MediaPLUS is your weekly update on all that matters in media and marketing

Ryanair has launched its Prime subscription service at a cost to members of €79 for 12 months.

The airline has opened Prime to 250,000 customers on a first come, first serve basis. Member benefits include free reserved sears, free travel insurance and access to monthly exclusive seat sales

The company said that members who fly 12 times per year will save up to €420 or five times the annual subscription fee, and that members who fly three times per year would save €105.

“Ryanair has been delivering the lowest fares (and the best services) in Europe for the last four decades, and we’re now extending our price leadership with the launch of our exciting new subscriber discount scheme – Ryanair 'Prime'," said Dara Brady, CMO of Ryanair.

"Ryanair 'Prime' is a new subscriber discount scheme for frequent flyers that want to fly regularly but don’t want to break the bank to do so.

"Costing a modest €79 for a full 12-month subscription, Ryanair “Prime” members will benefit from access to 12 exclusive annual seat sales (one each month), free reserved seats, and free travel insurance every time they fly with Europe’s No.1 airline.

"So, if you like flying regularly while also saving money, then Ryanair 'Prime' is a no-brainer," he added. 

Love Irish Food and Sky offer €50k advert

A TV advertising campaign worth €50,000 is available to the winner of Love Irish Food and Sky Media's Taste of TV initiative.

In addition to a television advert that will air later this year, the winner will receive a fully funded advertising campaign created with Sky's innovative target capabilities to reach relevant audiences across Sky Media’s broadcast platforms.

To enter, Love Irish Food members are invited to submit their entry to loveirishfood.ie/taste-of-tv/ by Friday, 2 May.

The judging panel comprises: Kilduff; Crinion; Andrea Murray, marketing manager at Love Irish Food; and Imelda Mills, marketing controller at Sky Media. 

A shortlist of competitors will be interviewed by the judging panel, with the winner announced in early June 2025.

"Love Irish Food is delighted to partner with Sky Media for the first time this year, offering our members an invaluable opportunity to compete for this prestigious award," said Conor Kilduff, executive director of Love Irish Food.

"The Sky Media fund will empower our members to connect with their target audiences in a more direct and meaningful way, providing them with a significant advantage in boosting brand awareness.

"We are enthusiastic about the potential of this partnership and look forward to seeing how this collaboration will shape the future of Love Irish Food and benefit our members."

Mary Regan becomes Indo's first female political editor

Mary Regan has left RTÉ to become the first female political editor of the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent.

Regan will oversee political coverage for the Mediahuis-owned newspaper online and in print.

The Galway journalist served as a political reporter for RTÉ since 2018, prior to which she worked with the Business Post, Irish Examiner and UTV Ireland.

She has a BA in Journalism from DCU and an MA in European Politics from UCD.

“With the second Trump era ripping up the global rulebook, the EU at a crossroads and Ireland trying to navigate an evolving international order, we are at a pivotal phase of politics," Regan said.

“I am looking forward to delivering deeply informed news, analysis and perspectives to the audience, as part of the highly respected Irish Independent political team."

Helen Gleeson made Virgin Media news producer

Helen Gleeson has been made a full-time news producer at Virgin Media Television as maternity cover. Writing on LinkedIn, Gleeson said she was "delighted" to take up the role.

"I’d never have thought 10 years ago this is what I’d be doing now, especially in a country where I didn’t grow up, but incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had since moving to Ireland to continue my much-loved career in television."

Gleeson studied at the University of Leeds and completed an MA in Print & Online Journalism at the University of Westminster before moving into television.

She started as a sports news assistant producer with CNN, and later worked as a tennis producer for DAZN and as a sports news producer for Al Jazeera in Doha.

She was a video manger for Wimbledon 2019 before freelancing at a sports producer for RTÉ.

Gleeson joined Virgin Media Television in late 2020 as a newsroom administrator and most recently worked as news co-ordinator before her promotion.

Advertising industry slow to adopt AI

Less than a third (30%) of advertising agencies, brands and publishers have fully integrated AI into their media campaign life cycles, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) State of Data 2025 report.

Half of those who have yet to bed AI into their campaigns expect to do so by 2026, but most do not have a strategic roadmap.

Half of the brands are also concerned about a lack of transparency into how agency and publishing partners use AI on their behalf.

Concern about data is one of the largest obstacles to the adoption of AI, with nearly two-thirds citing the quality of data being used and produced, the protection of said data and fragmentation among different AI tools as top barriers.

Half of brands worry they don't have enough transparency about how agency and publishing partners use AI on their behalf, and half of agencies worry about brands bringing their AI capabilities in-house and reducing their reliance on partners.

"The industry isn't taking full advantage of what AI can do now. It can build media plans, generate audience segments, select media partners, forecast performance, and even use synthetic or 'fake' data to enhance marketing mix modeling and sales attribution," said Angelina Eng, VP, measurement, addressability & data center, IAB.

"This will transform how media campaigns are conceived, executed, and managed from start to finish. It will happen fast, and laggards are at risk of being left behind.

"This report will help the industry develop the roadmaps they need to leap from AI-assisted workflows to the complete integration that will unlock AI's full potential."

Sidena's erectile dysfunction advert raises interest while also letting the brand down

Every week, Amárach and Future Proof Insights share exclusive findings from their PRIZM+ ad testing service showcasing best practice creative advertising in Ireland.

From the very first frame of Sidena’s 30-second ad, the audience is pulled into an unusually playful exploration of erectile dysfunction—flipping a typically taboo topic into something disarmingly relatable.

Engagement remains above average throughout the advert, with cognitive load low and memorisation high, showing that the audience is intrigued and encoding information efficiently; confusion and curiosity are the levers for effective information encoding.

So—did Sidena stick the landing? Despite its impact as a piece of entertainment, research found that recall of the brand name was notably weak.

To find out more CLICK HERE

(Pic: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)