Managing Director and founder of O’Brien PR, Aileen O’Brien has been named as a ‘Thought Leader’ at the 2018 All-Ireland Business All-Stars which was held at Croke Park on the 12th of December. The Business All-Star is an annual competition designed to identify and recognise Irish companies and individuals that have distinguished themselves in the conduct of their business over the last 12 months.

Winners are designated with All-Star status and as such represent the highest current performance level in Irish business. The ‘Thought Leader’ distinction is the highest accolade the All-Ireland Business Foundation awards and means that the company or individual is recognised as an expert and market leader in their chosen field.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Briga Hynes, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Chairperson of the adjudication panel said, “The decision to designate O’Brien PR with an All-Star Business accreditation is based on a score achieved in four rounds of intense competition. The application, supported by references, interviews and independent ratings from the ‘mystery shopper’ process left the adjudication panel in no doubt that O’Brien PR is richly deserving of this accreditation. We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Aileen O’Brien and all concerned, and we wish her and her team every success for the future”

Kieran F. Ring, CEO Global Institute of Logistics and Deputy Chairperson of the All-Star adjudication panel said, “We are delighted to recognise Aileen O’Brien with Thought Leader accreditation in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the development of best practice in her specialist field of Public Relations. Aileen has built a truly best in class PR practice leveraging the fundamentals of the discipline, i.e. strategy, messaging communication and execution. 

We were deeply impressed by the feedback from the agency’s customer base who reported being very impressed by Aileen’s approach and most importantly were able to demonstrate how Aileen’s strategies resulted in a higher brand profile and increased business. We were left in no doubt that Aileen O’Brien is a true ambassador for Public Relations and somebody that will continue to grow in stature. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Aileen on achieving Thought Leader accreditation and to wish her and all the team at O’Brien PR every success in the future” 

Aileen O’Brien was presented with her distinction by Pat Breen, TD and Minister of State with special responsibility for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection.  Speaking after the ceremony Aileen O’Brien said, “It is a great pleasure to accept this on behalf of myself and our dedicated team at O’Brien PR.  We have had a phenomenal year and have seen our business grow by 30% in the last 12 months. We are very fortunate to represent some of the world’s leading companies and are grateful to our clients for allowing us to become the custodian of their brands.”

“The process which led to this accreditation was really tough, the structure of the competition required us to put our brand story on paper and gave us the opportunity to reflect on who we are, our growth strategy and above all the value we create for our clients.  Also, the opportunity to hear first-hand feedback from our Judge-Mentor and our existing clients through the reference module combined with the results from the mystery shopper round was invaluable.”

O’Brien PR is a full-service agency which focuses on meeting client requirements by offering an individual, personalised and professional service. Established in 2003, the company provides a wide range of communications solutions which help businesses and organisations stand out from the crowd. Strategies and campaigns are carefully and creatively designed to ensure the client’s message reaches the right audience at the right time.

Clients include super brand and the largest single airport retailer in the world, Dubai Duty Free which turned over €2 billion in 2017.   O’Brien PR has represented the retailing giant in Ireland since 2007 and manages the company’s sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. 

O’Brien PR has also worked with some of the most recognised hotel brands and names in Ireland including, The K Club, Lyrath Estate Hotel, The Osprey Hotel, The Flynn Hotel Group and The PREM Group. The PREM Group has over 50 hotels either owned or under management and over 5,000 bedrooms in Ireland, the UK, Germany and Belgium. 

O’Brien PR also regularly works with Newbridge Silverware and one of the company’s recent projects for Newbridge Silverware was the promotion of its exhibition of Princess Diana garments and personal effects. 20,000 visitors came to see the exhibition in the first week and the campaign was nominated for a Public Relations Institute of Ireland Award in 2018.  For further information on O’Brien PR log on to www.obrienpr.com or call (045) 407017.