Conor O’Donovan
Head of Marketing and Commercial Creative Services Sector, Enterprise Ireland
Irish-owned companies in the commercial creative services sector are cornerstones in communities around the country, contributing €1.2 billion to the national economy each year and creating thousands of high-value jobs.
In Ireland, we now have a new generation of innovators in the commercial creative services sector who are carving their way as international industry leaders. It is a broad and exciting sector, which includes Irish-owned brand and creative agencies, event production companies, game design and content creation businesses, along with digital artists and specialists in immersive technologies, such as augmented reality and virtual reality.
Growth and AI support in commercial creative services
This sector has the clear potential to deliver more jobs and economic growth for Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland is committed to supporting the Government’s Digital Creative Industries Roadmap 2024-2026, by investing in initiatives to build skills and export capability among these companies.
Importantly, this includes supporting companies as they continue to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools, as AI continues to revolutionise this sector around the world.
This sector has the clear potential
to deliver more jobs and economic
growth for Ireland.
Industry partnerships and AI adoption support
As part of our commitment to supporting these companies as they harness this powerful tool, Enterprise Ireland will collaborate with Team Ireland (other state agencies and government departments) on a variety of initiatives.
We are also partnering with industry bodies such as the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI), the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI), Screen Ireland, Culture Ireland and more.
This work is already underway; in February, we collaborated with IAPI and Google on the ‘AI Connect’ event, where 300 marketing and advertising practitioners gathered to learn more about the transformative potential of AI, its impact and how it is revolutionising the sector.
Following engagement with the sector, Team Ireland and our industry partners now have a shared plan to support the growth of Irish creative services companies in new global markets, which includes supporting them in building on capabilities in sustainability and technology, including AI adoption.
Irish entrepreneurs driving AI growth
AI is a powerful tool, offering untapped opportunities for Irish companies. The curiosity of Irish entrepreneurs who are harnessing and embracing this change will shape the future of the commercial creative services sector and drive its growth internationally.