Brand Greystones

neets

Who is heading up the "Brand Greystones" Initiative?

Fiachra2

Guboh does include me and quite a few Johns. (Rather too many actually it gets confusing at times!!).

It is clearly ludicrous that the public toilets are closed and we will certainly press for it in any discussions we have with WCC and the developers.

Stephen Donnelly TD is the main person behind the Brand Greystones initiative. I believe that all local public representatives are very supportive of the concept.

Cheeky Chops

Fiachra2 wrote: »

Stephen Donnelly TD is the main person behind the Brand Greystones initiative. I believe that all local public representatives are very supportive of the concept.

Where is the funding coming from for this initiative? I never saw the tender published for the consultants that were taken on. I don't give a ****e how good they are - was it advertised? There is no transparency - ever it seems. A politician is leading it? Stinks of nepotism in my opinion. I heard of one public meeting meeting when all the powers that be were already in place. Total lipservice.

"Our Greystones" ... cue advert of certain well known individuals, running barefoot towards the sea (no dog poo of course), holding hands, waving Happy Pear bags and ... and ....

pixbyjohn

Cheeky Chops wrote: »

Where is the funding coming from for this initiative? I never saw the tender published for the consultants that were taken on. I don't give a ****e how good they are - was it advertised? There is no transparency - ever it seems. A politician is leading it? Stinks of nepotism in my opinion. I heard of one public meeting meeting when all the powers that be were already in place. Total lipservice.

"Our Greystones" ... cue advert of certain well known individuals, running barefoot towards the sea (no dog poo of course), holding hands, waving Happy Pear bags and ... and ....

Consultants were brought in from UK and a photographer was flown in for a day to take photos of Greystones and the Harbour. The fund was 16k, 4k of that was from the local business people as far as I am aware the other 12k was probably out of the public's pockets indirectly :eek:
On topic. Great to hear that the northern side of the harbour is going to get a facelift.....sometime.

Charlie-Bravo

Fiachra2 wrote: »

Stephen Donnelly TD is the main person behind the Brand Greystones initiative. I believe that all local public representatives are very supportive of the concept.

Greystones Chamber are the main entity behind Brand Greystones - yes, Donnelly is involved as is Grainne McLoughlin but they aren't running the entire show. As I've said before on here, the Chamber got €12k from the EU and the businesses in the town put another €4k towards getting this branding exercise done. I don't see it as a project for public tendering. This is a business orientated project being backed by the businesses with the help of the EU. Fair play to those elected representatives who are involved helping where they can to get this done. And before anyone says it is off topic for this thread, BJ Marine are also giving their input from the harbour's perspective!

recedite

astrofluff wrote: »

the Chamber got €12k from the EU and the businesses in the town put another €4k towards getting this branding exercise done.

I wonder did the EU know that money was going towards "branding".
On the continent, the chambers of commerce are actively involved in training young people for jobs, as well as generally improving conditions for economic development and employment in their town. At the very least, they would be expected to spend the money locally instead of "flying in" consultants and other people.
Eg, managing and co-ordinating apprenticeships are among the responsibilities of the German Chambers of Commerce;

In 1969, a law (the Berufsbildungsgesetz) was passed which regulated and unified the vocational training system and codified the shared responsibility of the state, the unions, associations and the chambers of trade and industry. The dual system was successful in both parts of the divided Germany. In the GDR, three quarters of the working population had completed apprenticeships.

Business and administrative professions;
The precise skills and theory taught on German apprenticeships are strictly regulated. The employer is responsible for the entire education programme coordinated by the German chamber of commerce. Apprentices obtain a special apprenticeship contract until the end of the education programme. During the programme it is not allowed to assign the apprentice to a regularly employment and he is well protected from abrupt dismissal until the programme ends. The defined content and skillset of the apprentice profession must be fully provided and taught by the employer. The time taken is also regulated. Each profession takes a different time, usually between 24 and 36 months.
Thus, everyone who had completed an apprenticeship e.g. as an industrial manager (Industriekaufmann) has learned the same skills and has attended the same courses in procurement and stocking up, controlling, staffing, accounting procedures, production planning, terms of trade and transport logistics and various other subjects. Someone who has not taken this apprenticeship or did not pass the final examinations at the chamber of industry and commerce is not allowed to call himself an Industriekaufmann. Most job titles are legally standardized and restricted. An employment in such function in any company would require this completed degree.

Taltos

pixbyjohn wrote: »

a photographer was flown in for a day to take photos of Greystones and the Harbour. ].

You are kidding me right?
Who is being held to account for this absolute waste of money and this smack in the face to the plethora of local talent?

Brand Greystones? As designed by foreign consultants and captured by a foreign photographer?
What a wasted opportunity for an event to request local photos, reward a local or two for their contribution and put some money back into the town. Or just hire someone local at a comparable cost without the flight fee and again the money goes back into the community.

Just call me dumbfounded.

pixbyjohn

Taltos wrote: »

You are kidding me right?

I kid you NOT

stevestevenson

If we can step away from the "taking our jobs mentality" for a second, sometimes it takes an outside perspective to advise us on our branding, i.e. on how outsiders view us. That's typically why any company gets outside consultants in - to maybe spot something the people closest to the situation don't see themselves; and sometimes just to be able to "see the wood from the trees".

When this branding is focused on tourism, i.e. how foreigners view our town; why not use a firm from one of our key target markets?
The fact it was a UK firm actually gives me a bit of comfort that croneyism wasn't a factor, that maybe they have a particular skill in this area?

Also, if people are concerned they weren't asked to help out - they could maybe give the Tidy Towns crew a dig-out on a weekly basis - where they will see an immediate, tangible benefit to their actions.

I'm not interested in a back&forth debate on this, just trying to offer a different viewpoint.

Taltos

stevestevenson wrote: »

I'm not interested in a back&forth debate on this, just trying to offer a different viewpoint.

So why post if you don't want someone to object or challenge your viewpoint???

Get what you mean though, it is good to get a removed viewpoint, just at a time when jobs are in short supply this was a missed opportunity. Whether the job was to go on tender locally as well as abroad or we were to hold an event, reviews of photos along the mainstreet with online votes and a grand award - it was and in my mind a missed opportunity of extolling some of the local talent.

pixbyjohn

Same company was used to "brand " Dun Laoghaire in the past. Not a very vibrant town now.
If the tidy towns was given 16k they would do a super job on Greystones I bet.
Greystones Camera Club will be putting on an exhibition within the next 2 months so there will be lots of photos displayed of Greystones and surrounding area by its 70 members.

Taltos

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Same company was used to "brand " Dun Laoghaire in the past. Not a very vibrant town now.
If the tidy towns was given 16k they would do a super job on Greystones I bet.
Greystones Camera Club will be putting on an exhibition within the next 2 months so there will be lots of photos displayed of Greystones and surrounding area by its 70 members.

Please keep us informed on this - loved the last exhibition I went to.

recedite

I don't think many tourists travel from the UK to spend their holidays in Greystones. Where would they stay for a start? A lot of the business arrives via the Dart line IMO. They like the café street culture, and the beach, and the cliff walk is (or was) nice.
Its a bit much asking locals to pick up the litter on a voluntary basis after the chamber has blown all that money on something "intangible".

stevestevenson

The clue is in the word 'Initiative' - i.e. someone got up off their arse and took some. If anyone doesn't like how it's being managed then feel free to implement your own branding/marketing campaign, picture competitions, or whatever - there's NOTHING stopping you. I've always found plenty of support locally for good ideas.

This thread has shown that some people are very good at picking fault with other people's ideas, but less so when it comes to actually doing something themselves. It's possibly partly behind the reason the organisers took to outsource to UK, because one thing the Irish do very well is committees, we're less skilled in the art of getting sh*t done though!

A final thought.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=768h3Tz4Qik

recedite

I don't think you really understand the whole "they took our job" joke thing.
If an immigrant arrives and takes up a job, they are actually generating and spending wealth in the local economy (ie it's good)

If a job is exported or outsourced to another country, then wealth leaves the local economy (ie it's bad)

stevestevenson

recedite wrote: »

I don't think you really understand the whole "they took our job" joke thing.
If an immigrant arrives and takes up a job, they are actually generating and spending wealth in the local economy (ie it's good)

If a job is exported or outsourced to another country, then wealth leaves the local economy (ie it's bad)

- No, I think it's more that you didn't understand my post - but let's just agree to disagree.

Annasopra

stevestevenson wrote: »

The clue is in the word 'Initiative' - i.e. someone got up off their arse and took some. If anyone doesn't like how it's being managed then feel free to implement your own branding/marketing campaign, picture competitions, or whatever - there's NOTHING stopping you. I've always found plenty of support locally for good ideas.

This thread has shown that some people are very good at picking fault with other people's ideas, but less so when it comes to actually doing something themselves. It's possibly partly behind the reason the organisers took to outsource to UK, because one thing the Irish do very well is committees, we're less skilled in the art of getting sh*t done though!

A final thought.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=768h3Tz4Qik

Hi Steve

We have had a complaint that your posting style is off putting to other posters and almost shaming others into not posting.

Please reconsider your posting style and how you engage with other posters.

Moderation feedback is never dealt with on thread. PM me with any issues.

zoobizoo

recedite wrote: »

Its a bit much asking locals to pick up the litter on a voluntary basis after the chamber has blown all that money on something "intangible".

Some people volunteer because they are proud of where they live and like to see the place looking well.

Those who volunteer generally aren't ones who need to be asked.

The two issue of volunteering with one's Tidy Towns committee is completely separate from what the chamber do.

recedite

zoobizoo wrote: »

The two issue of volunteering with one's Tidy Towns committee is completely separate from what the chamber do.

What people volunteer for in their own time is indeed a separate issue. I was responding to;

stevestevenson wrote: »

...if people are concerned they weren't asked to help out - they could maybe give the Tidy Towns crew a dig-out on a weekly basis - where they will see an immediate, tangible benefit to their actions....

Mind you, I'm sure the tidy towns committee could have done a lot with that money, maybe even paid for a guy to patrol the beach and pick up the broken glass and soiled nappies.

Whats the result of this "branding" anyway? Is the town still called Greystones or is it now to be Goldenstones? Is there some new catchphrase we should all know about?

Charlie-Bravo

I'm sure it's going to be a little bit more than a catchphrase. Wow, €16k for a catchphrase! You get plenty of catchphrases for free on boards.ie. Here's mine, Greystones - pics or GTFO!

Cheeky Chops

As far as I am aware "Thinking Places" had 3 years working on Dun Laoghaire. Have you seen the Main Street? Even M & S have gone. It is a dump apart from the small area around the pier. There seems to have been a gross misunderstanding of the local economy, businesses and what the locals wanted. What a coincidence it was very harbour focused ... I wonder did any of the current steering group support the greystones harbour?

Anyway my original point is why was this not put out for public tender which is always the case when EU funding is being used? As for the wealth of domestic talent not being used - well that is disgraceful. Buy Irish but heck make sure you get consultants from outside Ireland to tell you how to do it (or not do it as the case study of Dun Laoighaire would demonstrate).

I hate money being wasted in this manner and as I said the lack of transparency regarding the bid is appalling.

CC