Business And Leadership: Media booze and schmooze event launches this evening

Marketing News

Also in this section

Marketing

Media booze and schmooze event launches this evening

28.01.2010
The inaugural Dublin ‘Booze and Schmooze’ event for the media industry takes place in the D Two bar on Harcourt Street in Dublin this evening.

The informal event, which will include drinks promotions and free finger food, aims to bring together young professionals in journalism and PR for networking opportunities.

Alan Duncan, marketing and PR manager of D Two, said the event, which was publicised primarily through word of mouth, has triggered a very positive response, with almost all of the available 100 places now filled.

“One of my main ambitions when organising this event was to make Booze and Schmooze as truly organic as possible,” he said. “This meant getting people to talk about it and pass the message on (nothing like a bit of word of mouth to get things going). I invited some of journalists and PRs I knew and issued a general invite to a handful of publications and PR agencies, requesting that anyone interested RSVP me and pass it onto an industry friends they thought might like to attend. Within hours Booze and Schmooze had been tweeted and blogged about and interest had spread nationwide.”

Duncan said he opted not to affiliate with an industry body because he felt that while it might add credibility, it would also add a sense of formality and structure.

“Facebook was not used on this occasion but, following the massive response, it is something I will consider for future Booze and Schmooze events,” he added. The intention is to run the event on the last Thursday of every month, with barbecues in the summer and small variations throughout the year.

The driving force behind organising and hosting the event is to raise awareness of the bar, said Duncan. “My hope is that Booze and Schmooze will differentiate us from our competitors and establish D Two as the venue of choice for those working in the media industry, while reminding them that it’s a nice bar to have a couple of drinks in or watch the rugby.

“As someone who has worked in PR for a number of years, I hope that those attending will really get something out of the event that will benefit them in their careers. We are currently looking into providing a similar service for those working in the various other industries around the bar.”