacades inclouen:- Festival Internacional de Literatura de Dublín: Una cita imprescindible per als amants de la literatura.- Fleadh Nua a Ennis : Festival de música i dansa tradicional irlandesa.- Festival de les Arts de Galway: Una mostra cultural amb espectacles de teatre, música i arts visuals.GastronomiaNo pots marxar d'Irlanda sense provar plats típics com el "Irish stew" (estofat irlandès), el "boxty" (una mena de crep de patata) o el famós esmorzar irlandès. I, per descomptat, una pinta de Guinness o una copa de whiskey irlandès sempre seran una bona opció per completar l'experiència.Irlanda al maig és una destinació perfecta per a qualsevol turista espanyol que vulgui combinar natura, cultura i tradicions en un entorn acollidor i ple d'encant.

Experience Dublin like a local with Johnny Mac! From the perfect pint at the Guinness Storehouse to hidden gems in Stoneybatter, discover the vibrant culture of modern Dublin. Get expert advice on the best traditional pubs, contemporary restaurants, and local neighborhoods that tourists often miss. Learn where to find live music, artisanal food markets, and authentic Irish experiences beyond the tourist trailUnlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visitcaloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed! You also get 20+ other shows on the network ad-free!

In this Best Possible Taste episode, we're diving into a story of heritage, craftsmanship, and an exciting new collaboration that brings together two iconic Irish brands. Sharon Noonan had the pleasure of visiting the picturesque fishing village of Howth in February 2025, to meet brothers Tadgh and Damian O'Meara at their family business, Kish Fish. Founded in 1966 by their father, Kish Fish has grown into one of Ireland's most respected seafood specialists, supplying the finest seafood to foodservice and retail customers across Ireland. This visit coincided with a momentous occasion for the company—a rebrand that celebrates their legacy while embracing the future. And what better way to mark this transformation than by partnering with one of the world's most famous names—GUINNESS™. This official collaboration has led to the creation of an exceptional new product: GUINNESS™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish. Kish Fish's rich heritage, passion, and expertise were key to them being entrusted by GUINNESS™, and given their seal of approval, to launch a Smoked Salmon cured using their signature stout that delivers a taste reflecting both brands' proud Dublin roots. The initial idea for the uniquely Irish product began life in the Guinness Storehouse, one of Kish Fish's largest customers. A couple of years ago, the Storehouse's executive chef, Sean Hunter (of Aramark), began curing Salmon in GUINNESS™ and smoking it himself in very small quantities for tourists to enjoy as part of the visitor experience at St. James's Gate. Having noted the product's potential and mass appeal, GUINNESS™ partnered with Kish Fish to further finesse the recipe and use their smoking expertise to develop a GUINNESS™ Smoked Salmon that could be crafted on a much larger scale for wider distribution - a process that they have patiently perfected at their Smokehouse in Howth over the last two years. In this episode, which was recorded in front of a live audience, you will hear Sharon chat to Tadgh and Damian about their childhood memories from when their father started the business, the impressive growth that Kish Fish has experienced and their commitment to sustainability. BEST POSSIBLE TASTE IS IRELAND'S LONGEST-RUNNING FOOD & DRINK PODCAST. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.SHARONNOONAN.COM

This is our last 2024 travel year in review episode. In this part of the series, we're covering the best food and drinks we've had while traveling in 2024. From hot chocolate and Champagne to chocolate mousse and Swedish meatballs, these are the best things we ate and drank while on the road in 2024. Here were our top food & drinks! Kat's best foods were: -Quenelle at Mere Brazier at Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse in Lyon -Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and pickles at Restaurant Pelikan in Stockholm -Steak and ale pie at Two Chairmen in London -Haggis at the The Scran and Scallie in Edinburgh -Chocolate mousse at Chez Janou in Paris Honorable mentions: -Aligot at La Petite  Perigourdine in Paris -Ribs with polenta at Au Chineur in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue -Christmas poutine at the Toronto Christmas market at the W Cafe   Chris's best foods were: -Chocolate mousse at Chez Janou in Paris -Steak and ale pie at Two Chairmen in London -Egg, sausage, and pimento cheese on a jalapeño cheddar biscuit sandwich at the Bomb Biscuit Co. in Atlanta -Haddock Brandade at Chez Janou in Paris -Fish pie from The Scran & Scallie in Edinburgh Honorable mentions: -Stuffed cabbage at Faubourg Daimant in Paris -Seitan Burrito from Hellbender Burritos in Davis, West Virginia   Kat's best drinks were: -Hot chocolate at Huma Chocolate and Coffee Experience in Quito -Raspberry juice at the Vista Del Angel Hotel in Quito -Tarragona almond blossom tea at Palm Court in Edinburgh -2013 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs at Taittinger in Reims -Hot chocolate at Carette in Paris Honorable mentions: -Orangina while traveling in France -Whispering Angel rosé on the beach in the South of France -Scotch Whisky tastings at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh (the Highlands one was the best)   Chris's best drinks were: -Guinness at the Gravity Bar at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin -Champagne Drappier 2006 Vintage while in Reims -2013 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs at Taittinger in Reims -Hot chocolate at Carette in Paris -Ancient hot chocolate at Les Deux Magots in Paris Honorable mentions: -Negroni at Restaurant L'Artichaut in Lyon   Check us out on Substack: Follow for updates, free and paid posts, and exclusive podcast episodes! Subscribe here to get this exclusive content now! Traveling to France? Check out our Facebook Group called France Travel Tips to ask/answer questions and learn more! Don't forget to follow along! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldwidehoneymoon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldwidehoneymoon TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@worldwidehoneymoon World Wide Honeymoon Blog: https://worldwidehoneymoon.com France Voyager Blog: https://francevoyager.com Subscribe to the World Wide Honeymoon blog here for monthly updates and tips + get our FREE trip planning guide: https://www.subscribepage.com/o4e5c2

Send us a textIn this episode you'll learn how brands like Jameson and Guinness invest in their future by entrusting their past to Archivists. It's exceptionally rare to get Diageo and Pernod Ricard to agree on anything (!) but the importance of brand archives is central to both Guinness and Irish Distillers. Eibhlin Colgan and Carol Quinn sat down in the Connoisseur Bar in the Guinness Storehouse to explain that a corporate archive is central to preserving and enhancing brand value. Archives can do so much, from providing insights for current marketing campaigns to informing CSR work to inspiring new product development with stories of previous successes/failures.Carol and Eibhlin share stories and tales from the past but explain how even modern start ups need to be thinking about creating an archive if they are to build value into the future. PS Don't use Sellotape to stick papers into records you are archiving, ask a professional!Please see some of the links mentioned on the pod:Guinness Archive genealogy: Discover if Your Family Worked for Guinness | Guinness StorehouseThe Jameson records on Ancestry:Bottling Agreements with Publicans - Ireland, Jameson Bottling Agreements with Publicans, 1909–1965 - AncestryStaff Wage and Employment Books - Ireland, Jameson Distillery Staff Wage and Employment Books, 1862-1969 - AncestrySupport the showFor more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedInBusiness of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Our ‘Experience Economy' series continues in this episode of Ibec Responds as Sharon Higgins, Executive Director Membership and Sectors, Ibec, is in conversation with Catherine Toolan, Managing Director of Diageo Irish Brand Homes, the spiritual home of Guinness Storehouse. They discuss Catherine's new appointment as Chair of Ibec's Experience Economy Policy Committee, future trends and career opportunities within the Experience Economy.Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here. Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Celebrate the vibrant culture of Ireland with us on the Michelson Travel Podcast as we journey through this enchanting land with Diana from Celtic Tours Vacations. Get ready to immerse yourself in the magic of St. Patrick's Day like never before! Discover the unique charm of small group travel as Diana shares her expertise on creating memorable experiences for travelers. With a capped group size of just 32, this intimate tour kicks off in the lively city of Dublin, where you'll enjoy the St. Patrick's Day parade, visit the iconic Man O' War pub, and explore the city's rich history at your own pace. As the adventure unfolds, we'll traverse from Dublin to Waterford, uncovering Viking roots and indulging in the world-famous craftsmanship of Waterford Crystal with some retail therapy in Kilkenny along the way.Our conversation with Diana also uncovers some must-see attractions and hidden gems throughout Ireland. Whether you're pouring your own pint at the Guinness Storehouse or soaking up the breathtaking vistas of the Dingle Peninsula, there's something for everyone in this episode. Diana offers insights into Ireland's delectable cuisine and erases the stereotype of the meat-and-potatoes diet, introducing us to fresh fish and chips from Dingle. For those planning an Irish getaway, she'll guide you through the flexible travel packages offered by Celtic Tours, from self-drive adventures to private chauffeur-driven journeys, making it easy for solo travelers and family groups alike. Book early to secure your spot on these exclusive tours and come discover why Ireland is an ideal destination for travelers of all ages.

#104 Considering a trip to Dublin, Ireland? Listen in! In this episode of The Everyday Bucket List podcast, we'll discuss Dublin, Ireland, and how much time is ideal to stay there! In this episode, we cover:  Day 1 Dublin Itinerary and Logistics Exploring Dublin Attractions Day 2 Dublin Itinerary: Activities and Reflections   CLICK THE LINKS BELOW OR CUT AND PASTE THEM INTO YOUR BROWSER: Show notes: https://karencordaway.com/2-day-dublin-itinerary-what-to-do-dublin-city-centre/ Binge-listen to my Travel to Europe playlist https://spoti.fi/3yDYgXA   Listen to these episodes next: Things to Do in London, England for First-time Visitors (Ep 98) My Experience Seeing U2 at The Sphere in Las Vegas & More (Ep 95) Easy Bucket List Ideas to Fit into Everyday Life (Ep 42)   RESOURCES: Grab a copy of  The Everyday Bucket List Book https://amzn.to/3vwxz2K If you'd like to support my work, check out https://buymeacoffee.com/edbl Blog post about: My 2 Days in Dublin Itinerary & What I'd Do Differently >> https://karencordaway.com/2-days-in-dublin-itinerary/   Connect with me: Website: KarenCordaway.com Twitter (X): @KarenCordaway https://x.com/karencordaway Pinterest: @Everyday_Bucket_List https://www.pinterest.com/EverydayBucketList/ Tiktok: @Everyday_Bucket_List https://www.tiktok.com/@everyday_bucket_list   If you're enjoying this podcast, please rate and review it here. Let me know what you like about it so I know exactly what content to keep creating for you. Disclaimer: Some of the outbound links financially benefit the podcast. Using our links is a small way to support the show at zero cost to you. I only endorse products, programs, and services I use and would recommend to close friends and family. Thank you for your support. I'll be updating my podcast descriptions and show notes. Thanks for your patience as I transition.

Dublin is a popular city for most visitors to Ireland, and often the first or final location visited due to its proximity to Ireland's busiest airport. For families visiting with children, from toddlers to teens, Dublin can be a bit overwhelming as some of the more popular attractions – like the Guinness Storehouse, St. Patrick's... The post Dublin With Kids from Toddler to Teen: Family Friendly Attractions, Activities & Eateries appeared first on Ireland Family Vacations.

We kick-off our 2024 "Live from..." tour in Dublin. We discuss how a country with such incredible achievements in the arts is finding its confidence in marketing. Check out Irish agency work on this episode's page on our site. Grainne Wafer of Diageo, Karen Martin of BBH, Rory Hamilton of Boys & Girls, Michelle Spillane of Paddy Powers and Patrick Hickey formerly of Rothco, join me at The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Thanks to Analytic Partners, LinkedIn and Guinness for their support.

How does someone create advertising for a brand that is over 150 years old? That is exactly what Stephen O'Kelly has been tasked with as Global Brand Director at Guinness, one of the most iconic brands in the world. Recorded from the Connoisseur bar at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, this episode of Uncensored CMO is special. Not just because of how much history is involved in the brand, but the fact that Stephen is a fourth generation employee, carrying on the legacy of his family.

That magical time of year is nearly upon us! This week, we were at the Six Nations launch at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Stuart caught up with Peter O'Mahony, Andy Farrell, Gareth Davies, Warren Gatland, Rory Darge, Gregor Townsend, Michele Lamaro, Gonzalo Quesada and Steve Borthwick! Storm Isha prevented France making it to Dublin as well England captain Jamie George. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack brings you all the top names from today's Six Nations launch at the Guinness Storehouse. We hear from new Ireland captain Peter O'Mahony, and his head coach Andy Farrell with the latter addressing the competition for the no.10 jersey. France have suffered a double injury blow ahead of their opening Six Nations fixture with Ireland. Plus, we hear from Warren Gatland on Louis Rees-Zammit's NFL dream, Gonzalo Quesada on building on strong Italian foundations, and Rory Darge on working as Scotland co-captain with Finn Russell.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the Founder, Strategist & Creative Director  of Sealevel Agency, Allison Conway. Allison emphasized the importance of creating bold and human brands, even in the financial services and supply chain industries.  Allison explained that many businesses in these industries hesitate to step outside the "buttoned-up" image they believe they should portray.  However, she argues that by telling stories and humanizing their brand, they can connect with their customers on a deeper level. Allison points out that all business is human-to-human, and consumers now expect brands to reflect this in their branding. B2B marketing, in particular, is highly emotional, as clients often share their business challenges and anxieties.  When asked about resources or recommendations for those interested in making changes and diving into their communities, Alison suggested following her on LinkedIn, where she regularly posts valuable content.  Additionally, she offers a guide called "The Guinness Treatment" on her website, which provides insights on giving your business the same level of brand management as Guinness, a company known for its strong community involvement. Key Points from the Episode: Importance of creating bold and human brands in traditionally "boring" industries Telling stories and humanizing brands to connect with customers on a deeper level Example of Guinness Storehouse's storytelling and community connection Focus on providing emotional safety in financial services industry Understanding the emotional needs of customers and tailoring branding accordingly All business is human-to-human, even in B2B marketing Importance of understanding and being a part of the community you serve Immersing yourself in the community to better understand their needs About Allison Conway: A seasoned adventurer and accomplished author, Allison Conway boasts a rich tapestry of global experiences, having explored over 40 countries. Her travel highlights range from savoring Jordan's culinary delights to immersing herself in Egypt's historical treasures, Austria's picturesque landscapes, and Vietnam's vibrant urban jungle.  A self-published author, Conway achieved a remarkable feat with her book, soaring to #1 bestseller status on Amazon in the competitive Business & Money and Self-Help categories. Beyond her literary accomplishments, Conway walked the transformative Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage in Spain, and briefly contributed to a float plane operation in Alaska. 

Presenter: Louise TigheProducer: Max Kane Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Presenter: Louise TigheProducer: Max Kane Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good News: Medical researchers are utilizing an ancient recipe for dressing wounds, Link HERE. The Good Word: A beautiful short poem from P.L. Travers. Good To Know: Fascinating facts about the volcanic Ring Of Fire… Good News: Google Maps is helping lower CO2 emissions! Link HERE. Wonderful World: Let Rick Steves show you around the […]

In this episode we take you along on a driving tour of Ireland. Our trip was focused on the southern half of Ireland and anchored through Dublin. Join us as we experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of Ireland. We'll share our itinerary of what we did, where we stayed and what we ate. So pack your passport and join us as we tour through some amazing places. Get our 10 Day Dublin and Southern Itinerary Here! Our Itinerary included 3 nights in Dublin, Kilkenny, Dingle, Galway, Inis Mor and back to Dublin. In Dublin we enjoyed a Dinner Irish River Dance Traditional Music Show, Book of Kells and Trinity College, Dublin Hop on Hop Off Tour, Guinness Storehouse, Teeling Distillery, Evensong at St. Patrick's Cathedral Outside Dublin: Glendalough National Park, Rock of Cashel, Dingle Penisula, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Inis Mor via Ferry from Galway, Joyce Country Sheepdogs Read more about this and other travel destinations on our BLOG and on Melissa's sister Stephanie's Blog about Dublin here and about Joyce Country Sheepdogs here Follow our travels on Facebook Follow our travels on Instagram here and here Save our travel ideas on Pinterest See our travel videos on You Tube Music Credit Music by OYStudio from Pixabay

If you have ever visited Ireland then you have almost certainly visited our capital city of Dublin! There are so many cultural, heritage and historical sites spread around the city - and I'm sure you have a few of your own.In this episode we share just some of our own favourite stops in Dublin and chat to some fascinating characters who graciously shared their knowledge of some of them.You can see a list of our stops below - and if you would like to look at the map we mention, go to our full shownotes page here . Enjoy!Our Stops in Dublin City:Trinity College and the Book of Kells.The Guinness Storehouse.Kilmainham Jail.14 Henrietta Street - The Tenement Museum.Glasnevin Cemetery.Music featured in this episode:"The Rocky Road To Dublin" performed by The High Kings."Grace" performed by Jim McCann."Molly Malone" performed by The Dubliners.Support the Letter from Ireland Show:Thank you for listening to the Letter from Ireland show. To support the podcast, get lots of member-only features and follow Mike and Carina behind the scenes as they travel around Ireland go to ALetterfromIreland.com/plus .

If you have ever visited Ireland then you have almost certainly visited our capital city of Dublin! There are so many cultural, heritage and historical sites spread around the city - and I'm sure you have a few of your own.In this episode we share just some of our own favourite stops in Dublin and chat to some fascinating characters who graciously shared their knowledge of some of them.You can see a list of our stops below - and if you would like to look at the map we mention, go to our full shownotes page here . Enjoy!Our Stops in Dublin City:Trinity College and the Book of Kells.The Guinness Storehouse.Kilmainham Jail.14 Henrietta Street - The Tenement Museum.Glasnevin Cemetery.Music featured in this episode:"The Rocky Road To Dublin" performed by The High Kings."Grace" performed by Jim McCann."Molly Malone" performed by The Dubliners.Support the Letter from Ireland Show:Thank you for listening to the Letter from Ireland show. To support the podcast, get lots of member-only features and follow Mike and Carina behind the scenes as they travel around Ireland go to ALetterfromIreland.com/plus .

Good News: Patients in the UK with some rare inherited cancers will soon have access to a remarkable drug to help fight the disease, Link HERE! The Good Word: A brilliant short poem from Alexander Pope, with a familiar opening line… Good To Know: Some truly amazing facts about the science of water! Good News: […]

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://ats-heritage.co.uk/https://twitter.com/ATS_Spencerhttps://twitter.com/ATS_Heritagehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerclark/ Spencer ClarkAs a newbie to the sector, I started my career in attractions back in 2012 when I joined ATS to help grow the business. There was so much to learn, but I used my experience in design and creative problem solving and a natural ability to understand clients needs quickly.Today I am in the privileged position of co-owning and leading the company as MD with a fantastic team and a reputation to match.My underlying passion is in creating value through great design and unrivalled customer service. I love nothing more than to listen to clients describe their problems and to be asked to help them overcome them, often in a highly creative yet pragmatic way.I love how we can use technology (thoughtfully) to elevate an experience. At ATS, we are pioneers of on-site and on-line digital visitor experiences across the cultural sector, delivering amazing audio & multimedia tours, digital apps/tools, films and tailored consultancy services.We help our clients to engage with millions of visitors and we're privileged to be trusted by attractions small and large across Europe, including St Paul's Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse, Westminster Abbey, Bletchley Park, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Titanic Belfast and Rembrandt House Museum.Outside of work, I'm busy keeping up with two active daughters and try to get on the water paddle boarding, on the hills mountain biking, or roaming around in our camper van.  Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode I speak with Spencer Clark, Managing Director of ATS Heritage.Spencer shares his insight into what the biggest pain points are for attractions when developing their stories, and the ATS methodology that helps bring out the very best experience for your guests.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, Spencer. It's lovely to have you on. Spencer Clark: Thanks for having me, Kelly. Kelly Molson: It's taken a while for me to persuade Spencer to come on. I'm not going to lie, I've had his arm right up his back for a while, but he's finally here. Spencer Clark: I've relented. Kelly Molson: He has relented, but he might regret it. Right, icebreakers. What's the worst gift that anyone's ever given you? Spencer Clark: Who's going to be listening to this? I'm not so much worse, but once you get, like, your third or fourth mug, it might be personalised and tailored to you, maybe they're quite amusing, some thoughts gone into it, but when you get a few too many mugs, that creates a little bit. Kelly Molson: Would you rather socks than mugs? Spencer Clark: Yeah, I'm getting into my socks now. Yeah, some nice socks would go down a treat, I think. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I'm with you on this. So this was a Twitter discussion, so the team at Convious sent me some lovely Convious branded socks the other week. They're great. And I had them on. I took them a little picture, I put them on social media and then everyone was like, "Oh, socks. Yeah, were going to do socks for giveaways", but everyone said, "No, socks are rubbish". And I was like, "Absolutely not". Socks are, like, low of the list of things that I want to buy myself. So if I get free socks, I'm going to wear them. Spencer Clark: That's it. And you get your favourites. Kelly Molson: Good. No mugs for Spencer. Okay, this is a random one. If you can only save one of the Muppets, which muppet do you choose and why? Spencer Clark: Oh, man, that's quite a good one. Miss Piggy is a little bit hectic for me. I don't think I could spend a lot of time with her. The chef's quite entertaining, though. The hoodie gordie chickens, I think is. Yeah, I think he was smiling face and, yeah, I like a good chef, so, yeah, I keep him. Kelly Molson: It's a good choice. And I wasn't expecting the impersonation either. Impressive. Spencer Clark: There you go.Kelly Molson: Really, we're taking this podcast to new levels, people. This one would be quite easy for you if you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life. What would it be? Spencer Clark: That's a good. That's really good. Back after Uni, 1999, I went travelling with my best friend and we had a little campervan and went around New Zealand for four weeks and we bought two tapes when we landed in Auckland and we had those two tapes and we listened to just those two tapes for four weeks in a camper van. And one was Jamiroquai Synchronised album, big Jay Kay fan. And the second one was Californication by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Kelly Molson: Excellent. Spencer Clark: And I can still listen to them over and over again now. Kelly Molson: I think I'll let you have the two because it's a great story and really good memories attached to those two. Spencer Clark: Oh, every time we put it on. And Dave is not a great singer, but it's a memorable voice he has. So we're travelling around, these tracks pop up and I'm taking straight back to a certain lovely mountain right here in New Zealand. It's Delcito. Thanks, Dave. Kelly Molson: Lovely. Thanks, Dave. Good memories, good story, good start to the podcast. Right. What is your unpopular opinion? Spencer Clark: So it's QR code, but in a particular setting. And that is where, in restaurants or places to eat, where the QR code is that's your menu. It's the way you pay and everything. And I think just sometimes it gets just a bit frustrating. It's not a great experience because I like a big menu, not necessarily with pictures on the food, I don't need that. But a good menu with everything on it, so you can kind of see the choices, but on your phone you can't really see the whole menu, so that's a bit annoying. And then you got to just order it and add it to your basket and then you think it's gone, then do all the payment. Spencer Clark: I know it's supposed to be easy, but in that environment, I prefer just chatting to a waiter or a waitress and just and having a good experience. Kelly Molson: I agree. When there was a need for, it was great. Obviously, during pandemic times, that was great that you could go in and you could do that. But, yeah, I want to ask questions. I can't decide between these three dishes. What would you pick? You want that conversation, don't you? That's the whole part. It's all part of the experience of eating out. Spencer Clark: It definitely is. And I did a lot of time as a waiter in my late teens and early twenties. And a great waiter makes your night. That's the way I see it. All your day. It's just under use. You don't want to cut them out, you want to go just all on the app. Kelly Molson: Right, listeners, that is a good one. Let me know how you feel. Are you up for having a little chat with your waiter? Straight waitress? Or do you just want to go QR code, cut them out, no chat. No chat. Let me know. Spencer Clark: Sometimes I have those moments as well, of course, but overall, I'd rather chat with someone. Kelly Molson: All right, tell us about your background before you got to ATS. It wasn't in the attraction sector, was it? Spencer Clark: No. So ATS where I'm at now, I've been eleven years and this is the first entry into attractions culture sector. So I did product design at uni and I was never going to be the best designer. It worked out, but I love design and I love the process of essentially being given a problem and find ways in which you can design something to solve it in the best possible way. So to design was definitely in my interests. And then after Uni, I had an idea. My sister is profoundly deaf and so we had an idea for some software, or had some ideas for some software that helped communicate with businesses using your PC. This is pre Messenger and pre WhatsApp all of that. Spencer Clark: So it's kind of when using modems, if anyone remembers those, I'm really sure my age when talking about modend dial ups and yeah, I went to the Princess Trust actually for a bit of funding, a bit of help, and kind of did that start up. So that was inspired by trying to find a solution for an issue that my sister was facing. But then, yeah, the internet really hit us and we had messenger and thankfully, communications with deaf people are far better now. And on almost any cool playing field we've got WhatsApp texts, all of that sort of stuff, and email everything, so it kind of levelled it a bit. Then I set up another business with her and it was deaf awareness training. So we would train healthcare professionals, predominantly. The front of house, health care, how to communicate better with deaf patients. Spencer Clark: Again, driven off of a pretty horrible experience that my sister had. And so, yeah, trying to sell something and making the experience better was really important to us. So that was really good. And through that, funny enough, I met ATS along that route because ATS were looking for some sign language tours. They were the first company to really start to do it on handheld devices. And yeah, that's how I met them, because they found us doing deaf awareness training and signing and asked us for some help. That was the seed. But then at the same time, when I was doing small business consultancy around childcare businesses, really random, but it was the same sort of thing. Spencer Clark: I love working a bit of entrepreneurial spirit in me and I loved helping organisations, smaller businesses, particularly with their cash flows and their marketing ideas, and just general small business help, really. And then I found ATS and that's a whole other story. Kelly Molson: I love that. Yeah, well, great story. I didn't realise that you had a startup and you've been part of all these quite exciting businesses and it's those businesses that kind of led you to ATS. Spencer Clark: Yeah, I had a moment and as many of us do, I suppose I was getting married and I was working in these different jobs and it was quite randomly kind of moved to different things and I was trying to find the focus, what do all these different businesses and these things do? And I was kind of looking at what I enjoyed, what I was good at, and I went through a bit of a career reflection and had someone help me do that. And we're looking, what's the common thing here? And it was creativity, it was working with people. It was definitely small business, not big corporates. And at the time, because I'd already known ATS through doing some of the sign language stuff, they went on my list as, “I need to have a chat with Mike about that one day”. Spencer Clark: He's the founder of ATS. And then yeah, eventually we sat down in the chat and invited me on board to try out. And that was eleven years ago. Kelly Molson: And that was eleven years ago. Tell us about ATS, tell us what they do for our listeners and what's your role there? Spencer Clark: Sure. So I'm now Managing Director ATS. So I've been there in that role for two and a half years now, two or three. Prior to that, I was Business Development and Sales Director, so driving new business. And yes, so ATS, we've expanded out now, but I guess we're a full service. From Creative Content so predominantly known for audio multimedia guides to on site interpretation and storytelling. So our core business is around coming up with brilliant stories, working with our clients to write scripts, and then looking at the creative ways in which we can tell that story to their target audiences. So whether it's families, adults, overseas, we then come up with all these great ideas. And whether it's audio or multimedia, with film or apps, with interactives and games, we try and find all the unique ways of telling that story, of that unique site. Spencer Clark: So we have predominantly in house, fantastic production team, editors, filmmakers, developers, we have interpretation specialists and script writers. So once we've done all the content, we've also got all the technology as well. So part of our business has we manufacture our own hardware, so multimedia guides, audio guides, we have software that runs on all of them. We also do apps and PWAs, and we have a tech support team as well, who are out managing all of our clients. So we have 45,000 devices out in the field at the moment, so there's a lot being used, a lot of experiences being had one of our devices, but they all need battery changes, servicing, all that sort of stuff. So we got a tech team for them as well. So complete end to end from consultation, content, hardware, support.Kelly Molson: Yeah, and great sector to work in. You talked about developing stories. Heritage organisations have the best stories, right? So it is an absolutely perfect fit. I want to talk about the process that you go through and how you make that happen for the heritage sector. What is the biggest pain? So I'm in the marketing team of a heritage organisation and I've got a pain and I know that ATS can probably help me solve it. What is that pain that I bring to you? Spencer Clark: There's a number that we get approached about and I guess the first one, though, is we've got great stories. So, yes, heritage and cultural sites naturally have loads of great stories, so the most prime problem really is them to say, "We want to understand which audience we want to tell our stories to", number one. And then number two, "once we know that, how do we tell the stories in the best memorable, entertaining, educational way?" So really, they're the starting point, really, is helping them understand who their audience is and then going, "Right, how are you telling that story?" I often say with a creative conduit between the site and its heritage and their audiences. And we're the guys in the middle. Spencer Clark: You go, Right, we're going to understand these really well and come up with really great ideas to tell that story to that person in that experience. And that's the prime too. But then it expands out because once you start chatting to them and you go, well, those stories can be told in different ways to different audiences, but also the experiences are very different across sites. So you could have a linear tool, so you kind of know that the story has to make sense stop after stop and it's kind of a narrative thread, whereas other sites are random access, so you're moving around. And so therefore, everything needs to make sense in that situation as well. Kelly Molson: Very interesting, isn't it? I hadn't thought about how the building itself or the area itself can have an influence on how the story is told. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. So we do guides at St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and you're thinking, "Right, big ecclesiastic sites, they must be very similar", but they're not. St Paul's random access. So once you've done the introduction, you can go wherever you like in St Paul's and access that content. The storytelling within that space, however you like. Westminster Abbey is very linear and so you start at point 1 and you have to go through and there's a fixed route to it. They're two very different buildings architecturally, so the challenges with that, for example, is when we're designing the scripts and designing the experiences, saying, "Well, what is the visitor journey here? And where are their pinch points?" I think in one spot in Westminster, we had 10 seconds to tell a story. Spencer Clark: People can't stay more than 10 seconds in that area because it just ends up backing up and then it's awful for everybody else. Whereas St Paul's is very different. You've got a lot more dwell time and a lot more space that you can sit and just listen. So two very different experiences that we design. Kelly Molson: That's really complex, isn't it? So you're not only thinking about how to tell the story in the best way to fit with the venue and the access and how people walk around it, but also from a capacity perspective, people can't stay in this area for longer than 10 seconds. So you've got to get them moving. Spencer Clark: Exactly. Kelly Molson: It blows my mind. Talk me through your methodology then, because I think that's quite interesting. Like, how do you start this process? They've come with the pain. We've got this great story, we're not telling it in the best way that we could. How can you help us? Where do you start? Spencer Clark: It's a good place. What we love is you get face to face and you walk the current experience and you walk through it. And it's great to talk to visitor experience teams, curatorial, front of house, as well as senior stakeholders and having a conversation with all of them to kind of really get a sense of what's the outcome I'm starting with what's wrong or what do you want to better? What do you want this outcome to be? And then we kind of work backwards because we have a lot of experience to share. And so there's things around this routing, wayfinding, dwell time. There's things around operations and logistics of handing out hardware or promoting an app if that's what clients are pushing out to their visitors. But we all got to understand there's lots of different models as well. Spencer Clark: So some sites, for example, you may pay to get in, but then you may pay for an audio or a multimedia guide or an app afterwards. So you're paying for your ticket and then you've got a secondary spend for a guide. I have seen a lot of our sites, especially some of the bigger ones, they have an all inclusive. So you buy your ticket and you get your guide included. But those two models means two different things because on the all inclusive, the majority of your audience are getting that guide. Therefore that story that we're going to create for you is being told to the biggest proportion of your audience, whereas those who buy additional, you know, the take up is going to be lower, therefore that message is not going to get to that many. But you don't need as many devices. Spencer Clark: And so we look at kind of whether they can handle a stop of hundreds or thousands of devices in some cases. Kelly Molson: Oh, you mean like where they're going to put them? Spencer Clark: Exactly. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's all about that. Spencer Clark: These castles and heritage sites didn't really they weren't designed to hold racks or racks of guides, which is why they end up in some funny places, sometimes moat houses and whatever. So we start there, that's kind of walk it through. We want to listen and understand what everybody as a stakeholder, what they're wanting from it, but then we really kind of go, what does the visitor really need and want? What are they paying for? What are their expectations? And how can we have our impact on the visitor experience, which is essentially what it is. We're involved with storytelling content, visitor experience and technology, essentially the delivery method of it. Kelly Molson: What's a good case study, then, that you could share with us? I guess the proof of the pudding is in people being engaged with those stories. So it'll be about the feedback, right, that the organisation gets once people have been through the experience and they get good TripAdvisor recommendations and all that kind of thing. What's a good example that you can share with us of something where you've worked on it and it's made quite a vast difference to that experience?Spencer Clark: I'd like to say every single project. We generally want every client. We're passionate about making a difference. You're investing in time and money and we want to add as much creativity to it, but we want it to be as effective as possible, which is why I really want to understand what clients are wanting to get. If we look at this in a year's time, what do you want to see happen? And if it is better, TripAdvisor does that. I think we're hitting that really well, because not many sites, I'd say you have visitors kind of commenting on the audio or the multimedia guide back in the day. But when you look at a lot of our client sites, they get mentioned in TripAdvisor and how it's made a massive difference. Spencer Clark: So I was chatting with a client today, the guide is eight years old, a multimedia guide. We did a full film production for the introduction film, but then we also put that content into the guide, so it felt like this really the continuity in the storytelling. So once you arrive, you watch the film, you got the characters on the film, but they also feature in your guide. So as you've watched it, you go off and you go to a dinner party and we're just chatting today and they said, eight years on and it's still really good and getting reference to and we've got prospect clients and new clients who go over and check it out and they just love it. Just because we've designed it to last a long time, it shouldn't date because it's often our sector. Spencer Clark: They're not refreshing content like that every couple of years. It needs to last as long as it can and get its money's worth. The output is a great Visitor experience. Hopefully we're inputting on the NPS score, so hopefully people are saying, “yes, the overall, we're one part”. My colleague, Craig, he says it people don't go to a site for the multimedia guide. Right. They're not going, oh, we're here ATS are great, let's definitely go to one of their sites. They don't they go there? And then once they get this wonderful experience with the front of house with a fantastic audio multimedia guide that's been thought about and really designed well. Spencer Clark: And then the retail was great and the food and beverage was good and there was parking and whatever, and it was a sunny day because if it's a rainy day, everyone has a really bad experience. It's raining, which is obviously out of control of many sites. So, yeah, we're one element, but an important one, we feel, that really impacts on ATS and TripAdvisor and feedback and repeat visits. Kelly Molson: Do you get asked that question, actually, about how long this will last? So you said that guide has been around for about eight years now and I'm thinking, "yeah, that's good going, that's good return on investment, right?" We get asked that quite a lot about websites. "How frequently do you need to update your website? How frequently do we need to go through this process from redesign and development?" And I think it really depends on how well it's been done to start with. So we've worked with attractions where we did their website, like six or seven years ago. It still looks great because it was thought out really well, it's planned well, the brand was in place and it's the same, I guess, with your guide, if it's done well from the start, it's going to last longer. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. And to me, that's part of the brief, that's the design process, looking at the brief and the clients and asking those questions, "Well, you're, you can update this" and you kind of know they're not going to update it in a year. So how long was the shelf life of this product? What do you want it to last? And so once you know that at the beginning, you start producing it in a way that you say, well, that might date, you could have contemporary fashion, but that might look a bit dated in five, six, seven years time, whereas if we go animation, you can make things last a lot longer. But then, yeah, realistically you could be looking at how long does this last? Eight years, nine years? Spencer Clark: We've got clients up to ten years now. As long as you write it, you have an awareness that you don't mention potentially people's names who work there because they may move on and maybe even the job title might change. So you got to just be a little bit careful of kind of mentioning that, especially at site's consideration. When you've got 12, 13 languages, you make one change in the English, you've then got to change all that. So again, it's this understanding at the beginning saying, well, the risk of having a celebrity or whoever if you don't want them and they're out of faith or whatever, or they're not available to do any rerecords you got to think about that and say, well, that's going to have a knock on effect, and that will change then eventually. Spencer Clark: So, yeah, there's all these little secrets of the way in which things are, but we're aware of them. And that has a massive impact on the cost down the line. And the quality, of course.Kelly Molson: That's the benefit of the consultancy approach that you take as well, isn't it? Is it, that you are asking those questions up front and you're thinking long term about what's best for the organisation, not what's necessarily best for you? Is it better for me if they update this every three years or every eight years? But what you want is to get them the best experience from it and have the best product possible. So you ask all the right questions to start with. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. And sites are all different. The story at one place might not change, but they might have a different view on it and so or a different angle coming in. Well, there's a different story or theme within that place. So we did know National Trust site, so they had a big conservation project and so we've done the restoration conservation story. They've come back to a couple of years and now we're looking at different stories within them and telling stories very much around female stories at the house as well. So we're bringing that in. And what we can do, we're going to layer it and put in with the content so it will start to really. You have this lovely kind of layering of story and content that people can dip in and out of depending on what they're interested in. Spencer Clark: But that means it is evolving, but you're not recording loads of other stuff, you're just starting to build up on this nice kind of collection of content. But then you got sites such that you know they're going to have temporary exhibitions every year. So Buckingham Palace, we do their permanent tour, but then the exhibition changes every year, so we'll be going in there and rewriting content just for that element of it. So, yeah, most places don't change a lot of their content, but when you do, it's usually just elements of it, or adding languages or adding an access tool or something like that. Kelly Molson: Yeah, and I love that.  But actually what we're trying to do is just make something better. And that doesn't always mean that you have to spend a shitload of money on making something, you know what I mean? You don't have to start from scratch, you can make something really great with what you have. So we've been talking a lot with attractions about just making what they have better. They don't need a new website right now. What you could do is just add these things in and that would make your website 10% better than it is now. Amazing, right? You've saved yourself a lot of budget, but you've still got this brilliant project and that's the same with what you're talking about. It's not a start from scratch, it's just building on and improving what you have. That's a good place. Spencer Clark: It's a good offer to have. I think it is, because sometimes you just want a little refresh and actually just slightly dated or that's not the language or the tone we use completely. So we just want to change this intro and often the introduction is the beginning of the experience. So if you can tweak and change that can actually set the tone for the rest of it anyway. We often go and say, "Well, what have you gotten? What improvements can you make on a minimal budget?" And that's the honest conversation you have early on and you're going, "What do you want to happen realistically? What are your budgets, what's your time scales?" And then we'll come back to you with something that's tailored to you and see what we can do. Spencer Clark: And often a review of the current experience and will be constructive and we think you could just improve these bits at the moment. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I love that approach. And also, do you have a moathouse that you can keep all these devices in? And while we're on the topic of that, let's talk about something that you mentioned earlier, which is this app versus devices debate. So you mentioned, and it hadn't even occurred to me. Do people have the storage space for all of these devices? Are they going to be able to put them somewhere? And I bet you get asked us all the time, isn't it going to better if we have an app because people have got that phone in their back pocket all the time and so then you don't necessarily need as many of the devices as you might need. There's quite a big debate around this at the moment, isn't there? What's your take on it? Spencer Clark: Well, of course I've got my opinion on this one, Kelly. But you know, these questions when I joined the ATS, so I joined eleven years ago and I started going to the conferences and the shows and the exhibitions and you know, apps were around and it was the, "Oh yeah, they're going to be the death of the audio guide". So there's me, joined a company thinking, "Oh okay, I wonder how long I'll be around for". But what history has shown me is that what drives a really good product and a good solution, whether it's an app or a device, is really understanding those outcomes and visitor behaviours and COVID was obviously a point in time where people weren't touching things.Spencer Clark: And it was a concern at the time like, “okay, I wonder how long is this going to play out?”. But what we found is humans fall back into an ease of life and convenience and quality, I think is kind of where people say, "Oh, no, they won't use devices anymore and they won't use touch screens". And I remember chatting with Dave Patton from Science Museum and he said, “Yeah, in COVID, we turned all the touchscreens off”. Everyone kept going up to them and touching them because they thought they were off to turn them on, so they turned them off so that people wouldn't use them. And actually what they're doing was touching that device more. Do you remember the days people were wiping down all the trolleys? I'm quite an optimist, so I was sitting at the time. Spencer Clark: Once we passed this and through it, I feel we will kind of fall back into, you're not going to take your own cutlery to a restaurant a year, so that hasn't happened. And QR codes are less and less visible on those restaurants. Yeah. What it really is about for us is, and I touched upon it, there's a few things around why ultimately you can do everything. Our multimedia guides and audio guys can do pretty much one of these, but for a number of reasons, visitors aren't necessarily going straight over to these and dropping the hardware. If I rock up with my kids, got two kids, they don't have phones, so they're not going to download an app when they get there. My phone is my car key, it's my travel, it's my wallet, it's everything, so I'm using it all day. Spencer Clark: And there's obviously battery concerns there as well, so you kind of start getting kind of battery anxiety of that where you carry around a charger. But there is something and the more and more we work with clients and we compare, we put apps in places as well as multimedia guides or audio guides, and we look at the take up and we look at the behaviour of visitors. And even more recently, we're doing a site. At the moment, it's got temporary exhibition for six months. I'll be able to say a bit more about it once we've done the end of the review, but essentially we've had kind of AB testing and looking at how the take up is for guides versus apps and we're positively seeing big demand for devices for a number of reasons with the audience time who were there. There's the quality. Spencer Clark: As far as I've paid my ticket, especially on the all inclusive, I get my guide and it's really well designed and this is part of the experience designed for it. I'm not worrying about battery and the headphones are in there. I haven't got people walking around with audio blaring out because they've gotten their headphones, which is really annoying to all the other visitors that I've been to a few museums and seen that and heard that it's not a great experience. There's definitely a quality thing there about it's part of, this is part of. Kelly Molson: Do you think it's part of, it's escapism as well? So, like, for me, I'm terrible if we're out and about, if me, my little girl and my husband are out for the day, my phone is in my bag the whole time and I forget to take pictures. I forget to tell social media that I've been to a place, "Oh, God, what I've got for lunch”, because I'm too busy doing it. And I think with the kind of headsets thing, there's an element of escapism there, isn't there, where you don't have to have your phone. I like not having to be on my phone. I like that for the whole day. I've had such a great day, they haven't even thought about looking at my phone. So I don't know whether there's an element there. Kelly Molson: We're so tied to our phones all the day, all day, aren't we?  For work and things.  I'm just going to put these headphones on. I'm going to escape into a different world where I don't need to think about it. Spencer Clark: Yeah, don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for apps and there's a use for them, which is why we've developed a platform that makes apps as well. But the devices over this recent exhibition, I'm just learning more from visitors and the staff who are there, and they're saying, "Yeah, you take your phone and you might have the tour going, but I don't turn my notifications off, so I'll still get interrupted by things". And you're right, I want to be in this experience. And my attention, I'm hoping, is mostly on what's there and the stories that are being told to me. So, yeah, there's a lot around there. There's also perceived value. Spencer Clark: I did a talk at Historic houses pre covered, but I had like 160 people in the Alexandra Palace and I asked them all, "how many of you just have downloaded an app in the last twelve months?" A few hands put up and then said, "Okay, how many of you paid for an app out of those?" and all the hands went down. There's this thing about, would you spend £5 on an app? Probably not a lot of people would. It's got to be really well promoted and maybe in the right circumstances, the right place, the right exhibition, you'd get someone doing that, but people will pay and you see it. They will pay £5 for a device that's being designed and put in there as part of the official experience of this site. Spencer Clark: So you've got to look at the take up and the reach that an app will bring over a device as well. So there is perceived value. See if you can charge for it great or if it's in ticket price, it just makes the whole value of the experience even better. I'm not sure what's your experience when was the last time you paid for an app, Kelly? Kelly Molson: Bigger question, as you asked it, I was thinking, and I can't remember. There must be something that I've paid a minimum value for, like it was like, I don't know, £0.69p or £1.29 or something like that, but I couldn't tell you what it was or when I downloaded it. Kelly Molson: I mostly have car parking apps on my phone. Honestly, I think at one point I counted I had seven different car parking apps on my phone because all of the car parks obviously stopped taking cash. I'm terrible with cash, I never have any of that. A lot of them. But they're all free.Spencer Clark: There's definitely something there around perceived value and what it means to the experience, I think. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's really interesting, actually. Spencer Clark: The debate will continue for years, though, Kelly. The debate will carry on.  And if that's about telling a great story to as many people as possible. Right now, in our view and our data that shows across all these sites is devices that are doing a better job than apps at the moment. But there's still a choice. Some people will have them. And I think it's going to be a blend. It's going to be a blend, but overwhelmingly the device is more. Kelly Molson: But it's interesting because you mentioned and one of my questions is, how is ATS evolving? Because I guess that you didn't always have apps as an option for people. So that's probably one of the ways that you've evolved over the years, right? Spencer Clark: Yeah. So we started doing audio guides. That was the initial and then again, Mike, the founder, was really spotted multimedia as an opportunity, screen devices as we started coming through. Not everyone had smartphones at that point. And so to provide a screen device, it was great for putting additional content and film content and also accessibility, sign language videos and things like that, which is how I got into ATS, sign language videos. So putting them on a screen and you look at how much audio visual content we now all consume on a small handheld device, he definitely saw something. And that's where ATS kind of drove that element. A lot of our work was multimedia guides over audio guides. Spencer Clark: And it was about not just playing audio with an image on the screen, because that's not adding much for the sake of this device, you need to add a lot more to it. And that's where we grew our in house production team. So all the editors coming up with really good ideas and animations and videos or interface designs, all that sort of stuff, and interactives and games and things like that, you could be really just opened up a whole world of opportunity, really. Yeah. So we started pushing that. But again, part of that design process was, and going back to the kind of we only had 10 seconds to tell this story or whatever, it's the same with these devices, and when we're creating content, visual content, it's got to warrant the visitor's attention. Spencer Clark: If you've got an amazing masterpiece in front of you, then of course you don't want to be head down in the screen, you want to be looking at it. But what could that screen do, if anything? We may decide not to even put anything on there, just go audio. But there could be something there that you want to, a curator might be interviewed and show you certain details on the painting and you could point them out on the screen. That then allows you to look and engage with the art in front of you. But, yeah, we drove that kind of way of delivering interpretation on site through multimedia guys, but we do a lot of audio as well. Spencer Clark: I'm just plain, straight, simple audio, I say simple, but lovely sound effects, really nice produced, choosing the right voices, really good script, sound effects, that sort of stuff. So, yeah, it's quite a pure way, I guess you would say, with audio owned.Kelly Molson: Nice, you mentioned the word warrant back there. Which brings me to my next question, which I think is fascinating, because there aren't many organisations that are ever going to achieve this, but ATS has a Royal Warrant now. Spencer Clark: Yeah, yeah, we got it in March 22. Kelly Molson: Absolutely phenomenal. Tell us a little bit about that. Spencer Clark: Yeah, so we've worked with Royal Household for quite, well, a couple of sites for over 15 years. We provide audio multimedia guides across pretty much all of the raw sites now, which is a wonderful achievement, we're really proud of it. And, yeah, we applied for a Royal Warrant. They're awarded to about 800 businesses in the UK and they range from one person, sole trader, craftsman, craft people through, to multinationals and SMEs and everybody in between. And it's a mark of quality and excellence in delivery of service and sustainable as well over a long period of time. We applied for it and were awarded it in March. It was a really lovely accolade for us as a business and it was a great moment to get so we've got a hold of that now. Kelly Molson: That must have been lovely. So, again, at the start of the episode, you mentioned that you'd moved into the MD role, and that was a couple of years ago. Right. So you've been an MD through COVID times, which must have been a challenge for you. As a founder of an organisation myself, I know that was a big challenge, having to learn how to do things in a completely different way. That must have been a really lovely kind of success story of those times. Spencer Clark: Definitely. We have got such an amazing team and one that people stay with us, our team stay with us for a long period of time and it was also a point where I was taking over and the founder, Mike, was properly retiring. So for him, it was really great to get for him. And we had one made up for him as well, a plat, so you can have his own he's got his own rule warrant, but yeah, for the rest of the team, it is a recognition. What's really important for me is that everybody in the team is responsible for the quality of service that we deliver from picking up the phone and working on projects, the development team, the service team, the teams that go on site. Spencer Clark: We've got staff as well, so we staff at St Paul's Cathedral and Bucks Palace and Windsor Castle, so we got members team handing out guides and operations there. And it's everyone's responsibility in our business to offer a great service in everything we do. And it definitely was yeah, it was a really great recognition that we could share with the team. Kelly Molson: Amazing. Right, what is next for ATS? What exciting developments are they're coming up that you can share with us? Anything on the horizon? Spencer Clark: Yeah, I guess this year feels like many, and I've been speaking to, you know, it's nice to get back into conferences and exhibitions and stuff where you kind of chatting to the sector, but this feels a little bit more normal as a year. I think last year was still a kind of bounce back out of COVID but this year seems to be mor. There's tenders coming through. People are now doing new projects, so that's good to see. So there's an appetite. I think what it's really shown is there's an appetite in the sector to really improve the quality of visitor experiences. I think that's what's really that I'm seeing and something that we're well positioned to support clients in is that quality of a visitor experience. On the back of that, we're looking at always continuing to look at different ways in which to tell stories and the way in which we can engage with the visitor, which doesn't always mean the latest tech. Spencer Clark: We've looked at AR and things like that and we've tried it, but what you got to be careful, what you got to understand is, instead of when you've got visitors from 8 to 85 year olds, your solution has to be accessible to everybody. And as soon as you might put in something that might if the technology doesn't quite work in that environment because it's too dark or too light or whatever, or the tech just isn't there to do it, then it suddenly breaks the magic of that experience. Spencer Clark: And so you look at different ways of being innovative and that can just be through a really different approach to the script writing, or putting a binaural 3D soundscape instead, or having a really good interactive that just brings the family in to answer questions or something like that. We will always continue to innovate, but it's not necessarily about technology. But we love tech. But you've got to think about the practical implications of tech in the projects. And that goes back to earlier I said about sustainability in the budget and some organisations just don't have the appetite or the budget to invest in some of this tech, even though they see it and they say, “we want that”. Okay, “this is how much it's cost. And it's brand new”, so you'd be developing from scratch or whatever. Spencer Clark: And it's not always palatable with the budget holders. So, yes, you got to think about operationally sustainable. What's the best solution that reaches your outcomes, essentially? So, yeah, where else are we heading? Great content. We've got new products coming through, new devices, that sort of stuff, which has kind of been, like I said, our core business. But we're also doing a lot more online, so digital exhibitions, things like that. So we're taking our onsite storytelling experience and moving online. So we've done some virtual tours, but not just 360s where you've got hotspots. We add the ATS magic to it. What else can we add into those kind of online experiences? It's a different experience, but we can definitely add some lovely creativity to the storytelling on that. So we did that with a number of clients, including Glenn Palace. Spencer Clark: We did the Churchill exhibition, which was a full three day film shoot over COVID, which was a huge challenge. But yeah, there was a high risk factor there when your main star is a Churchill lookalike and if he got COVID, the whole shoot pretty much cancelled, but we managed to get through that, so that was good. So, yeah, more of that sort of stuff. So, looking at the online space, we're getting into 3D digitisation of collections, so we've got a partnership going on where we can photogram using photogrammetry to create 3D models. And then what we're saying is we add the ATS magic to that, where you got that model. Let's put it in context, let's tell that story around that actual object. Spencer Clark: It's a 3D model, so, yeah, we're playing around with areas on that and some other things that I'm sure I'll share in the future. We're not standing still. That's for sure.Kelly Molson: No. And I'm sure I'll hear about it at whatever conferences that we're at together at some point, Spencer. We always ask our guests about a book that they love that they would like to share with our listeners. What have you prepped for us today? Spencer Clark: I'm in the car a lot, so I do a lot of audio books, if anything. I don't know if it's an excuse, but I just don't find time to sit and actually read. Busy family life, busy work life, all that sort of stuff. So a lot of audiobooks. But also, I love business books, whatever you can learn from kind of business and marketing. And obviously I had that role previous to ATS, I was kind of supporting small businesses and stuff. So there's one I had, I attended a session by a marketeer called Bryony Thomas and she's got a book called Watertight Marketing. Her session was brilliant, it was really practical, it's really scalable. So it could be for a one person company, sole trader, up to an organisation that has multiple products online, wherever. Spencer Clark: It was just a really good book that just gives you clarity and thinking. And there's this takeaway straight away from it and a really good approach to kind of reviewing your marketing and how well it's working, and then just picking those things that are going to work quickest to find out where the weaknesses are, the leaks, essentially, she calls them. So, yeah, I'd really recommend it. I'm hoping quite a lot of your listeners are interested in marketing. We're all looking at trying to get visitors back in and what our service and products are. So I'd recommend Watertight Marketing by Bryony Thomas. Kelly Molson: Oh, I think that's a great recommendation. I've read that book, I've met Bryony once a very long time ago and it's so simple, it's ridiculous, isn't it? And you think, "how is this the first book that's talked about marketing in this way?" That's what blew my mind when I read it and it is, it's just about plugging the gaps, filling the holes in your bucket. It's absolutely brilliant concept, great book. Thank you for sharing. Right, listen, if you want to win a copy of that book, and I would recommend that you do, if you head over to our Twitter account and you retweet this episode announcement with the words I want Spencer's book, then you might be lucky enough to win yourself a copy. Thankfully, it was only just one book today. Everyone else tries to kill my marketing budget and goes with two. Kelly Molson: So well done you, Spencer. Thank you ever so much for joining us on the podcast today. It's lovely that you came on, I'm really pleased that you did. Lots to think about there and loads of tips for our listeners if they're thinking about enhancing their stories. So thank you. Spencer Clark: It's been a pleasure. Thanks, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

In 1996, the Belfast DJ and producer David Holmes travelled to New York to make a record. While hanging out in the Lower East Side and Alphabet City, Holmes and some pals, armed with a DAT recorder, dropped some acid and wandered around the city recording people for his upcoming LP.A year later, that album, a classic record - 1997's Let's Get Killed was released, which imbued a cinematic world-building dance record with audio of the characters Holmes met on the New York streets with samples of 7" records gifted to him by Terri Hooley, of Good Vibrations record shop in his hometown in Northern Ireland.Holmes would go on to make the cinematic sing as a composer for soundtracks for Steven Soderbergh that includes Out of Sight, the Ocean's Trilogy of films, alongside soundtracks for TV shows The Fall and Killing Eve. Holmes has never stopped DJing or creating, whether it's the four albums he's made with Unloved or producing a Noel Gallagher album.This podcast is the story of how Let's Get Killed bridges New York and Belfast in David Holmes' own words, in conversation with Nialler9, along with some chat about the art and organisation of DJing and news of an upcoming dance-focused David Holmes album.This conversation takes place ahead of the INY x Guinness Storehouse event on Sunday March 19th where David Holmes will be doing a public conversation with John Kelly about the record, and DJing alongside his old pal Billy Scurry.We've some tickets to the sold out event on Insta.Listen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS Feed* Support Nialler9 on Patreon and join our Discord communityShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify PlaylistSubscribe to the podcast and please leave a review on iTunes, tell your friends or commit to supporting us directly. Support us on Patreon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1.00" A shout out for AdvanceCT, Connecticut's version of Enterprise Ireland, where we'll be directing the Fantastic Five companies featured on Episode 103, helping them on their commercial journey through the USA. 3.30" Nicola Kearns, founder of Niks Tea, tells us about her journey from happy flight attendant to delighted tea entrepreneur, growing her ten-year old 'Irish' tea brand from a one person band to employing four and growing. She wants to sell more to more specialists shops, restaurants, hotels...and Kilkenny Design (which stocks only Irish made products - hat tip!). Typical of the true entrepreneur she already had done a lot of pirouettes on the day of the recording...as you do. But where did the idea of a tea business come from. It has something to do with tying up some legal bits and bobs in Spain.She explains how one setting up in the tea business does it...including 'faking it until you make it'. Her first order was valued at around €1,500 and she had sleepless nights wondering if it all was going to work. She gets great support from the Dublin Food Chain and she's about to join the 'Love Irish Food' Group. But who do Barry's Tea think about Nik's Tea?? To grow the business she bought a tea bagging machine, one of the few bagging in Ireland. She raised some loans via a company called Swoop. She has worked with the Aldi 'Grow with Aldi' programme thanks to that bagging machine. Who would she 'hire in a heartbeat'? Paddy McKillen Junior. 29.30" How do sneaky retailers get us to buy more? Well, who better to ask then Mark FitzPatrick, founder of Q-Fitz, who you could say, queues for a living. There's a huge amount of science behind making us spend a couple of Euros more, while we pay for our original purchase. His family used to own the Shopping Basket chain of retail stores. Mark swore he'd never work in retail. And, guess what, he works in retail. And loves it. He gives a surprise reason for why people buy chewing gum and gives a few insights into what he does and how and why it works. Clients they have include Circle K and they've just signed with Applegreen. DAA is another key client, along with the Aviva Stadium and the Guinness Storehouse. Because the company knows so much about queuing they have a separate division that sells queuing posts (the posts with retractable belts that we have to go around whilst queuing).The Big Plan, is to break into the UK, maybe via Applegreen. And maybe North America, where Circle K has 14,000 outlets. His 'hire in a hearbeat'? He'd hire his wife, Aga FitzPatrick. Find out why. 55.00" Branding. TeamGBS recommends the cheap and cheerful route to branding. That route involves two cheap bottles of wine, some friends and a room with a locked door. The door is only unlocked when there's unanimous agreement on a brand name. However, Gerard Tannam of Islandbridge, takes a considerably more scientific approach to his passion project, aka his work, which is branding. Gerrard spent ten years in Hong Kong as an Inspector of Police. He also won a School's Cup soccer medal and he explains that he put that up on LinkedIn to match those who post the same about their schools' rugby achievement. Niall Quinn was part of his team at Drimnagh Castle. He gives a list of 'do's and don'ts' - and he starts by asking 'what does a GREAT customer' for your business look like?He says that Ryanair is a great brand (he doesn't like them by the way!). He thinks the banks in Ireland are very poor indeed. And if you work for Arramark owned Avoca, you'd better listen good because our expert says your brand is bad.His 'hire in a heartbeat'. He gives a great answer. Hire a Ukrainian. Gerard explains why. All these great insights are thanks to our sponsor, De Facto Shaving Oil. www.DeFactoShave.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guinness – Synonymous with Ireland and a must try when on the island - but what makes it so special? How is it made and what is the story behind it the famous beer?Today we are joined by Colm O'Connor, Beer Specialist at the Guinness Storehouse to talk about what makes Guinness so special as well as what you can expect when visiting the Home of Guinness in the heart of Dublin.For more information on the tours on offer visit: guinness-storehouse.com

Dublin ist überraschend natürlich - und zeitlos. In dieser Folge zeigen wir die bekannten und weniger bekannten Schönheiten der irischen Hauptstadt.  Wir erkunden die Pubs, das Trinity College mit dem Book of Kells, das Guinness Storehouse und die St. Patrick's Cathedral. Und wie die gesamte Insel bietet auch Dublin viele grüne Oasen zum Durchatmen und Entspannen.https://www.ireland.com/de-de/destinations/experiences/dublin/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/culture/lonely-planet-dublin-2022/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/culture/dublins-top-nine-attractions/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/plan-your-trip/trip-ideas/dublin-in-72-hours/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/culture/dublin-quarters/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/walking/dublin-county-walks/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/food-and-drink/dublin-food-and-drink/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/literature/dublin-city-9-literary-attractions/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/adventure-activities/discover-adventure-in-dublin/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/built-heritage/dublin-coastal-villages/ https://www.visitdublin.com/dublin-coastal-trailhttp://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/bridges/hapenny-bridgehttp://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/bridges/oconnell-bridgehttp://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/https://www.tcd.ie/https://www.visitdublin.com/see-do/details/the-book-of-kellshttps://www.graftonstreet.ie/https://ststephensgreenpark.ie/https://stephensgreen.com/http://merrionsquare.ie/https://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/https://www.dublincastle.ie/https://dublin.ie/live/things-to-do/nightlife/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/food-and-drink/dublin-food-and-drink/https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/https://www.irishwhiskeymuseum.ie/https://www.visitdublin.com/see-do/details/the-long-hallhttps://stagshead.ie/http://theswanbar.com/https://www.thepalacebardublin.com/https://www.brazenhead.com/https://www.odonoghues.ie/bar.htmhttps://dublin.ie/live/things-to-do/museums/https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Archaeologyhttps://www.visitdublin.com/dublin-dart-adventureshttps://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/built-heritage/dublin-coastal-villages/http://www.talkingstatuesdublin.ie/statues/molly-malone/ 

"This is my Poppins". It's safe to say that Jordan was a tiny bit excited about the prospect of heading to "The Guinness Tourhouse Store" during a weekend in Ireland that kicked off the Lads On Tour stag do shows. But when William is added to the mix, will it be everything Jordan expected and more? Or will three pints of Guinness prove too much for the boys to handle? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're in Dublin, Ireland, with my new friend Dr Jennifer of SidewalkSafari.com. Dr J and I talk about TradFest Ireland's largest traditional & folk music festival, visiting the Guinness Storehouse, and seeing the 1,000-year-old Book of Kells. Show notes are at https://WeTravelThere.com/dublin Miles and points make travel affordable, but tracking them is difficult. That's why I use AwardWallet to monitor my rewards, reservations, and free night certificates. Sign up for free at WeTravelThere.com/awardwallet.

We celebrated the first day of Lunar New Year, on February 1st, in a very special way this year by recording this mini-episode of Spice Bags in the Guinness Storehouse! We are delighted to have been invited to record in the Guinness Storehouse as part of their celebrations for the Dublin Lunar New Year Festival. Guinness has exported its dark, iconic brew to East Asia starting from the early 19th century, and so we were honoured to be in their beautiful Connoisseur bar discussing New Year holiday food, traditions, and, of course, Guinness.  Joining us is executive chef of the Guinness Storehouse, John Bueno, whose Lunar New Year dish in 1837 restaurant of Black Pepper and Guinness Short Rib of Beef is in collaboration with Terry Yang of Stoneybatter's Hakkahan. What Asian foods pair well with Guinness? What's his craziest Guinness food venture? Bueno is from the Philippines, home of the world's oldest Chinatown, so he also shares some Filipino Lunar New Year memories.  Next, Taiwan-born Yvonne Kennedy and Korean-born Carol Cherico give us a tantalizing glimpse into their traditions and how they celebrate the New Year in Ireland. Moreover, Yvonne and Carol have lived in a number of places (including California, Connecticut, Beijing, Seoul) so their memories and knowledge offer a broad scope.  Tune in to hear about red versus white envelopes, Filipino mooncakes, hot pot, rice cakes, and yes, most importantly, Lunar New Year drinking etiquette!    A big thank you to the Guinness Storehouse for including us in their Lunar New Year celebrations.  LINKS For more about Lunar New Year at Guinness Storehouse For more about the Dublin Lunar New Year Festival Hakkahan Dublin

You can't get much more touristy than the Guinness Storehouse, so is it worth the hype? James and Chelsea are off to find out with a Guinness - or three - in hand.Follow @tipsytourism on Instagram and Twitter for all the photos of videos of their day out, and for more info visit tipsytourism.com Get early access, ad free episodes and behind the scenes content See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We were live from the Guinness Storehouse and across all OTB Sports social channels to celebrate the return of International Rugby in association with @Guinness Ireland! We're bringing you pre and post-match analysis from Ireland v USA. #GuinnessTime. Drink responsibly, visit drinkaware.ie

We are live from the Guinness Storehouse and across all OTB Sports social channels to celebrate the return of International Rugby in association with @Guinness Ireland! We're bringing you pre and post- analysis from Ireland v Japan. #GuinnessTime. Drink responsibly, visit drinkaware.ie

Episode Three, that's us now! This week Matt discusses one of his favourite, if not one of the smaller sized pubs of Dublin, with a fun tale to tell on how The Confession Box got its name. Want to know the best way to pour a can of Guinness over lockdown? We've got you covered - Owen reveals all about his short but educational employment in the Guinness Storehouse and the famous Gravity Bar, and all the hot tips and tricks he picked up along the way!

Many well known buildings across Ireland were designed by our next guest, his grandfather and great grandfather. David Browne, is the former president of the RIAI and managing director of RKD. a firm which employs over 150 people and is famous for landmarks like the Guinness Storehouse.

A reviewer suggested that we mentioned John Cage in this podcast as a "cheap marketing ploy." That made use think about taste: highbrow, lowbrow, and unibrow. We reflect on whether we are really the "Renaissance men of music." Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon. We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Support The Next Track (https://www.patreon.com/thenexttrack). Show notes: John Cage Trust (https://johncage.org) Episode #186 - Harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (https://www.thenexttrack.com/189) Episode #7 – Music and Genres (https://www.thenexttrack.com/8) Brotherhood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_(American_TV_series)) The Murder Capital live from the Guinness Storehouse (https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/0629/1150272-other-voices-courage-watch-lankum-in-concert/) Episode #187 - Live Performances during Covid-19, and After (https://www.thenexttrack.com/190) - Springsteen on Broadway (https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80232329) Our next tracks: John Cage, Witold Lutosławski - LaSalle-Quartett, String Quartets (https://www.discogs.com/John-Cage-Witold-Lutosławski-LaSalle-Quartett-Streichquartette-String-Quartets/release/1184912) Jack Bruce: Harmony Row (https://amzn.to/2Dlo7qF) If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Stevie G. and Cameron land in Dublin, where they are quickly greeted with a neat guinness experience, and later find themselves in Europe's largest public park. After a day in Dublin, they head Southwest, finding neat bits of Irish history and some wonderful food in the town of KinsaleSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/dbetravel)

Dia dhuit, which in Irish means HELLO! This is a unique episode as you can see from the .5 in the 33.5 title. Alex has left us for Ireland this week, but before he parted, we recorded a quick mini episode celebrating the Irish Beer Culture, and enjoying the ever famous, Guinness Draught. Guinness is a 4.2% Irish Dry Stout with a rich creamy texture and a velvety aftertaste. This iconic beer is defined by harmony, which is represented by the harp on the front of the pint glass and bottle. We quickly dive into a little history on the Guinness Storehouse located in Dublin Ireland, we then learn how to perform the OFFICIAL Guinness pour, and we finish by giving you all some Beer Facts Fun: Irish Style. Enjoy this mini sit down with Friends Drink Beer! To find out more about the 258 year old brewery, visit: guinness.com Have a question for Ryan & Alex? Submit it today at friendsdrinkbeer.com, and we will answer it on the next episode! Lastly if you like the show, donate to our Patreon and show your support: patreon.com/friendsdrinkbeer CREDITS Alex Hobbs - Executive Producer Ryan Roope - Executive Producer Jared Brody - Writer

Infamous DJ Annie Mac took a call from Jenny ahead of her gig at the Guinness Storehouse this Saturday for St. Patricks Festival. She talked about the success of her AMP events, female DJ's and her upcoming book release.

Lexi went on a three-week study abroad trip with her Creative Writing class to Dublin, Galway, and the Aran Islands. She enjoyed visiting the James Joyce Tower, the Guinness Storehouse, and took the Game of Thrones Tour. As a proud introvert, Lexi shares about her likes and dislikes of travel.Wish You Were HereGuest: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MACheryl & Ryan: Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco, CAFollow us on Twitter & Instagram: @tmwypodcastLeave us a voicemail (or text message): (406)763-8699Email: tmwypodcast@gmail.com

The Royal Visit to the Guinness Storehouse. There's a sentence Suzanne and PJ can get into. But somehow it moves quickly to funerals, and that's the real conversation! So much better than weddings - can you guess who's opinion that is? PJ is living in Coronavirus ground zero, so, yeah they get into a good old chinwag on that fast approaching bundle of fun. Back to the royals, English crisps, pubs and tea - all this leads up to Suzanne crying in an airport. There's fancy whiskey, which is good for beating the virus. One of the pair of them is mad into Love Is Blind, and one of them is mad into Formula 1, but can you guess which is which? Look lads, it's Dubland, just dive in and enjoy it, yeah?

Howdy folks! This episode is another attempt at getting in a show while Anthony is on the mend. This was recorded in my car on our way to and from the Guinness Storehouse in Baltimore. The audio is not the greatest since you have the car noise and a couple of interruptions from the bumps in the road but it's that or no show. No worries. Recording in my car will not be the long term plan. Enjoy! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-daly5/message

Young Yoda, Light Saber Guillotine, New Flight Simulator and Guinness Storehouse

Young Yoda, Light Saber Guillotine, New Flight Simulator and Guinness Storehouse

Part 2 of our Ireland Journal covers the city of Dublin. We visited the Temple Bar District, Kilmainham Gaol, the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, the Charles Beaty Library, Trinity College, the Book of Kells, and the National Museum of History and Achaeology amongst other sites. I cover the highlights of the trip, things we could have skipped, and what we regret missing.

Alex & Tommy are joined by their respective WOMEN, Tara and Claire, to talk about their trips to Las Vegas and Norway. Tommy & Claire visited Oslo, Bergen, and Aurland to get naked with Scandinavians and Doolin & Dublin in Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher and drunkenly eat oysters at the Guinness Storehouse. Alex and Tara took their sons, James & John, to Sin City where they gambled, ate, and drank gluttonously with friends Rimjob & Pico. Also discussed: How to pronounce shogun and croupier, Claire's new internship, frustrating nuances in the English lexicon, and Alex's hatred for the phrase, "It's a dry heat." Shut up. Email us: craftheadspodcast@gmail.com Support us: patreon.com/CraftHeadsPodcast

We are taking you to Ireland. Our expert Trina Vargo has an Undercover Jetsetter tour.Trina is the founder and president of the US-Ireland Alliance. www.us-irelandalliance.org She is the author of a new book called Shenanigans The US-Ireland Relationship in Uncertain Times. And she has spent years visiting Ireland.We talked about the tournament she held at the K-Club outside Dublin. Those were Ryder Cup format tournaments where we had 12 Americans playing against 12 Irish. The last one we held was just before the economy crashed around 2008. As the economy is coming back, if we find sufficient interest from sponsors, we would look to bring them back – people really enjoyed them. Those tourneys led to a lot of craic.Any chance The Open will be held in Ireland?Other courses we discuss: Old Head; links courses like Lahinch and Waterville; the buzz now is the golf course at Adare Manor, which is outside of Limerick which owner JP McManus has put a lot of money into the course and it will host the 2026 Ryder Cup.What is best time of year to visit Ireland?Where to stay in Dublin? Westbury Hotel in the center of Dublin.; walk nearly everywhere you want to go, they have two restaurants in house, a great bar and afternoon tea … it’s an easy place for people to meet me there. And they have great concierges who have been there forever and really know the city. It’s just become a home away from home.First-timers to Dublin should see: Guinness Storehouse, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, and Kilmainham Jail to get your head around Irish history in about two hours. Writers Museum at Parnell Square, Hugh Lane Gallery, and art gallery, which has Francis Bacon’s studio, home of James Joyce is also nearby. For many years there has been an exhibition of the poet W.B. Yeats at the National Library of Ireland which is also worth checking out, EPIC Museum. It is a museum about Irish Emigration and it’s interactive, very well done, a great spot for the whole family, see plays at The Abbey and The Gate theaters.Where to eat? Dunne and Crescenzi which is an Italian place with great coffee excellent food and good prices. For authentic Irish cuisine, you could try the Winding Stair. And there is a new great Asian place called Pickle. Bewley’s Café on Grafton Street is an institution and it was closed for years but when it reopened, they really retained what was special about it. There is no shortage of good restaurants in Ireland. The Irish cuisine is excellent … a foodie culture has definitely developed. Immigrants from around the world have brought their traditions and dishes to Ireland and that’s made it all the better. Gone are the days of only fish and chips. Go to Burdock’s if you want good fish and chips.How about hiking?About 40 minutes outside of town you can do a cliff walk from Bray to Greystones, which is lovely on a nice day. It’s not strenuous, it’s pretty flat. And the gardens at the Powerscourt estate are nearby and a nice place to find a quiet spot, as well as grab a bite.Star Wars shot there. off the beaten path: Lough Hyne. Lough is the Irish word for lake and this lake is not far from the town of Skibbereen. You can do a night kayak trip there from about 9 p.m. ‘til midnight. It’s magical. The lake is bioluminescent. incredible meal at O’Connors Seafood Restaurant in Bantry in West Cork. The Chef there, Anne Marie Butler, is one of Ireland's finest.Benedictine monks at Glenstal Abbey, the former Abbot, Mark Patrick Hederman, attend vespers and often get to enjoy

Ian talks about going to Ireland! The Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, Mummies, and GAME OF THRONES!

Kim and Tamara are back from 10 days in Ireland and giving listeners the 411 on their trip. Tune in to hear about their adventures in Dublin, County Wicklow, Waterford, Kilkenny, Belfast, Derry, and the Coastal Causeway. Plus, Game of Thrones fans will love to hear about some of the filming destinations and experiences in Northern Ireland. ON THE PODCAST 00:30 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about adjusting from jet lag 03:07 - Driving in Ireland 07:10 - Guinness Storehouse tour in Dublin 11:36 - Dublin attractions 19:38 - County Wicklown in Ireland's Ancient East 25:50 - Wexford 28:04 - Waterford 34:50 - Kilkenny 40:40 - Waterford Greenway 47:00 - Game Of Thrones boat trip 58:20 - Belfast 1:10:10 - Causeway Coast 1:16:28 - Giants Causeway 1:19:50 - Derry 1:27:30 - Final Tips TIPS FOR VISITING IRELAND Ideally when visiting Ireland you would self-drive or hire a driver so that you can stop where you want and take your time exploring areas. The roads can be a little challenging and narrow, especially if you aren't used to driving on the left. You could definitely rent a car and drive around to explore more than the area you fly into. But when renting a car for your family you must keep in mind that the bigger the car the harder it will be in some areas to get around. Touring the Guinness Storehouse is a lot more than just seeing the beer being made. There are four restaurants and two bars. They will teach you the correct way to pour a Guinness and there is also a spot where you can get a picture of you on the head of your beer. Dublin is a young city in terms of population and a very walkable city to explore. The Ancient East area of Ireland is not far from Dublin and there is a lot of history in the area. Glendalough is an area with monastic ruins and two lakes that is very popular with visitors. There is a famine ship in Wexford and in Dublin. You really learn a lot by visiting just one of these ships but if you have a chance to tour both, you can see the differences and compare the stories and conditions. Waterford is Ireland's oldest city dating back to the vikings. There is much more to Waterford than the crystal. Though if you visit the Waterford Crystal there is a style that is only made for Ireland, so if you are going to buy a piece of crystal you should get that as it will be unique. Jerpoint park in Kilkenny has some great places to explore. There is an apple orchard that makes different products out of their apples. There is also a glass blowing studio that you can visit. Waterford Greenway is a really pretty biking trail, and if you continue you can explore Mount Congreve Gardens which is a very beautiful garden that has a lot of different walking paths. North of Dublin in the Boyne Valley, you can take a Game of Thrones boat tour with Boyne Boats. Game of Thrones fans should also visit Castle Ward for the Winterfell Experiences. You get to visit the area that is the backdrop for Winterfell in the beginning seasons of the show. You can dress up in the costumes and try out archery and axe throwing and maybe even meet a dire wolf. Downtown Belfast is very safe and walkable, with restaurants and bars. You wouldn't know about the Troubles that tore the city apart unless you visit the Peace Wall or the Catholic or Protestant neighborhoods. In the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, you can visit the Titanic Museum and the Titanic Hotel. Until September 2019, there is also a Game of Thrones touring exhibition in Belfast where you can see costumes and props used in the show. The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is in a gorgeous area. Keep in mind that they will close the bridge depending on the weather. You also need to stop at the first little booth to get you ticket for the bridge. They will not sell them at the entrance to the bridge. Giant’s Causeway is another beautiful site. Give yourself plenty of time to walk along the coast and there is even a path to walk up towards the cliffs and see another view of the coast. Derry is a walled city that has two sides that has a bridge that crosses to both sides called the Peace Bridge. There is some really great food all throughout the city. Make sure you leave extra time for the security in the airport when traveling through Dublin. There will be two seperate security areas that you will have to go through to get back to the US. Make sure to pack and wear layers throughout your trip. With the temperatures changing through the day you will want to shed or put layers back on. MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST Episode 19 - Ireland Family Travel Tips Guinness Tour in Dublin The Davenport Hotel The Morgan Hotel EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum Killruddery House Glendalough Brooklodge Dunbrody Famine Ship Granville Hotel Jerpoint Glass Pembroke Hotel Mount Congreve Gardens Mount Juliet Estate Grand Central Hotel - Belfast Titanic Museum Belfast Ulster Museum Belfast Titanic Hotel Bushmills Inn Trim Castle FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD! If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

On this week's episode of The Lettuce Beets, the girls chat about movies they've rewatched recently (Frozen, The Da Vinci Code), Charlotte prepares for a vacation in Disney World, and Laura visits the new Guinness Storehouse in Baltimore. They also review the S4 finale of Outlander, the Swedish film A Man Called Ove, and more. For Fun & Games, the girls take an Outlander inspired quiz to find out what time period they should travel back to. The Lettuce Podcast is a garden of entertainment from books to television and everything in between! We cover topics like Harry Potter, Glee, James Bond, Game of Thrones, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and much more. For more information: The Lettuce Podcast Blog, Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, and Stitcher. The Lettuce Podcast is also available for Android devices via Podcast Addict.

In this episode, we chat about the 2002 Rick Steves’ Europe episode “The Best of West Ireland: Dingle, Galway, and the Aran Islands.” We'll chat about how whether or not you should visit the Aran Islands, what it's like driving through the Burren, and how much time is too much time to spend in a high school gym. Plus, we get to meet Rick's kids!   For more, find us: Chris Mitchell travelingmitch Visiting the "EPIC Museum" - Dublin's Irish Emigration Museum 8 Must-Try Foods and Drinks While Studying Abroad in Ireland (for Go Overseas)    Stephanie Craig History Fangirl The Literary Pubs of Dublin (podcast episode) The Storied History of the Guinness Storehouse (podcast episode) How to Visit a Traditional Irish Farm  

The hosts discuss tracking versus email list retargeting and the best examples for using each at your attraction. “Retargeting ads are a form of online targeting advertising and are served to people who have already visited your website or are a contact in your database.” NEWS/Quick-Takes When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing Book by Daniel H. Pink Brad’s take: The book is a quick read that I didn’t completely enjoy, but there were some valuable takeaways. The chapter about the importance of endings was interesting and directly applied to attractions. “Endings are very important. Several studies have shown that experiences are judged by their ending. Peaks and endings are most prominently remembered. Just look at Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews. Signaling an ending can make people appreciate things more. For example, in a chocolate taste test, participants enjoyed the last chocolate more when told it was the last chocolate, even though it was exactly the same as the other chocolates. How can you make your attraction’s finale extra special?” THE VOID Expansion (9 locations opening. Total of 17 globally) Great article in FunWorld - http://www.iaapa.org/news/funworld/funworld-magazine/feature---into-the-void---june-2018 Brand attractions taking over! “THE GUINNESS Storehouse in Dublin is the most visited attraction in Ireland during a record year, tourism figures reveal. More than 1.7 million people looked round the home of Ireland's most famous stout in 2017, according to Fáilte Ireland's annual list of Ireland's most popular visitor attractions.” https://www.irishnews.com/news/2018/06/09/news/guinness-storehouse-in-dublin-is-the-most-visited-attraction-in-ireland-during-a-record-year-for-tourist-industry-1351468/ Instagram Rolls Out '@Mention Sharing', a New Way Share Stories Content https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-rolls-out-mention-sharing-a-new-way-share-stories-content/525264/ Facebook's 3D Posts are Coming - Here's What They'll look Like “the new 3D posts will provide a level of depth to posted images, and will respond when you scroll past or angle your phone.” https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebooks-3d-posts-are-coming-heres-what-theyll-look-like/525332/ A perfect follow-up to our influencer show: 3 Ways to Determine if an Influencer’s Impact Is Real or Fake. It's sometimes hard to tell if followers are bought or genuine. https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/3-ways-to-determine-if-an-influencers-impact-is-real-or-fake/ Wrap-Up Leadership Symposium: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seasonal-attraction-leadership-symposium-2018-registration-45141589710?aff=0a3e2d60b4 Use ‘GANTOMINSIDER’ for $30 OFF Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

The hosts discuss tracking versus email list retargeting and the best examples for using each at your attraction.“Retargeting ads are a form of online targeting advertising and are served to people who have already visited your website or are a contact in your database.” NEWS/Quick-TakesWhen: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect TimingBook by Daniel H. PinkBrad’s take: The book is a quick read that I didn’t completely enjoy, but there were some valuable takeaways. The chapter about the importance of endings was interesting and directly applied to attractions. “Endings are very important. Several studies have shown that experiences are judged by their ending. Peaks and endings are most prominently remembered. Just look at Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews. Signaling an ending can make people appreciate things more. For example, in a chocolate taste test, participants enjoyed the last chocolate more when told it was the last chocolate, even though it was exactly the same as the other chocolates. How can you make your attraction’s finale extra special?”THE VOID Expansion (9 locations opening. Total of 17 globally)Great article in FunWorld - http://www.iaapa.org/news/funworld/funworld-magazine/feature---into-the-void---june-2018Brand attractions taking over!“THE GUINNESS Storehouse in Dublin is the most visited attraction in Ireland during a record year, tourism figures reveal. More than 1.7 million people looked round the home of Ireland's most famous stout in 2017, according to Fáilte Ireland's annual list of Ireland's most popular visitor attractions.”https://www.irishnews.com/news/2018/06/09/news/guinness-storehouse-in-dublin-is-the-most-visited-attraction-in-ireland-during-a-record-year-for-tourist-industry-1351468/Instagram Rolls Out '@Mention Sharing', a New Way Share Stories Contenthttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-rolls-out-mention-sharing-a-new-way-share-stories-content/525264/Facebook's 3D Posts are Coming - Here's What They'll look Like“the new 3D posts will provide a level of depth to posted images, and will respond when you scroll past or angle your phone.”https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebooks-3d-posts-are-coming-heres-what-theyll-look-like/525332/ A perfect follow-up to our influencer show:3 Ways to Determine if an Influencer’s Impact Is Real or Fake.It's sometimes hard to tell if followers are bought or genuine.https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/3-ways-to-determine-if-an-influencers-impact-is-real-or-fake/Wrap-UpLeadership Symposium: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seasonal-attraction-leadership-symposium-2018-registration-45141589710?aff=0a3e2d60b4 Use ‘GANTOMINSIDER’ for $30 OFFFree Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

Hey Folks, listen on for more Dublin info! This episode I discuss braving the Jameson Distillery and Guinness Storehouse in the same afternoon. Also, I give my two cents on the great loss of Anthony Bourdain. This guy was one of the best travelers I have ever seen grace the airwaves. Leaving for a Cruise to El Caribe in two days, podcast episode will be coming shortly after my return! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dadtravel/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dadtravel/support

Join the Talend Community: community.talend.com In season 2 episode 1 of Craft Beer and Data™️ our Director of Developer Evangelism, Nick Piette, and Mark Balkenende, Director of Technical Marketing visit the Guinness Storehouse to discuss datavaults and how the methodology can help prevent your data lake from becoming a data swamp.

On today's episode of the History Fangirl Podcast, we're talking with someone who has arguably the coolest job in the field of history, and one you may not have even known about. My guest today is Fergus Brady, the archives manager at the Guinness Storehouse. The archives contain everything about one of the most famous beer companies in the world, including the founding documents of Guinness signed in 1759. As Fergus tells us, there's a great tradition of record keeping within the Guinness company, and this episode we take a look at one of the most beloved companies in the world, and its place in Irish history. A historic brewery needs a brewery historian In case you needed any more evidence that Guinness is a cool company, Fergus told me that when the company decided to open the storehouse to visitors, it should also create historical exhibits about the company and its place in the country. So its staff of archivists creates and manage the exhibits. And in fact, Fergus told me that Guinness is opening a brewery with an exhibit in Baltimore, Maryland, the first time Guinness has had a brewery in the States since 1954. So I had to ask him why Baltimore and not the famously Irish cities of Boston and New York. The #1 tourist destination in Ireland The Storehouse was built at the turn of the 20th century, and as Fergus tells me in this interview, it wasn't actually built for storing anything. Its first use was as a fermentation house (“store” in brewing lingo means to add yeast), and it was the first building erected in Ireland in the Chicago style, with steel girders rather than the walls holding the building up. The Storehouse is actually the number one tourist attraction in Ireland, with 1.7 million people visiting in 2017. If you're headed to Ireland and it's not on your itinerary well, you might be the only one. The founding father of Guinness Arthur Guinness, the man who started the famed brewing company, was born in 1725. There are a lot of myths about Arthur, of course, but Fergus sets us straight on this episode. And while Guinness may be best known as the “black stuff” as Fergus calls it, when Arthur started the brewery in 1759 he was actually brewing red ale. And then in the 1770s, he started brewing porter. And the porter became so popular that in 1779 he stopped brewing red ale altogether and his “stout” became his signature brew. Ireland through the Guinness Archives It's impossible not to view the modern history of Ireland without factoring Guinness into the story. Fergus told me about Guinness during World War I, when not only did Guinness workers fight in the war, but barrels of the stout may have saved sailors' live. A steamship had been torpedoed and the ship was going down, but according to the sailors, the barrels of Guinness floated up and actually helped them survive the attack. If you're interested in Irish history or the history of the darkest beer around, you have to listen to this week's episode. Outline of This Episode [1:05] What is the Guinness Storehouse? [7:25] When was the Storehouse erected? [13:38] How Guinness was founded [17:39] Ireland through the Guinness archives [20:17] Lives of Guinness workers [26:51] Ireland and Guinness's relationship [29:23] Visiting the Storehouse [33:41] St. Patrick's Day at the Storehouse Resources Mentioned Guinness Storehouse Connect With Stephanie stephanie@historyfangirl.com https://historyfangirl.com Support Stephanie on Patreon Featuring the song “Places Unseen” by Lee Rosevere. More info and photographs for this episode at: https://historyfangirl.com/the-storied-history-of-the-guinness-storehouse

In this week's podcast, we hear from tillage farmers protesting at the Guinness Storehouse, assess Japan's potential for agri-food exports and talk to machinery manufacturers at Agritechnica.

In this week's podcast, we hear from tillage farmers protesting at the Guinness Storehouse, assess Japan's potential for agri-food exports and talk to machinery manufacturers at Agritechnica.

From the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, as part of the Global Scrum Gathering 2017 in Dublin, Ireland. Geoff and Paul shared a drink with two very experienced agile practitioners and friends, Aislinn Green and Emma Hopkinson-Spark. In this episode, they discuss Day 1 of the gathering and two of the sessions attended by Emma and Aislinn, as well as the panel discussion which concluded the day. Despite being in the home of Guinness, none of them are actually drinking it!

Dia dhuit, which in Irish means HELLO! This is a unique episode as you can see from the .5 in the 33.5 title. Alex has left us for Ireland this week, but before he parted, we recorded a quick mini episode celebrating the Irish Beer Culture, and enjoying the ever famous, Guinness Draught. Guinness is a 4.2% Irish Dry Stout with a rich creamy texture and a velvety aftertaste. This iconic beer is defined by harmony, which is represented by the harp on the front of the pint glass and bottle. We quickly dive into a little history on the Guinness Storehouse located in Dublin Ireland, we then learn how to perform the OFFICIAL Guinness pour, and we finish by giving you all some Beer Facts Fun: Irish Style. Enjoy this mini sit down with Friends Drink Beer! To find out more about the 258 year old brewery, visit: guinness.com Have a question for Ryan & Alex? Submit it today at friendsdrinkbeer.com, and we will answer it on the next episode! Lastly if you like the show, donate to our Patreon and show your support: patreon.com/friendsdrinkbeer CREDITS Alex Hobbs - Executive Producer Ryan Roope - Executive Producer Episode Written By: Jared Brody

“We create experiences that touch the heart.” In our increasingly digital world, it may surprise some to learn that creating engaging physical experiences for brands is still a priority for marketing leaders. Christian Lachel is an architect of these experiences through his work at BRC Imagination Arts creating “homes” for brands like Ford and Jameson. We explored all of this and more on this week’s On Brand podcast.   About Christian Lachel Christian Lachel is a world-renowned expert at turning brands into destinations. He’s an accomplished creative director and storyteller who brings creativity, design expertise, business acumen and strategic direction to BRC Imagination Arts. Christian creates emotional experiences that help guests gain a deeper appreciation of themselves and the world. He has done this for some of the top destinations in the world, including The Heineken Experience, The Guinness Storehouse, The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, The World of Coca-Cola and Story Garden by AMOREPACIFIC. Episode Highlights What is a brand experience? If you need a lesson in brand experience 101, “It’s the spiritual home of a brand — these brand homes are really popular as they create places that celebrate the brand and the stories they bring to life.” Experience isn’t easy. “I see a lot of neat ideas in the space but do they resonate with their audience? Do they deepen advocacy? It’s not just putting your logo on a big tent at Coachella. It’s a common struggle, connecting the brand to experience.” The key to brand experience at BRC Imagination Arts. “We have a saying — the best brands celebrate the world of the audience.” If your brand has a story, you have to find how those stories connect with the values of your audience. Once you understand that, you can start to create what Lachel calls “brand souvenirs.” What brand experience does Christian love talking about? Originally from the Chicago area, Lachel had the opportunity to be a part of the team that created the Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, a spiritual home for the Lincoln brand. “My favorite part of any project is waiting for people to come through and seeing their faces.” What brand has made Christian smile recently? Lachel pointed us to a German ad for Volkswagen featuring horses backing up an SUV. He laughed so hard at the spot he got weird looks on the plane! More importantly, it tapped into that “sense of wit” that has been such an enduring part of the Volkswagen brand. To learn more, go to brcweb.com. As We Wrap … Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … Recently, Kerry Gorgone gave us a shout on Twitter for our episode featuring Mack Collier. Thanks for listening! Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Register now for Social Brand Forum 2017 — September 14, 2017, at the Iowa Memorial Union featuring past On Brand guests Jason Falls, Marcus Sheridan, Melissa Agnes, and more. Learn more. Remember – On Brand is brought to you by my new book — Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. Order now at Amazon and check out GetScrappyBook.com for special offers and extras. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

The Harold & Maudecast go to Ireland! We traveled from Doolin on the West Coast to Dublin on the East stopping in many villages and towns along the way, meeting wonderful people, hearing lots of stories and drinking a lof of beer. The good folks at Guinness gave us private and exclusive access to the Guinness Storehouse, we interviewed famed Matchmaker of Ireland, Willie Daly at his pub Daly's in Ennistymon, and covered the Audi Dublin Film Festival spotlight on Director Ben Wheatley with his film HIGH-RISE starring Tom Hiddleston. Enjoy and Shoutout to Ireland for the warm hospitality and cold stouts. Sláinte!

The Harold & Maudecast traveled to Ireland and the good folks at Guinness gave us a private, exclusive tour of the storehouse. Find out why the Guinness Storehouse is Europe's #1 Attraction as you tag along with us on this incredible tour guided by the very capable Aaron, our guide, and shout out to Aine Kavanagh for making this unique experience possible for us. Sláinte!

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, home of Ireland's national beer, welcomes visitors — for a price — with a huge exhibit. And because good Irish beer comes with good Irish music, we're taking the Traditional Irish-Music Pub Crawl in Dublin's Temple Bar district. At www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, home of Ireland's national beer, welcomes visitors — for a price — with a huge exhibit. And because good Irish beer comes with good Irish music, we're taking the Traditional Irish-Music Pub Crawl in Dublin's Temple Bar district. At www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

We are joined in studio by Storyful's Derek Bowler, expert in crafting eye witness media into compelling news stories. We discuss how to mine the news from the noise, the ethical issues and the journalistic divide. Some of the MediaHQ.com team disclose some of the secrets behind our award winning blog. We visit the Guinness Storehouse to find out how they craft their brand story.

WE ARE BACK! BARRY IS GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA! FALLOUT 4! WWE '16! THE GUINNESS STOREHOUSE! MOVIEGUFF! GOLDENEYE! THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE! AUSTIN POWERS! BOND CHAT! MICHAEL MCINTYRE! WWE LIVE! DUBLIN! FUCK YOU IRELAND! EMAILS! TYPES OF BREAD! VINCE MCMAHON BLOWN UP! HEDGEHOG VS. OWL! RANDY ORTON! DANIEL BRYAN! TOURNAMENT! POKEMON! NXT REVIEW! RAW REVIEW! AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

Watch as we share what it's like to cruise to the British Isles onboard Princess Cruises' Royal Princess. Highlights include Blarney Castle, the Blarney Stone and the Attridge Dance Group in Cork, Ireland; the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland; Titanic Belfast in Belfast, Ireland; the Falkirk Wheel in Glasgow, Scotland; Skara Brae and Skaill House in Orkney Islands, Scotland; Dunrobin Castle in Invergordon, Scotland and Edinburgh Castle, St Andrews Links, St Andrews Cathedral and Forth Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Depois de um longo e fantástico dia em Dublin, onde fomos aos centros de visita das duas grandes marcas de bebidas da Irlanda: a Jameson e a Guinness, vistamos alguns pontos turísticos como a catedral de São Patrício - aquele mesmo do St. Patricks Day. Após todo esse percurso, nada melhor que finalizar num pub - lugares que fazem a fama da cidade.   O escolhido desta vez foi o J.W. Sweetman - que na verdade é um brewpub, os caras produzem a própria cerveja. E além das cervejas feitas lá havia diversos rótulos de cervejarias locais, americanas e belgas. Tinha ate uma cerveja feita especialmente para a Copa do Mundo no Brasil, a J.W. Sweetman Maracanã. Além disso música ao vivo e um menu oferecendo a culinária típica.  A minha pedida foi a J.W. Sweetman Irish Red Ale com Seafood Stew - um ensopado de frutos do mar.    Aqui falei um pouco sobre as Cask Ales que é o jeitão local de embarrilar e tirar a cerveja, provando esta autêntica e deliciosa Irish Red Ale.

Helen McDaid, Manager of Food Tourism at Failte Ireland tells us about the culinary scene in Ireland.  We discuss the Guinness Storehouse, the potato famine, and how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland.

An in-depth interview with Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group UK. Rory was appearing at a Visualise.ie breakfast event in Guinness Storehouse. We had the opportunity to chat after his presentation and our conversation touched on a number of topics including the concept of market value, heuristics, the rule of three, choice architecture and neuro-marketing. At the start of the podcast there is an interview with John Warburton, CEO of DoneDeal.ie - winners of the award for Best Mobile App at the IIA Net Visionary Awards.....The download link is below...

Mike and Nick take a few minutes to discuss Guinness beer and the tour of the Guinness Storehouse from the top of Dublin, in the Guinness Gravity Bar.

Verge, Ogilvy's Global Digital Summits examine the latest trends on how digital media is being used by consumers and businesses. Verge has been run in many international markets across several continents. Verge's first Dublin Summit took place on Friday, June 13, 2008, at the Guinness Storehouse. Speakers at the event included some of the leading international experts in the field including Shelly Lazarus, chairman and chief executive of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; Paul O'Donnell, chairman OgilvyOne EAME and Maeve Donovan, managing director, The Irish Times. In this special podcast you can hear interviews with: David Wheldon, Global Brand Director, Vodafone Group, Patou Nuytemans, Ogilvy's digital leader in EAME and JP Donnelly, Group Chief Executive Ogilvy Group Ireland.