6 minute read
IITC presents archive materials to Cork City Library
irish inTernATionAl TrADing corPorATion PresenTs ArchiVe mATeriAls To corK ciTy liBrAry
As part of Ireland’s National Heritage Week celebrations, Irish International Trading Corporation (IITC) has handed over an extensive collection of archive materials to Cork City Library, ensuring that the rich history of the 101 year-old company will be maintained for generations to come. Local historian and Cork City Councillor Kieran McCarthy has also presented copies of his new book to the library, Irish International Trading Corporation (Cork), Celebrating 100 Years which details the company’s growth from 1920 to the present day. The archive materials presented to Cork City Library include minutes from board meetings, cash books, ledgers, letters and notes all dating back to the company’s inception against the backdrop of the Burning of Cork in 1920. These materials, as well as an exhibition of photographs will be on display in the public areas of the library until September 17th. Speaking at the formal handover of archive material to Cork City Library, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Colm Kelleher said, “The handover of these historic documents and copies of Cllr Kieran McCarthy’s book is an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of IITC and its shared history with Cork, whilst also highlighting the important role that Cork City Library plays as a custodian of the city’s rich history. I am delighted to be helping IITC celebrate this occasion, and I look forward to its continued success”. IITC Managing Director, David Heffernan said, “Today marks another significant milestone in the history of IITC. The original headquarters for the company was located on Grand Parade, across the road from Cork City Library, so in effect we are returning these materials close to the site of the inaugural meetings that took place in the 1920s. In Cllr McCarthy’s book, we now have a definitive and detailed account of the work that our founders carried out to ensure that Cork played a key role in establishing trade routes with other countries in the early 1900s”. The duty of care for these documents of significant historical importance now falls upon Cork City Libraries. The newly appointed city librarian David O’Brien said “We are delighted to have this opportunity to preserve these materials in our archives. IITC was founded at a time of enormous historical significance in Cork, so it is truly fascinating to be able to reflect on the work that was done in setting up a company that fostered crucial trading links to Europe and America. It is our duty as trustees of Cork’s history to ensure that these documents, which are sure to be of public interest, are preserved for generations to come”. IITC was founded by a collective of Cork business families at the Grand Parade in Cork in 1920. The founders were motivated by a desire to support commercial and industrial development in a new emerging Ireland. IITC has played a key role in the development of Cork, from supplying materials to aid the rebuilding of the city after its burning in 1920 all the way through to supporting local enterprise today. From relatively small beginnings, IITC has grown to become a national business with a global reach, employing over 120 people with annual sales of ¤60 million.
DigiTAl mArKeTing AnD sociAl meDiA AcTiViTy
In our ongoing series talking to HAI members about their marketing and social media activity, Aoife Kinsella talks to Fiona McGrath, Head of Marketing at Sonas Bathrooms, about how their social media presence has developed over the last two years, and how it’s helped them connect with their customers. SONAS Bathrooms sell through a network of over 500 trade resellers throughout the country, including most retail bathroom showrooms and builders’ merchants.
Tell me about SONAS Bathroom’s online journey to date. What tools are you using and for what?
We have really focused on developing our social media presence in the last two years with over 27,000 followers on our social platforms. It’s a valuable way to communicate to many audiences including our trade, commercial and domestic audiences. With LinkedIn, we focus more on company news and product information, as this platform is used by our trade and commercial customers. Informative and educational posts help our customers stay up to date with what’s happening and gives them more information on SONAS and our products, which they can benefit from when selling to end-users. Facebook and Instagram are mostly focused on our end-user audience. It’s important that we establish and maintain our brand awareness here even though end users will purchase our products through our network of retail customers. It’s a great way for consumers to get to know our brand and our extensive range of stylish and durable products.
How has social media helped your business, particularly in recent months?
One of the major benefits of social media is the ability to quickly communicate to all stakeholders. During COVID restrictions social media allowed us to stay in touch with our customers and to keep them informed with important business updates. Many of our retail, trade and end-user audiences tag us on Facebook and Instagram when they share images of SONAS products in completed projects. We know it’s important for our followers to see our products in real settings, so we encourage all of our trade customers on social media to tag us which we will then post and reshare. This means that our trade customers are also potentially reaching a larger audience, helping their own brand awareness.
Can you tell us about some of your recent social media activities and the impact they have had?
In 2020, we increased our collaboration with interior designers and social media influencers, who have promoted SONAS to a wider audience. We recently collaborated with Catherine Carton from Dainty Dress Diaries. Catherine has a great following online and is really relatable, so working with her fits perfectly with our approach to supporting and advising our end-user customers. Catherine put together a blog and video journey showing the process of renovating her ensuite. This helped to inform people who are planning to renovate their bathroom of what is involved, as for some it can be a daunting task!
What are your future plans?
We are continuing our focus on utilising our social media platforms and have some exciting campaigns and collaborations happening in the next few months, so make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
What are the top three trending product categories that you promote?
1. Our New SONAS AVANTI Coloured Ceramics range which launched in July and is already turning heads! 2. Our SCANDINAVIAN Collection of contemporary bathroom furniture is in high demand, such as the SONAS MALMO
Wall Hung Vanity Unit 3. Black Wetroom Panels are very popular, like the SONAS
ASPECT Wetroom Panel range
For any similar businesses in the industry looking to get started on the same journey you’re currently on, what advice would you have?
For similar businesses starting out I would suggest taking some courses on social media and how to best utilise it, there are many inexpensive and free classes available online now. I would also advise listening to your followers and asking them for feedback. You want to make sure that what you are putting out there is relevant to your audience. It is a continuous process and your social media strategy should always be evolving, to adapt to the new tools as they become available.
