A heated discussion recently erupted in the office, centering on which businesses within a Shopping Centre/Main Street setting are weathering the recession storm well, and it was suggested that gambling is one of those rare sectors which actually thrives while other businesses flounder due to a bad economy. I had to check this out to settle a point and I though I’d share what I found…

In the US there are reports that casinos are seeing a steady footfall but some customers have cut their spend by up to 50%.  In Vegas for example, casino gambling is said to have fallen 15% last year, and shares in the MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands fell 95% in the year to March.  Lotteries in the US report a fall in the region of 5% – so it seems that consumers in the lottery habit are more reluctant to change their ways.

Back home in Ireland, it would be reasonable to assume that, given our extreme difficulties compared to international trends, our gambling indutry may be feeling more of an impact.  Indeed as early as July 2008, The Irish Examiner reported that Bookmakers takings were down 17% on the previous year.  The tote’s figures also declined but by a smaller amount, down €279000 to 25.7 million.

In the case of arcade gambling, Pachinko, the wildly popular slot/pinball game found on every Japanese street corner, positively thrived in the 1990s recession there, and evidence suggests that despite a 12% contraction in the Japanese Economy in the final quarter of last year, Pachinko takings rose by .5% in the same period, and by .9% this January alone.

So perhaps gambling is not the worst business to be in at the minute.  But what are the other industries thought to buck the trend in a recession?

Some are predictable, such as:

• Second Hand Selling
• Debt Collection Agencies
• Repair Services
• DIY supliers
• Education and Retraining/Reskilling services
• Healthcare & Counselling

Some seem less obvious though:

• Video Games – perhaps because people are staying in to save cash – I have heard that takeaways and DVD rental is booming but the video games one is news to me!
• Ultra Luxury Items – the thinking is that the ultra-gazillionaires who buy these items are not necessarily affected by the recession, so private jets and private islands etc. are still in demand
• Motor Vehicle Towing – perhaps people skimp on maintaining and servicing their cars so they suffer more breakdowns
• Self Storage – people downsizing their homes need to store their belongings until things pick up

Read the full lists here, here and here and let me know your thoughts.

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In the latest in our series of informative guest blogs, Joy Redmond, co-founder of flexitimers.com, fills us in on the work being done by the Social Media Working Group to promote and encourage the use of social media marketing by Irish businesses.

There are as many resources on how to do social marketing, as there are networks so rather than provide a whistle stop tour of the social web in 2009, I’ve elected to introduce you to the Irish Internet Association’s Social Media Working Group and the sterling work they’ve been doing over the past twelve months.
The Social Media Working Group seeks to support businesses in the development of strategies for engaging with social media, including blogging, social networking, community sites, RSS, tagging, and podcasts. IIA 2008

The committee members consist of a diverse range of skills and disciplines ranging from social media, web development, marketing, to PR and education.

Although their main output: Guides to Social Media for Business are restricted to members of the Irish Internet Association, they also have plenty of tips and advice available to the general public and one I’d like to particularly highlight are the weekly blog posts containing Social Media case studies.
Each week a committee member writes a case study on a particular area of social media that has caught their attention, the tone is ‘how to’ providing the reader with step by step descriptions of how a particular campaign was designed, implemented and measured – certainly a must read for anyone thinking of dipping their feet in social media in Ireland today.

However, the Working Group’s formal output is not the only rich content on offer as many of the members provide valuable resources themselves.
For example, Eoin Kennedy from Slattery Communications writes an excellent PR blog entitled ‘Thoughts on Communications in Ireland’ and here you’ll find many tips and checklists on how to go about raising your profile online.
Bernie Goldbach from Tipperary Institute does an interesting video round up of tech news in the Sunday papers on Qik.com which is also syndicated on fellow committee member Campbell Scott’s now global social network IGOpeople.
Krishna De aka Ireland’s social media ambassador is also a member of the working group, she’s on every network and if you’ve ever seen her present at her many speaking engagements, you’ll agree her passion for social media is infectious and her many resources are definitely worth a browse.
Last but not least, I’d like to mention the IIA’s Roseanne Smith who is always online and at hand to help with your every social media whim.

Joy Redmond is the co-founder of Flexitimers.

Joy started her career in 1996 as Marketing Director of Newmedia, one of Ireland’s first web design companies. She remained agency side working with Zartis.com and Campaign HTDS before moving client side to become online marketing manager of IngredientsNet.com (a joint venture between Fyffes and Glanbia). Before setting up Flexitimers with Dervla Cunningham, Joy was a lecturer in E-business, research and marketing in the Dublin Institute of Technology and was Course Director of the Masters in Business & Entrepreneurship. She is a mentor on the Wexford County Enterprise Board and a member of the Irish Internet Association Social Media Working Group.

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The rise of social media has changed the landscape of marketing, and event marketing is no different. Facebook’s invitiation facility and the event listing section on Linkedin, along with Twitter’s meatoric rise in popularity in the last few months mean that you would be crazy not to use these varied media to publicise your event to a huge audience, for FREE. What’s more, the instant-ness of applications such as Twitter for i-phone means that attendees are marketing and publicising events for you, in real-time! UK based events website TSNN.co.uk are running a free webinar this month to guide you through the process of harnessing social media to market your event. And InfluentialMarketingBlog have a great post on how you or or your guest can utilise Twitter during an event to connect with those not in attendance or gain instant, online PR for your event. Check out Scott Monty’s blog for an insight into the variety of markets which can be reached through these channels, from Generation Y-ers to ‘Mommy bloggers’!

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I absolutely love this chart of high profile logos through the years (from Brittany Bohnet via Ogilivy’s blog – thanks). Am I the only one who likes many of the oldies best? I much prefer the rainbow Apple logo and the 70s/80s BMW logo. Think IBM could have made more of an effort in the early days though! Love love love the previous two Canon logos also. Would love to know your thoughts…

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Just got some great images through of the Peugeot 4007 in action at Top Gear Live, graphics by Applied Signs & Display! Let me know what you think…

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Our work has once again appeared in TV3’s The Apprentice, and God were we proud! Our Swift Banner Stand produced for Temple Street Children’s Hospital was placed beside finalist Nicky as she made her introductory speech. It didn’t help her to win the series but Nicky’s team raised €18000+ for the hospital during the charity auction, and we like to think that the curl-resistant, ultra-matte finish Swift Banner didn’t hurt!

We can also be seen on your screens at the moment, on the ad for Jason Byrne’s new DVD, The Byrne Identity. We produced the colourful backdrop stand – its amzing how versatile and imposing a simple flat pop up stand can be.

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