Wishing all of our members a very Happy 4th of July Holiday Weekend. The dog days of summer have returned (at least in the US). Hope everyone enjoyed a productive Spring season of prosperous trade and now ready to kick back and take that well deserved vacation. Let's fire-up those grills and celebrate the wearing of the Red, White and Blue and for our Canadian Members we hope Canada Day celebrations had the same festivities!
Wonderful to see all our members at this year's Celtic Shows. A big thank you to Sarah and Ida for organizing another great show, where we always find our best opportunity to reconnect and chat all things Celtic. NACTA new and current board members converged and embraced the opportunity for roundtable discussions on old business, new focuses and our vision for the Association. We welcome our new President, Tom McGrath, Retailer Member and owner/operator of Basic Irish Luxury &Tipperary Irish Importers alongside the lovely Marsha McGrath, as we all know "behind every good man lies an even better women"
Karin Scott, Celtic Crossings, NH and Jack Baber, Baber Knitwear, Edinburgh Scotland having fun doing business!
In case you missed this year's NACTA Member breakfast meeting we introduced each individual board member. What a great Board we have! A general discussion followed by guest speakers discussing topics pertaining to our membership.
Ashley Rooney, VP (Celtic Aer Gift Shop, NY), Tom McGrath, President, (Basic Irish Luxury, RI, Tipperay Irish Importers, NY) Susan Banks, Treasurer (Faith & Begorra, NJ) Isabel Haley Executive Director NACTA, Tracey Pfleging, NACTA and Marie Barry, Ex Board, (Donegal Square, PA)
Jack Baber, Baber Knitwear, talked about the Scottish Trade Fair held each year in January in the SEC location, Glasgow. We have been working with the organizers of this show since this conversation began last year and in the process of fine tuning a package for NACTA Members to consider attending January 2020. We have currently 16 interested members, if you wish to join in please advise ASAP as numbers determine pricing, so please contact Tracey@nacta.ie Here's how it looks so far, Click here
Jean Clancy, Ballycashen Entertainment LLC. Many are familiar with Jean's presence over the year's in our industry. In her new capacity, Jean spoke about the vital role the Celtic Store plays in the community as a respected source of knowledge not only for Celtic craft products but also travel, food and the Arts. A wealth of talented artists from Ireland and the UK are always looking to tour and exhibit in the US each year which lends an opportunity for NACTA Retailers with open access to Celtic cultural events and services to offer your customers and community members iincluding ticket sales, creating a customer event from your shop, etc. If interested in participating or wish to learn more please feel free to contact JeanClancy@me.com
Bridget Bray, BBNY Groupfounder of Fareplate www.fareplate.comspoke about her recent successful event in NYC, March 2019. The event spotlights Ireland's food, drink and craft story through a live and highly curated experience. Watch out for the next Spring 2020 event where emphasis on Irishmade craft will have a larger presence. Both NACTA Vendor and Retailer Members will have opportunities to attend in their different capacities. This event has potential to appeal to a broader audience of both the Trade and Consumer side. Stay tuned as this conversation evolves and gains momentum.
As a spin off conversation to Jean's initiative, the By-Laws Committee, chaired by Hans Kirkegaard, ASAP have started discussion on our Membership. We are looking at options to grow our association allowing us to be inclusive in our niche market by giving consideration to others that find the same value. A "Cultural" member, "Emeritus Member" are options on the table as we continue discussion and define these categories we will present to the general membership for approval in due course along with some language clarification, board member/director term processes, and board position adjustments etc.
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IRISH CENTRAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN for 2018 – 2019
Tremendous success has been achieved with this joint venture, check out the stats !
11.4 Million combined Ad impressions were delivered for participating NACTA members throughout IrishCentral's website and in the e-Newsletter
102,000 Online News Pages have been read
250,000 people were reached through Facebook with NACTA featured News Articles
12featured News Articles were written and published multiple times
35,240 people clicked through on NACTA Client Adverts – bringing them through to the Retailer and Store websites, and the NACTA Vendor feature articles.
No denying the exposure and potential business this has brought to our members The positive knock on effect from digital advertising is infinite providing not only global branding but spurs consumer spending.
What have we learned and how can we improve the campaign to maximize return on advertising dollars spent
Here are some additions and suggestions moving into the next Phase for 2019/2020
- Dedicated liason to provide monthly Reports from Irish Central
- Irish Central to provide Notice to each on when their ad/articles will run
- Monitor your Google Analytic so you gauge traffic on clicks to sites
- Tiered levels of packages to suit all advertising budgets accessible by all participants
- 1 Full News Article for Vendors and Retailers to be added
- 16.67% More Ad impressions to be added
- Ad in the e-Newsletter across the 2 x e-newsletter of the Day (Double the coverage)
- A Graphic professional to assist in Ad Specs providing crisp images with correct sizes is recommended
Ad specs and pricing are in the works, please watch your NACTA email communications for this information. If you know that it is a good fit for you and wish to remain a participant please advise. For those wishing to avail of this opportunity for the coming year please make contact so we can save you a spot!
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Let's Talk Travel
Congrats to all our Retailers who received commission checks for facilitating travel customers needs and booked CIE Brochure tours through NACTA Travel. Best to all the stores who currently have big groups just returning or about to head off across the pond on exciting shop tours to Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales.
NACTA Fam Tour OCTOBER 21, 2019 – OCTOBER 26, 2019 is on schedule and we are filling up the bus, come join the adventure, learn first hand what a CIE tour can offer and the 'class act' travel experience they provide. 6 Top notch Vendor stops built into our tour, where we get to see the finest quality gifts you sell everyday, bring your customer back a story, share your videos and images of products made "in the flesh" display in your store and on Social Media channels, makes for informative conversation. Are you ready for us?
Celtic Tweeds, Balbriggan, Co Dublin
Aine /McConnell Woollen Mills, Killaloe, Co Clare
Mucross Weavers, Killarney, Co Kerry
Lee River, Cork City
Lee Valley, Inchigeelag, Co. Cork
Pop-Up Trade Show held by the LEO's of West Cork, Trident Hotel, Kinsale, Co.Cork
CLICK HEREfor full itinerary and sign up!
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Journeys to and from trade shows both in the US and Ireland are all "part of the job" in our Celtic Market Industry. We have reached out to some folks over at Aer Lingus to see if they can facilitate our membership with some discount/promo code. A big thank you to Michael O'Day, of Aer Lingus in providing this incentive to NACTA Members to encourage Aer Lingus bookings and hopefully participation for trade events specifically Showcase Dublin and Celtic Shows, Secaucus, NJ. Booking windows will be in place along with gateway cities to depart or connect through, we will provide this info in our next correspondence.
$50.00 off R/T Air for NACTA Members on Aer Lingus!
Best of luck to all the NACTA Retailers participating in the "Dublin Delight Sweepstakes", A fun packed 5 day visit to Dublin along with meals, city tours, accommodation and Free Air!…. now that's a Grand Prize for your lucky winner. Great to see all your social media channels buzzing, reaching your customers to let them know that this opportunity is available. Big chance to increase footfall over your threshold, build your email lists and optimize your chances for a store sale. Each entry will be given a $100 voucher for any future CIE Tour. If you still wish to participate please contact Tracey@nactatravel.comor Catriona@nactatravel.com They are there to guide and provide you with all the material to get you started with all of your travel needs.
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Follow us on Facebook!!!!!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/343199686279179/
send us your trip pics or post on the Group page to share your experiences and shop tours!
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Sponsorships will soon be available for application. We hope to get these out to you earlier than last year so folks can plan ahead to attend Showcase Ireland 2020. We encourage all of our NACTA Retailers to apply so everyone has equal opportunity to visit SHOWCASE Dublin and offer your customers the best of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Our annual NACTA AWARDS NIGHT will take place on MONDAY, January 20thplease note your calendars now to avoid confusion, we are planning a fun event for all members. Venue and format are in the planning, so stayed tuned, it's going to be a good one!
Kind Regards,
Isabel Haley
Executive Director
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