Senior Partner and Chief Creative Officer Alyssa Toro has worn many hats throughout her life—designer, creative, pro athlete, entrepreneur, health coach, and mom. As a part owner of Connelly Partners, Alyssa has been at CP since day one, helping to build the agency from the ground up. Joining Christy Hiler on the Own It podcast, Alyssa shares her journey to leadership with honesty, warmth, and a few surprises.
Listen here.
To celebrate its brand refresh, we partnered with Flair Airlines, transforming a vacant Gastown space into Flair/FWD, an immersive photography exhibition that brought the art and emotion of air travel to ground level. The two-week installation featured the work of National Geographic Explorer and photographer Mackenzie Calle.
Through her lens, the exhibit explored both the wonder of flight and the behind-the-scenes choreography of aviation, reflecting how Flair is charting a new course and disrupting the air travel space with their mission to provide affordable air travel that connects Canadians to the people and experiences they love.
Highlights included:
The activation was a fresh take on airline marketing and a signal that Flair isn’t just refreshing its look, but making a deeper shift in how the airline connects with its community.
“Flair FWD was designed to signal a new era for Flair—one defined by confidence, clarity, and momentum,” said Patrick Smith, Creative Director at Flair Airlines. “Using award-winning photographer Mackenzie Calle’s distinct and beautiful imagery, we captured the essence of a brand on the rise. This was a Flair-led creative vision, brought to life with the support of Connelly Partners and Wildfire Events, who helped execute and implement the initiative with precision and energy.”
Nadine Cole, Co-Managing Director, Connelly Partners West also commented on the project, sharing that “the most fulfilling work happens when clients are clear on their mission and brave enough to break the mold. That’s what we’ve found with Flair. We believe in what they’re building, and we’re proud to travel alongside them as partners on what we know is an important journey.”
Connelly Partners has bolstered its creative team, appointing Sam Moorhead and Mikey Fleming as Co-Creative Directors. This follows a strong start to 2025 as the agency has won competitive pitches including Waterways Ireland, University of Galway, The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth (DCEDIY), and been added to The Health Service Executive (HSE) agency framework.
With a 50 person team in Dublin, the independent advertising agency provides an end-to-end, full-service offering for clients, within both the Irish and global markets.
Moorhead and Fleming have been a creative team since 2011, partnering at TBWA/Ireland, Boys + Girls, and later founding Verve’s in-house agency, Showrunner. Their work for brands like Three Mobile, Aldi, SKODA, Lyons Tea, Tayto, VHI, and LEGO have earned multiple awards.
They join legendary Executive Creative Director (ECD) Mike Garner and digital specialist and Creative Director, Chris Preston. This powerhouse creative team makes up part of Connelly Partners’ global offering (with other hubs in Boston and Vancouver) overseen by Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Alyssa Toro and Dublin’s Managing Director (MD) Vaunnie McDermott. This expansion marks the beginning of a period of growth for the agency with more creative roles planned for the coming months.
“Connelly Partners is on a roll, strengthening our end-to-end offering across strategy, creative, production, social and digital. Our integrated approach based on really understanding the customer journey has powered our momentum, driving strong business results for our clients,” said McDermott. “Sam and Mikey’s long-standing partnership has earned them a reputation for crafting campaigns that are anything but ordinary and built on solid strategy. Their creativity combined with the power of AI is exactly what we need to continue driving commercial success.”
Connelly Partners has been appointed as the creative agency for Waterways Ireland, the organisation responsible for managing and promoting Ireland’s inland waterways across the island of Ireland. Connelly Partners will be responsible for developing a new corporate identity and advertising communications to build the tourism and recreation credentials of the brand, in order to encourage greater use of and participation in everything that the waterways of Ireland have to offer.
In addition, the agency has been selected to work with University of Galway, one of Ireland’s leading higher education institutions, to strengthen its brand communications with the goal of increasing CAO applications.
Connelly Partners has also recently been appointed the creative agency for The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth (DCEDIY), which plays a crucial role in shaping policies and programs that support children, families, and social inclusion across Ireland.
This growth follows additional wins and campaign launches for brands including Birra Moretti, Coors, ESB & Electric Ireland, Expressway, Epilepsy Ireland and My Milkman, in what looks set to be an exciting 2025 for Connelly Partners in Ireland.
Read more here.
Additional coverage:
AdWorld: Sam Moorehead and Mikey Fleming Join Connelly Partners
Business & Finance: New and notable appointments at Mercer Ireland, Neotas Limited, McGill and Partners, Forvis Mazars, Connelly Partners, BDO Ireland and Deloitte Ireland
Business Plus: Moorhead and Fleming join Connelly Partners
Nick Maumus, Assistant Media Planner
Sustainability is a buzzword in every industry, and it will only become more prominent as the climate crisis continues to grow. But when “carbon emissions” is mentioned in conversation; we default to thinking about the energy sector, big oil companies, and that dreaded Honda Civic revving its engine every early morning. What we forget is the prevalent and material impact caused by the digital world, and more specifically, advertising and media.
Firstly, carbon emissions in digital advertising are very real and have a much more prevalent impact than most of us realize. For context; 1M impressions creates 1 metric ton of CO2e (One passenger on a round-trip flight from Boston to London), and Google serves about 30 billion on an average day!
In terms of how we identify and categorize these carbon emissions; there is the Scope framework, which is divided into three categories.
When we think of this in the context of media, the supply chain is not necessarily raw materials or manufactured inputs as might be the case for a computer chip manufacturer. For brands and agencies, the supply chain is most evident in the programmatic marketplace, where each publisher has multiple bid requests for every ad slot, and buyers are bidding on it all.
Additionally, every transaction and exchange of data that occurs on the programmatic supply chain releases a variable amount of carbon emissions; the larger and less efficient the supply chain, the more carbon is emitted. Publishers often duplicate ad bids for the same slot on overlapping DSPs and direct partnerships, leading to unnecessary and wasted transactions.
Media emission measurement partners, such as Scope3, have entered the space to analyze programmatic publishers and raise awareness of their environmental impact. They provide a comparative ranking of the publisher’s total carbon footprint, their programmatic supply chain, and how their footprint breaks out among ad selection; media distribution; and creative delivery.
Another valuable resource is a study conducted by Fifty-Five titled The Carbon Footprint of Media Campaigns. This public study examines the carbon emissions generated by a one-month mock omnichannel media campaign. The fascinating part of this study is how they were able to analyze the emissions from the four digital channels they chose to include. In their findings, they discovered that 323 Tons of CO2e were released over the course of one-month. However, if advertisers take sustainable digital advertising best practices into account, they can bring that total down on average 32% to 218T.
Every impact, whether large or small, makes a difference in the climate issue. It is important that we spread awareness and resources to educate ourselves, and our industry, on the ways we can each drive change. In the context of programmatic supply chains, MFA (Made for Advertising) sites and ad-cluttered platforms are much less environmentally friendly—and on top of that, advertisers typically avoid these sites anyway.
So, an incentive makes itself clear; a more efficient campaign is a cleaner campaign, and a cleaner campaign is a more effective campaign. All in all, understanding areas of improvement while maintaining the integrity of our campaigns can lead to bottom line improvements and notable environmental impacts. Next time you are in planning or see an innovative media placement, I invite you to explore the associated carbon journey and how you might be able to include sustainable digital advertising practices into your value chain.
This year, on International Epilepsy Day, Epilepsy Ireland and Connelly Partners joined forces once again to launch a powerful nationwide campaign focused on one clear message: Time. Safe. Stay. It’s a simple mantra — but one that could make all the difference if you ever witness someone having a seizure.
Turning Stats Into Stories
How do you take a public health message and make people really care? You make it personal.
Backed by robust research from Amárach, the campaign centred around the lived experiences of people with epilepsy. Research showed that 88% of people in Ireland believe there’s a lack of understanding of epilepsy amongst the general public. So we got to work – putting real voices, real faces, and real emotions front and centre. These weren’t just testimonials. These were open, honest conversations about life with epilepsy. Fear. Frustration. Strength. Hope.
By showcasing these stories, we aimed to create empathy, spark curiosity, and ultimately, leave a lasting impression about the importance of seizure first aid — Time. Safe. Stay.
A Multi-Platform Approach That Hit Home
To maximise impact, we launched a multi-channel campaign — from powerful digital storytelling to social media, DOOH and more – ensuring visibility at both national and regional levels. Media volunteers bravely stepped up to share their experiences with press. Interviews delivered a deeply human look at epilepsy’s daily challenges.
Listen to the full Supercharged (RTE Radio 1) interview here.
A video campaign, voiced by legendary Radio DJ Rick O’Shea, was broadcast on Sky Television.
Digital out-of-home adverts brought the message into busy shopping centres and high-footfall areas throughout the Capital and regionally, as well as in Galway’s Eyre Square.
Digital Display ads featuring our media volunteers ran across various digital platforms, providing lots of touch points for the Irish public to engage with this important message.
Social media lit up – and were amongst the most successful strands of this multi-faceted campaign. TikTok alone delivered 1M+ impressions, reaching 538k accounts with an exceptional 17.36% engagement rate — well above platform norms.
Across META (Facebook and Instagram), the campaign reached 570K users, blowing past the original goal of 157K, with an impressive 2.78% engagement rate, significantly above the 0.20% industry benchmark.
Our Digital Audio campaign over-delivered – achieving a 90% Listen Through Rate (LTR) and reaching 40K+ unique users.
The results proved that human connection is still at the heart of effective storytelling.
Read The Irish Times feature here.
Alexandra Ergas, Brand Coordinator
Introduction
Upon my arrival in Boston, as a true West Coaster, I had a realization that this was only the second time I had been to the American East Coast in my life. I thought, what an amazing opportunity to explore a city and region I had never spent time in, as well as make friends and network with the CP Boston office! I couldn’t wait to explore and learn as much as I could.
Getting to Know CP Boston!
After a messy travel journey with a layover in Chicago, I was ready for an exciting day in the office, exploring the beautiful 3-story space and meeting a majority of the friendly faces at CP. I set up one-on-one coffee catch-ups with someone from each department over the course of the month, as this was one of the best ways to learn the team structure within the company. By the end of my month abroad, I came to understand the intricate workings of an advertising agency and the real teamwork it takes to keep the machine running smoothly.
Historic Sightseeing
While in Boston, I took advantage of the rich history the area has to offer, including the Gilbert House Museum and Salem, my two favorite spots. The Gilbert House took me deep into the historic neighborhood of Back Bay, where I had the chance to tour a fully preserved Victorian-era brownstone home, including all rooms and an overview of the Gilbert family history. My other favorite experience was visiting Salem, home of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, where I explored multiple museums and funky, Halloween-themed shops. These experiences are much different than what I’m used to, and have become fond memories. I also explored the Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard University, the North End, the Boston Public Library, and more!
Things I Learned About Myself
During my time in Boston, I was exposed to a much different work environment than I had been accustomed to in my career over the past few years, the majority of which was remote. I came to the realization that I thrive in a social and in-person office environment. I am more of an in-person and hands-on learner and strongly believe I have the ability to learn at twice the speed while surrounded by those who have been working in the role for some time before me. I also learned I have the ability to be far more independent than I had thought previously. Living completely alone in a new city is only as scary as you make it – and it’s easy to fill your days with meeting new people and building your own adventures. I am forever grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had with CP Abroad, and could not recommend it enough to anyone considering this wonderful program!
Valentine’s Day hits differently when you’re newly single, but hey—heartbreak has a way of teaching some unexpected lessons. My girlfriend recently broke up with me, and let’s just say I’ve had plenty of time to reflect. Here’s what being single has taught this CPer about contextual targeting.
Contextual targeting focuses on hitting consumers at a time when they’re primed to receive your message. When approaching a girl you’ve never spoken to before, you want to make sure the time and place are right to make the biggest impact.
Reaching niche audiences can be very difficult, but contextual targeting allows you to place your brand around the content that this audience would be consuming. Similarly, when you have a very specific type of girl in mind, understanding what they like can make it much easier to create a connection.
With cookies eventually being sunset due to consumer privacy restrictions, advertisers have utilized contextual targeting to reach their audience. Nowadays, there is a much greater emphasis on safety around strangers. Buying a drink for someone (the human equivalent of sharing cookies) might not be the way to approach a girl.
When using contextual targeting, your ads will always show up around relevant content. When looking for someone to approach for a conversation, it will always be easier if you have similar interests to focus the conversation around.
Contextual targeting allows you to show up around keywords that otherwise might show up on a blocklist. For example, the word “shooting” might appear on a traditional blocklist, but for a brand looking to advertise around basketball content, it takes on an entirely different, brand-safe meaning. Similarly, an ex-girlfriend might have enjoyed being called “honey,” but this won’t be the case with everyone you meet.
Signed, Anonymous
We teamed up with global nonprofit Seva Canada to showcase the transformative power of sight restoration – crafting an acquisition strategy and campaign to attract new donors.
Together, we launched the “Love at First Sight” campaign, featuring beautiful photography captured by Nepali eye patients. The images told the powerful stories of the people and moments they had missed most—now brought into clear focus following eye treatments, including cataract surgery and glasses.
Bringing the campaign to life: We equipped Nepali eye patients with cameras after their sight was restored. They received training on how to use the cameras and documented heartfelt glimpses of their world—families, friends, pets, homes, and even birds soaring through the sky.
Forging an emotional bond with our audience, the campaign drove a 55% year-over-year increase in new donors.
Even amidst the challenges posed by the Canada Post strike during the critical holiday giving season, the campaign achieved remarkable success.
The Seva Canada business was won via our Vancouver office and supported by a global creative team to bring the campaign to life.
How do you motivate people to visit the New England Aquarium? You create a campaign that reflects the true experience and brings the exhibits to life with a stunning visual approach. In short, you WOW them.
We created a stunning typographic series that brought to life the emotions of the word WOW. Each letter, intricately formed from coral, anemone, and seaweed, was brought to life by the aquarium’s diverse marine life. This innovative approach not only resonated with audiences but also drove record-breaking ticket sales.
A young mayoral candidate for New York City has set himself apart on social feeds by mixing big policy proposals with silliness to try to draw voters to his campaign. Alyssa Steven’s explains that this strategy doesn’t always lead to votes, especially when candidates focus on creating buzz or going viral without tying it back to their policy platforms.
Alyssa shares that Zohran Mamdani’s age plays a key role in his success. His content comes across as more genuine, making it easier for people to connect with his message.
Read more here.