The madness of 2020 allowed us in The Irish Shows Association the opportunity to face challenges with innovation. When we first looked at the possibility of running a virtual show, we were not sure how it would work out. The team at Dotser and the Virtual SuperShow system made it possible.

We were all doing something that was completely new. Selling this idea to prospective exhibitors required a strong publicity campaign through social media. As a voluntary organisation, we would not have been able to dedicate the time required to make this show a success without having the SuperShow system. Knowing that the system was taking care of processing the entries allowed us to concentrate on promoting the event and lining up all of the entertainment for an eight-hour broadcast. Having been involved in organising shows for many years, we were amazed at the work and time savings that the system offered.

Loughnan, Ciara and the team were always on hand to resolve queries quickly and were very willing to take suggestions on board to make this new format work for everyone. We had great feedback from exhibitors and judges who found the experience to be very user-friendly.

One of the most time-consuming activities for show organisers is numbering entries and preparing the catalogue for print, which can take several days for a number of volunteers. This system allows one person to complete this task in 15 minutes. This frees up personnel to concentrate on other tasks in the week of the show. 

The support we received from Dotser in producing the live event was second to none and was instrumental to the success of our first virtual show, which has been viewed by more than 100,000 people. The team at Dotser put the super in SuperShow.

Currently, 16 of our member shows are using the SuperShow system and we are sure that this will continue to increase as word gets around of the ease it brings to show organisers.

Charleville Agricultural Show is held on the last full weekend of June, which fell on the 23rd and 24th in 2018. Up until the 12th April we did not have a website, I spoke to Dotser on 13th April and they promised that we would be up and running on the 12th May. We started taking entries on the 18th May and from then it was all systems go. The staff in the Dotser office were most helpful and gave us their undivided attention at all times. 

Entries came in online and we input entries from the office, and closed off on the Monday before the show, our printers took over from there and the Catalogue was ready on Friday evening for our show on Saturday and Sunday. As we came to Dotser so late, we were not in a position to avail of the great array of services, e.g. Trade Stand bookings, Schedule, and the paying of prize money, all calculated with the levy deducted and a covering letter, on the Supershow website. However, since our show we have spent a day in Tullamore in the Dotser office and now realise all that we can get from Supershow for 2019 and we are looking forward to making full use of it.

The help and support from the Dotser team exceeded all our expectations and they delivered on everything they said and more.

The Dotser Show System has contributed greatly to the Tullamore Show's development, finding the correct balance between technology and people.

Working with the SuperShow software has greatly reduced the workload coming up to the Show.

It is easy to change around classes prior to downloading the Prize Schedule.

Hugely time-saving with online entries, no slow inputting of each exhibitor and then producing the catalogue quickly on closing of entries.

No need for writing prize money cheques - once results have been entered onto the system you can just generate a Bank file for uploading to your online banking

Great for Trade Stand enquiries and database building. User friendly. Very helpful staff at Dotser answering any queries you may have quickly and efficiently

Wonderful software.

Cuts admin time down to about 25% of what it used to be. Also deals with all competition entries, automatic schedule and program.

Best investment we ever made. Couldn’t praise it highly enough. And great backup service.

To their own detriment, always there, all the time.