Following a long career in the ceramics industry in Kilkenny Michael Holden set up his own business in 2020, fulfilling a lifelong ambition.

Michael is an artist who has developed his own unique style, blending painting and ceramics to produce works that are both traditional and contemporary. His painting is inspired by the landscapes around the picturesque village of Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny where he has lived all his life.

Assisted by grant funding Michael had a website developed to begin the process of promoting his work. Having witnessed the success Market Dynamics had had with its digital marketing strategy for the village of Inistioge, Michael approached Market Dynamics to request it develop a digital marketing strategy to build his brand during the first year of operation.

Market Dynamics examined the likely target audience for the business and it was agreed that a Facebook page would be the most suitable platform to use to drive visitors to the new website. This would allow the business to attract local purchasers, people from around the world who are acquainted with Inistioge as well as new customers.

A plan was devised that would see posts on the FB page featuring new products at regular intervals and optimal times during the first months of operation. The aim was to build a following on Facebook, drive visits to the website where individual products could be purchased and to invite customer to commission individual pieces. After 4 months the Facebook page had just over 500 followers which made this a very successful platform for new product announcements to convert to sales.  The digital marketing strategy played a significant role in getting this new start-up business off to a very good start with demand for commissions, particularly, well ahead of plan during this period.

The digital marketing strategy was complemented by a public relations campaign also conducted by Market Dynamics promoting the launch of the new website. This achieved coverage in a range of local media across Kilkenny and in the neighbouring counties of Wexford and Waterford.