WHPR has been involved with the Aviva Stadium project since October 2004. The PR company was, in fact, the first external hire by Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company which was set up in September 2004 to drive the project.

WHPR has been responsible for all communications in relation to the project. Their involvement included devising the original communications strategy which included how the stadium was going to interact with its many different stakeholders. It also included devising a communications protocol under which all of the companies (over 90) had to handle any public communications in relation to the stadium.

More specifically was the setting up of a communications process with the local community. This included regular contact with the community throughout the project and also the setting up of a Community Fund.

WHPR’s involvement in the first phase of the project concluded with a major involvement in the official opening which took place on 14 May. This included all media relations for the opening of the stadium. The stadium is truly a magnificent icon of which we are all very proud.

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Guinness Area 22 will arrive in Ballsbridge ahead of the Guinness Series encounter between Ireland and Fiji on Saturday 21st November.

As part of the lead up to the Ireland v Fiji game, and the creation of Guinness Area 22 in Ballsbridge, with 20 foot high rugby posts and giant inflatable rugby balls, Guinness will also host an exclusive rugby supporters Q&A event. The Q&A will take place in a bespoke ‘black and white’ marquee at the Horseshow House bar in Ballsbridge on Saturday afternoon, 21st November.

Current and former Irish Rugby players such as Tommy Bowe, Girvan Dempsey, and Rory Best will be in attendance on the day and 250 lucky fans are invited to sign up now to secure a place at the Q&A.

MC for the day will be Paul Collins, and Newstalk will also be present at Guinness Area 22 so anyone not able to attend can tune into Newstalk on the day to catch up on the goings-on in Ballsbridge and the panel discussions.
Entrance to the Guinness Area 22 event is free, but limited to 250 supporters, who must pre-register in advance.

Log onto www.facebook.com/GuinnessRugbyIreland to secure your spot, or email your name, age and a contact telephone number to rugby@guinnessarea22.com

All supporters and guests planning on attending the events must be over 18, and Age ID will be required on the day.

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The talented and stylish Pixie Lott will be making an appearance in the Carphone Warehouse, Grafton Street on Friday 13th November at 12.45pm. Pixie will be the face for a new range of handsets, designed exclusively for The Carphone Warehouse by Nokia.

The Illuvial Pink Collection features three bright and fun handsets, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic illuvial, Nokia 6700 illuvial and the Nokia 6303 illuvial. Placed at the top of the singer’s hot list this Christmas, the striking pink highlights on the phones look great against either their black or white backgrounds.

As well as performing her biggest hits, Pixie will be signing autographs for some lucky fans. To be in with a chance to win tickets to meet Pixie, just answer this simple question, “What is the name of the exclusive range of Nokia phones available at The Carphone Warehouse this Christmas?”.

Email competition@cpwplc.com.

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Aoife McDonald, WHPR

Dublin Zoo’s family of Asian elephants Yasmin, Bernhardine, Anak, Budi and Asha were getting into the Halloween spirit with Halloween pumpkins ahead of this weekend’s planned activities at Dublin Zoo.

As part of the ‘spooktacular’ Halloween festivities, Dublin Zoo will host a ‘pumpkin walk’ on the 31st October. Visitors to the Zoo are asked to bring along their own pumpkins to line the pumpkin walk. Afterwards they can watch some of their favourite animals at the Zoo, including the elephants, eating their pumpkins!

There are a variety of fun activities planned for 31st October at Dublin Zoo including a ‘creepy’ parade which will begin at 12.30pm on the Great Lawn. For a truly spooky makeover, special face painters will be on hand to transform the kids into their favourite spooky characters.

There will also be a ‘spooktacular’ Halloween market at Dublin Zoo where visitors can pick up some great Halloween treats including, crepes, Halloween cakes, toys and other festive favourites. Special Halloween keeper talks running throughout the day which will include some of the Zoo’s most popular animals along with some other scary creepy crawlies!

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In a historic move, all of Ireland’s Sports organisations joined forces
earlier this week to protect sports funding. Sport in Ireland spoke with
one voice as the Federation of Irish Sports, GAA, FAI, IRFU, the GUI, the
Olympic Council of Ireland, the Paralympic Council and Special Oympics
Ireland came together to ensure that:

• There are no further cuts in Irish Sport Council funding
• Sport remains a seperate Government Department
• The Sport Capital Programme is reinstated
• The National Sports Campus is developed

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Two Sumatran Tiger cubs born at, Dublin Zoo in May took centre stage again today after a nationwide competition found names for them. Keepers sifted through hundreds of entries before selecting “Emas”, meaning “Gold” in Indonesian for the male cub and “Wanita” meaning “Woman” for the female.

A critically endangered species, fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers survive in the wild so these animals are extremely important not just to the Zoo but to the global breeding programme.

The cubs were born on 29th May and are thriving. At birth Emas weighed in at 1 kg and Wanita at .85 kg, and now almost 5 months on the pair are
thriving weighing in at 22kgs and 17kilos respectively. Both cubs are still suckling from their mother but are also being introduced to solids
including chicken, pork and rabbit.

The cubs formed a strong bond with both their father, Kepala, and mother, Sigra. Whilst, traditionally male Sumatran Tigers are solitary creatures, Kepala has taken an active role in the cub’s upbringing and unusually the family enjoy sleeping together at night time alongside each other.

Dublin Zoo plays a significant role in the international breeding programme which is designed to ensure the survival of tigers in their natural habitat. As well as contributing to this breeding programme visitors to Dublin Zoo have the opportunity to support these critically endangered species by purchasing a Tiger adoption pack at Dublin Zoo gift shop.

The newly named pair, Emas and Wanita, can be seen at Dublin Zoo alongside ztheir parents.

www.dublinzoo.ie

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Monday marked Day 2 of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit taking place in Dublin.  In attendance are cancer advocates and survivors from 65 countries who can truly represent and discuss the complex issues comprising the global cancer burden.

Couldn’t attend? Never fear, there are plenty of ways to not only learn, but participate and make your voice heard and opinion counted from wherever you might be:

• Summit LIVE – Sessions were live Ustreaming from AND the LIVE tab of the very robust LIVESTRONG Facebook fan page or from livestrongblog.org (which also included aggregation of tweets from the floor).
• Follow @livestrong on Twitter for interesting tidbits of data as they were released live on stage of the summit and opportunities to respond to Twitpolls.
• Visit LIVESTRONGAction to sign the World Cancer Declaration and have your name included on the list of those demanding that cancer be a global priority that was presented at the close to the summit.

(Via Ogilvy PR 360 Digital Influence Blog.)

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2009 has been a truly remarkable year for Guinness and the GAA. Both organisations are celebrating significant milestones, and to mark that, Guinness has teamed up with the GAA and The Last Word on Today FM to bring 250 hurling fans, 125 from each finalist county, to the All Ireland hurling final on Sunday 6th September.

The hurling semi finals are taking place in the next two weeks, with Kilkenny and Waterford meeting next Sunday 9th August, whilst Limerick and Tipperary will go head to head on Sunday 16th August.

There will be 25 winners from each county, and each winner will be invited to bring four friends along to the hurling final, making it a grand total of five tickets per winner! The competition will start on The Last Word on Friday 7th August. All details are available on www.guinness.com and www.todayfm.com

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On Wednesday 29th July, Dublin Zoo officially welcomed their latest arrivals of two Sumatran Tiger cubs.

The birth of these two cubs is a true testament to the successful breeding programme in place at Dublin Zoo.

The birth occurred in the early hours of 29th May to mother Sigra. Keepers were aware of the pregnancy but were not sure of her due date so were over the moon to arrive in early on the morning of the birth to find two beautiful tiger cubs nursing beneath their tired, but extremely proud mother.

The male cub weighed in at 1 kg at birth and the female .85 kg.

The family appear to be bonding very well and although it’s unusual for the mother, father and cubs to be a unit they are already displaying a natural connection. Dad, Kepala, is playing an active role and is taking his fatherly duties very seriously.

Dublin Zoo plays a significant role in the international breeding programme which is designed to ensure the survival of tigers in their natural habitat.

Visitors to Dublin Zoo will be able to see the new tiger cubs, alongside their Mother Sigra and Father Kepala from today.

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Laura Greer, WHPR

Roll up, roll up – the perfect drink for summer has arrived and legendary DJ and style icon Jade Jagger was at Ely Place last Thursday to kick off the launch party of the extraordinary new Smirnoff Mule with an edgy DJ set.

Over 150 guests attended the party and were entertained by a host of carnivalesque performers including the Smirnoff ringmaster as well as stilt walkers and jugglers. Guests enjoyed the new Smirnoff® Mule prepared fresh at the bar and served over ice. This contemporary twist on the original Smirnoff® Moscow Mule, first devised in 1940s America, combines the purity of Smirnoff® Vodka with a kick of ginger ale and a refreshing bite of lime creating an extraordinary double act. Be sure to ask your barman to make one for you this summer.

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