A look back on the second half of 2022

Throughout the second half 2022, we were delighted to witness the return to ‘business as usual’ – for many of our clients and the agency alike.

Some of the highlights of the second half of 2022 include:

July

Wisetek – Opening of New Facility in Massachusetts, U.S.

In July, we worked with our longstanding client Wisetek to announce the opening of their new facility in Massachusetts. The new site is 42,000 sq. ft. and will provide those in the region with a host of IT services particularly those related to IT Asset Disposition.

The site will service a number of client organisations throughout the USA, including multinational and nationally based businesses as well as all of Wisetek’s private customers who will be able to leverage this facility.

The announcement was issued on July 5th and coverage was secured in Irish and American publications.

Wisetek now has 200 employees in America and are hoping to grow this number to 300. This new facility will also operate under Wisetek’s Zero Landfill Policy.

The Wisetek team at the company’s new facility in Northborough, Massachusetts

August

SSE Airtricity and Activ8 – Opening of New Headquarters in Carrickmacross, Monaghan

In August, the team was delighted to work with SSE Airtricity and Activ8 on an event to officially open Activ8’s new state-of-the-art headquarters in Carrickmacross, Monaghan.

Heneghan managed the event logistics, media relations, videography and photography for the event. The event was attended by Taoiseach at the time Micheál Martin and Heather Humphreys, TD, Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural & Community Development.

To mark the officially opening, Activ8 Solar Energies and SSE Airtricity announced the creation of up to 200 jobs over the coming decade. In keeping with Activ8’s net-zero values, the new 20,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Carrickmacross is the most energy efficient commercial premises in Monaghan and the first NZEB standard (Nearly Zero Energy Building) to obtain planning permission in the county.

There was a strong media presence at the launch event and the announcement achieved national, regional and trade coverage.

Check out some of the highlights from the event here:

September

The team at Heneghan was proud to support SSE Renewables in overseeing a visit of both national and local journalists to its Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Angus in the North Sea, Scotland. The trip was arranged to showcase the huge potential of wind energy that is possible in Ireland.

The journalists were brought on this visit to see the vast array of activity on the site which is both operational, and still under construction, 27km from the coast of Angus in the North Sea. Once fully operational, Seagreen will be Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest fixed foundation offshore wind farm and could generate enough power for around 1.6 million homes. SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of 114 turbines which are being installed that will total a generating capacity of 1,075MW this joint venture project.

Heneghan managed all aspects of media relations and logistics for the media trip and attended to liaise and organise interviews for key management figures from SSE Renewables. The strategy devised by Heneghan ensured national journalists, including the Sunday Independent, Business Post and Sunday Times, were targeted as well as local journalists from the areas in Ireland where SSE Renewables actively engaging in projects such as Waterford and Louth. The aim was to show the potential benefits of wind farms both on a national and local scale.

October

Treemetrics Signs Contract with the European Space Agency

Heneghan has worked with Treemetrics, a global leader in forestry management software, since September 2022. In October, the agency worked with the client to announce a major new contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) valued at €1.2 million.

Heneghan worked with Treemetrics and its partners to develop the announcement, which achieved top tier media national and international media coverage.

This included the syndication of the announcement to key international media, aimed at reaching the international investor community.

Treemetrics Laser Trees

Image Skillnet Workshop

In late October and early November, the Heneghan team delivered a series of media and social media workshops to hairdressers, beauticians, and barbers across Ireland in partnership with Image Skillnet.

The sessions focused on supporting salon owners and managers to promote their business through the use of social media and helping them to identify media opportunities on a local and national level.

The workshops were attended by business owners all across Ireland.

 

November

Wendy’s in Ireland

Heneghan worked with iconic American fast-food chain, Wendy’s in November to announce its intention to enter the Irish market. With more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide and after their success in the United Kingdom, Wendy’s has ambitious plans to extend its presence in the European market. The company is now actively seeking franchise partners in Ireland.

The activity centered around a media announcement, which also served to raise awareness among potential franchise partners. The activity concluded with a franchise information event in the Raddison Blu Hotel in early December, with strong interest from potential candidates across Ireland.

 

Wendy’s opens it’s new restaurant in Brighton on the south coast of the UK.

The media release was well received by media, with a total of 74 pieces of coverage achieved, with a potential 6.2million people exposed to the coverage.

 

December

SYS Group and PGM Financial Services Partnership

Earlier this month, Heneghan worked with SYS Group, the Nenagh headquartered financial services group, to announce a new strategic partnership with Dublin-based PGM Financial Services in December. This partnership will bring the combined assets under the SYS Group to over €300 million and will ensure the combined entity, trading as SYS Group, will become one of the leading Irish financial planning and services businesses.

The announcement gained strong traction in national and trade media.

The SYS Group Leads the Charge Towards Greater Portfolio Transparency 
The SYS Group, a wealth management company headquartered in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, has just launched their ground breaking 8-step investment process called the “SYS All Weather Portfolio.”
With offices in Dublin, Cork & Waterford. The SYS Group & SYS Private prides themselves on leading the charge towards greater transparency, in an industry traditionally beset with a certain opaqueness.
Pictured is CEO, Tony Delaney who founded the company in 2015. After 30 years in the business, Tony firmly believes in providing integrated and unbiased 360 financial advice. 
Photo: Johnny Bambury/Source Photography

Spearline – Acquisition of Silicon Valley Tech Company Callstats from 8x8

In December, Spearline, a leading global provider of communication testing technologies, acquired Callstats analytics, diagnostics, and optimization technology for WebRTC from 8x8, Inc. Spearline is a leading global provider of communication testing technologies and was founded in 2003 by Kevin Buckley and Matthew Lawlor. Their headquarters are in Skibbereen Co. Cork, and they currently employ over 200 people worldwide.

Heneghan worked alongside Spearline and the team at Callstats on a domestic and US media announcement and coordinating our first remote photocall from Dublin in the Silicon Valley.

 

Left to Right: Victor Belfor, 8x8’s Global VP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships with Matthew Lawlor, Co-Founder and CTO of Spearline at 8x8’s headquarters in Campbell, California to announce Spearline’s acquisition of Callstats analytics, diagnostics and optimization technology for WebRTC from 8x8. Photo Credit: Chris C Lee. No Repro Fee

And finally…….the Heneghan 2022 Christmas Party!

We were delighted to end a successful year with our first Christmas party in three years at The Grayson, St. Stephen’s Green on the 16th December.

It was great opportunity to get the team together to celebrate after a busy and rewarding year.

 

Wishing all our friends a Happy and Peaceful Christmas and every success in 2023.