Hazel Morrison, Account Director at Concept Advertising is one of the best know names in the business in Cork.

From an early age it was clear that Hazel would do well coming from a supportive and loving family in Derryclough near Ballingarry, County Limerick. Hazel grew up on the family dairy farm and is one of five siblings. Growing up on the farm gave her a good grounding for her future career she says, “I am used to getting down and dirty, a useful exercise for working in a competitive advertising industry. My parents instilled in my brothers and sisters and I a valuable work hard ethic so I did my fair share of farm work when in school and college”.

It was a happy childhood as Hazel remembers, “As a very small child travelling with my dad to the creamery with the tankers of milk or the fun we had as kids in the hay fields at summer time or at harvest time, picking potatoes.

“God, now that I think about it, maybe it wasn’t so great. Picking potatoes on a cold day was horrible but in saying all of that, I have very happy memories of my childhood and miss that innocent appreciation of life where you made your own fun.”

“I remember how my sisters and I would build fantastic cubbie homes only for my brothers to eventually ransack or how we used to take eggs from the henhouse, mixing them up with mounds of pure dirt, water and insects but in our minds, we were making the best cakes imaginable. In some respects, the possibility for creativity was endless.”

Her parents always placed great emphasis on education and wanted all of their children to go on to third level. She attended Ballyagran primary school and St Mary’s Secondary school in Charleville and was also a keen sports woman with camogie playing an important role in her life in those days and she still has the county medals to show for it.

Hazel’s earliest ambition was to be a teacher and she also had a great interest in creative writing and wrote poetry, “I liked to write about experiences and have had a couple of poems published,” she says.

After leaving St Mary’s she went on to UCC where she completed a Hons BA Degree graduating 1997 and then went on to complete a Higher Diploma in Education.

After UCC she taught English and History for a year in Askeaton, Co Limerick but like so many in teaching she found it hard to get a full-time post.

“I liked teaching but it was very difficult to get a full-time position. Many of my peers were doing part-time jobs and not getting paid at summer time so I was a little disillusioned by this, wanting something more permanent,” she says.

“I considered journalism and advertising and decided to pursue a course in Public Relations which offered modules in both areas. At the same time, a job came up at Concept Advertising so I began there as media planner in late 1999.”

Hazel has been with Concept ever since and through the years has been an account executive, senior account executive and is now an account director.

Concept was established in 1984 by Seamus Martin and Tom McKernan who built up a solid reputable full-service advertising agency. In 2006, Concept Advertising underwent a management buy-out. Hazel is now co-owner of the company along with Jim Horgan and Billy O’Connor. Billy is a non-executive director and his company, the Discovery Partnership has dedicated much energy in coaching the Concept team in terms of realising potential and implementing strategic growth paths which involves much “outside the box” thinking.

Concept is a full-service advertising agency providing complete communication solutions providing advertising, marketing, graphic design, web design and print management.