Elevator Promotional Marketing 'on the up' after MBO

GCAS Sales Promotions, Northern Ireland’s only specialist sales promotions agency has re-branded as Elevator Promotional Marketing following a management buy-out from the GCAS Group by MD Sara Callanan.

Always a trail-blazer, Sara who is originally from Dublin, moved to Northern Ireland in 1994 and set up Northern Ireland’s first sales promotions agency having previously worked with Triangle and Brewer Blackler in London.

Elevator has moved from its previous base in Russell Court on the Lisburn Road and shares its new office space on Heron Road in the Belfast Harbour Estate with Duffy Rafferty Communications, previously GCAS PR. As MD of the award-winning agency, Ms Callanan is delighted to have made the move.

“This is an extremely exciting time for us,” she says. “We have been part of the GCAS Group for 10 years, but we’ve always had a very distinct identity and ethos. Until now, promotional marketing has been a smaller part of the Group, and I think our services were sometimes seen as just another part of GCAS Advertising's offering as opposed to being a distinct specialist discipline. Now we can focus 100% on creating promotional campaigns our way and I am really looking forward to having the freedom to show how effective promotional marketing can be in itself and as part of the overall marketing mix," she added.

Elevator’s clients include InBev Ireland, Kerry Foods, Translink, Irwin’s Rankin Selection breads and Stena Line and although most of their work is focused on the Irish market, the team there also create and implement UK-wide initiatives. This puts them in an ideal position to understand the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the three markets of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

“Legal differences and a different currency are the two areas that can cause promoters the most headaches, particularly when they are trying to implement promotions throughout Ireland and I often see campaigns which do not properly consider the market or the needs of the consumer,” says Sara.

“As we have a bank of experience across UK and Irish markets, we are used to handling any legal or logistical issues that can come up and I am proud to say that campaigns that we have organised for a number of UK brands in Northern Ireland have proven so successful, that Elevator has been tasked to roll out similar activity throughout Ireland.

“Something else that is also often overlooked is the importance of using local promotional personnel in each area rather than having a single team touring the country with insufficient local knowledge. I find that consumers both north and south of the border are appreciative of locally relevant marketing and this is something that I always consider when developing a campaign. Many of our clients are finding that Northern Ireland is an ideal test market for new launches and promotional campaigns and it is satisfying to know that we have played a part in this.

“We are often asked to look at promotions developed for the GB market to see whether and how they can be adapted for the Irish market but sometimes it simply can’t be done. Part of our responsibility to a client is to tell them when something is not suitable for this market and I feel that it is very important that we take this responsibility seriously,” says Callanan.

Alcohol promotions are another potentially tricky area with Ireland having some of the most restrictive protocols for the promotion of alcohol. MEAS, (Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society) is an independent body supported by all the major drinks companies in Ireland and set up to ensure that alcohol is sold and promoted in a socially responsible manner.

Elevator works very closely with InBev Ireland in both NI and ROI and creates on and off-trade promotions for Tennent’s, Stella Artois, Beck’s and Brahma and speciality beers such as Staropramen, Hoegaarden and Leffe. Sara and her team therefore have plenty of experience in ensuring that the strict rules set out by MEAS are adhered to.

The company recently won three awards in the Association of Promotional Marketing Consultants Awards for a Tennent’s Lager campaign which ran all-Ireland and is currently working on several major campaigns for Stena Line and Kerry Foods, as well as lining up promotions to support InBev’s star Brasilian beer, Brahma, and BECK’s Vier, the new draft variant of BECK’s, which has just been introduced to consumers in both NI and ROI.

“When people see an on-pack promotion, a competition or a sampling crew, they usually have no conception of all the work that has gone into producing it and the logistics behind it. I always want to produce promotional marketing that looks simple and effective. It can be multi-layered and have all sorts of elements to it but at the core, it must be straight-forward and easily understood to be effective. If a promotion engages with the consumer, I know I have done my job. As a company, we’ve had a great year – this Elevator is definitely going up!” Sara concluded.

(SP)