The inaugural Techovate conference took place in Wexford Opera House on Wed 21st and Thurs 22nd March. 400 delegates converged in Wexford with speakers from the world’s global technology leaders such as Google, IBM, Cisco, Facebook, Microsoft and LinkedIn as well as the best Irish entrepreneurs including Terry Clune, Taxback Group, David Walsh, Netwatch and our own MD, Simon O’Dwyer, Threesixty.

“The South East has the potential to become the Silicon Valley of Ireland and it is an ideal location for technology companies to establish and provide employment” Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD. Minister Sherlock said: “It would be foolish of us as a government not to look closely at how Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and organisations like Techovate can work together to create a unique network of businesses working together throughout the South East to create clusters and hubs that can be replicated right across the country.”

Senior executives from the world’s leading technology companies and some of Ireland’s most successful entrepreneurs are to come together for Techovate2012, an inspiring and innovative new business event in the Wexford Opera House on March 21st and March 22nd next.

The two-day event will bring Silicon Valley to the South-East and will offer Irish businesses of all sizes and stages of development an unrivalled opportunity to interact with and learn from senior executives of the world’s most successful companies including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Techovate2012 will also feature Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs telling how they made it happen including Terry Clune of Taxback, David Walsh of Netwatch and Fred Karlsson of DoneDeal. One of the highlights of the conference will be a session focusing on how to execute for business success, including top tips from 5 of the world’s largest companies. Techovate2012 will use dialogue, seminars and workshops to show business people how they can use technology to grow their business in a fast-moving global marketplace. Attendees will have exclusive access to feature keynote presentations, intimate discussion forums and interactive networking events all against the backdrop of one of Ireland’s most inspirational venues, Wexford Opera House.

Not just a talking shop, the 48-hour event features: TechovateTalk, engaging personal presentations and dialog; TechovateInteract, where attendees can experience the latest Facebook, Google, IBM and Microsoft technologies and TechovateShowcase, where select Irish companies can pitch their businesses.

The two-day gathering will be split into four main themes:
1) The art of working together to produce better results.
2) Social media and online communications – harnessing the power of communities to support business growth.
3) Software and services – how future technology can give your business the edge.
4) Making it happen! Tales from the frontline on accelerating growth.

Speakers will include Carlow-born Lorraine Twohill, Google’s Vice President of Global Marketing, technical evangelists from Microsoft, IBM’s Head of Smarter Computing and Facebook Director of Global Brand Partnerships.

Early bird tickets are available at just €249. Each ticket provides complete access to all sessions and events for the two days, including all three Techovate2012 zones, networking and social activities as well as teas/coffees, lunches, hotdesking facilities with access to 150MB broadband and post event resources and materials. To book your place at the conference and for full details of the conference line-up go to: www.techovate.com

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/techovate2012
Like on Facebook at www.facebook.com/techovate

Threesixty is managing the overall marketing of the event including website and social media design, promotion and management.

Having previously collaborated with Enterprise Ireland on IDEAGEN, Threesixty was delighted to be asked to follow on the success with the co-development, identity, branding and promotion of the FUSE Initiative which launched in January 2011.

The FUSE Initiative is a 2-year project by entrepreneurs in the South-East of Ireland which aims to ignite growth among regional businesses and attract high-growth businesses to the region.

Now one year on, FUSE has launched a number of projects that will help drive innovation and business partnership, one of which is Service Cluster Ireland. Service Cluster Ireland is aimed at helping Irish businesses improve commercial performance through service design. Threesixty also designed the brand identity and website for Service Cluster Ireland.

Today, FUSE has over 200 members. The success of FUSE is testament to the tenacity, drive and entrepreneurial spirit of the businesses involved.
Threesixty is proud to be a part of FUSE and looks forward to more exciting projects with the initiative during 2012.

Threesixty worked closely with the team at Carbery to design and copywrite this brochure which is an introduction to sarcopenia – the natural age-associated decline of muscle mass over time. It has been suggested that sarcopenia is as harmful as osteoporosis but less well known.

The consumption of high quality protein such as whey protein in association with exercise can play an active part in the prevention of sarcopenia. As the fastest growing age group in the world, seniors are an important emerging market sector for food and beverage manufacturers to develop nutritional products for an active and healthy lifestyle.

This brochure was produced for FiE (Food Ingredients Europe) which took place in November in Germany.

Well-known for its technical expertise and innovation in the sports nutrition industry, Carbery offers whey protein ingredients that can be used to enrich a variety of nutritional applications.

Threesixty is delighted to announce that it has won two prestigious international design awards for corporate branding work for two Irish companies. The two branding projects chosen by WOLDA were for Trilogy Technologies and Bespoke & Co. The WOLDAs recognise the very best of logo and trademark design from around the world and this year over 1,400 entries were received.

Bespoke & Co and Trilogy Technologies are high innovation companies operating in competitive B2B markets. They both worked with Threesixty to create a highly differentiated market position and market winning brand propositions.

Trilogy Technologies is a Dublin based technology company that delivers a powerful competitive edge to its customers through a range of managed services and ICT support solutions. The executive team were clear in their ambition for the brand; as a rapidly scaling business they wanted to position the company as the contender for market leadership with can-do people, bringing the freshest global thinking on how technology can drive business success and the most responsive service. The logo was designed as a vibrant expression of this unique ethos, using a crisp red and white colour palette that is confident and corporate with a dynamic edge. The I/O held within the logo subtlety grounds the identity in technology while the forward-slash branding device captures the future-focused and fast-paced culture of the company.

Bespoke & Co is newly founded, low-cost custom framing business for professional photographers that innovatively fuses the benefits of a traditional retail framing service (convenience, short turnaround times and design customisation) with the benefits of wholesale frame suppliers (lower prices and wider product choice). The logo and visual identity needed to reflect the dynamic online frame customisation service but still stay true to the craftsmanship and design quality of the products. Bridging the gap between heritage and contemporary design, the logo expresses the ethos of a brand that rises above passing fashion to focus on enduring design quality.

According to Threesixty Managing Director, Simon O’Dwyer, “We are absolutely thrilled for our clients to get this recognition; we thrive on working with people like Trilogy Technologies and Bespoke & Co who are absolutely passionate about scaling their businesses. When you bring together the ultimate triumvirate of innovation, brand and people, you have a real opportunity to make a big impact in fast growing international markets. The success of clients like Nualight, Glanbia, iQuate and Adesco is testament to that.”

Nualight has announced the acquisition of Lumoluce, a lighting technology company based in the Netherlands, in a deal worth €11 million. The acquisition will push Nualight’s revenues above €25 million this year.

Nualight, which specialises in lighting for food retail displays, will employ 200 people following the acquisition.

Dr Liam Kelly, Chief Executive of Nualight, said the acquisition will widen the company’s lighting portfolio and complement its expertise in accent lighting technology, allowing it to double the speed at which it can bring new products to market.

We are currently working with Nualight on their range of online and offline marketing collateral across a number of key territories. Congrats to all involved!

Next week will see the beginning of National Heritage Week which runs from Saturday August 20th to Sunday August 28th throughout every County in Ireland. Heritage week is co-ordinated by The Heritage Council and aims to build awareness and education about our heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation.

Many of the events that take place during the week are free and the programme highlights the abundance of great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage.

Threesixty were delighted to be asked to design the Kilkenny Heritage Event Guide which provides details of all events which are taking place around the city & county of Kilkenny. There will be over 60 events this year which makes this the largest number ever. The colourful brochure we produced details how you can get involved in a whole host of activities such as wildlife walks, art exhibitions, storytelling events, music, photographic exhibitions, an astronomy evening and even cheese making.

It really is a great chance to get out for the day and to participate in an event which really will give you an insight into the wonderful heritage that is evident throughout Kilkenny city and its beautiful surrounding countryside. You can pick up a copy of the event guide now at Fáilte Ireland Tourist Offices, Libraries, OPW Sites, Bus Eireann Stations, County Council Offices etc. Or simply go to www.heritageweek.ie for a full list of whats happening across Kilkenny and all over Ireland.

Make sure to be on the look out for our client Waterford Stanley as they complete the final leg of their nationwide Stanley Trailer Tour across Ireland over the coming month. The Stanley trailer will be at the Tullamore show on the 14th August and the Iverk Show on the 27th August where it will be showcasing Waterford Stanley’s recently launched products plus some Stanley favourites.

Threesixty previously created Brand Communications and Marketing collateral for Waterford Stanley’s Brandon range which proved to be immensely popular amongst loyal Stanley enthusiasts and new owners alike and received some great reviews for its timeless styling and precision control. Stanley is among the most popular home energy brands in Ireland with over 250,000 homes here currently housing a Stanley product.

The highly sophisticated design and technology of Waterford Stanley Stoves makes it a well loved brand across the country and Threesixty continues to work with and support them as they bring more of their iconic products into homes across Ireland.

Have a chat with their Home Energy Advisors at these shows who will be happy to provide more information and advice about heating your home. For more information on the shows and Waterford Stanley got to www.waterfordstanley.com

Having previously collaborated successfully with the Crafts Council of Ireland on the Irish Craft Portfolio 2010, Threesixty were delighted again to be asked to follow on from last year’s successful publication to produce this years edition.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the design brief for a project such as this is to allow the wonderfully crafted and unique pieces encapsulated within the book to speak for themselves. Ensuring clean design grid allows the reader the chance to be touched by the sheer amount of skill and dexterity that is needed to bring to life these timeless pieces of contemporary craft. Also the individual stories of award winning creators such as Nuala O’Donovan, Dennis Brown, Patricia Murphy and Liam Flynn, reinforces one of the key strategic goals proposed by the CCOI of accessibility to these talented people and helps enhance their brand in Ireland and internationally.

The result is a beautiful publication (if we do say so ourselves!) that raises awareness of the important contribution that the craft sector makes to the Irish economy.

Threesixty are proud to be a part of a publication which solidifies Ireland’s reputation as a world-class source of contemporary craft throughout the world. The Irish Craft Portfolio 2011 is available at The National Craft Gallery or to download a copy visit the Crafts Council of Ireland’s website at www.ccoi.ie