berlininternational economic congress

UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business

Berlin

International Economic Congress

Brand Ireland

- An Illustration of Damage and Repair -

Professor Mary Lambkin

Outline

Brand Ireland Reputation Damage Prospects of Repair Factors for Success Outlook

Ireland as a Nation Brand

Reputation Damage from financial Crisis

Prospects of Repair: Research Evidence from other Cases

Factors necessary for Success

Outlook for the Future

Brand Ireland is all about

People and Place

Reflects research evidence that Ireland scores in top 10 on

• Natural beauty

• Friendly locals

• Families

• Nice place to live

• Rest and relaxation

• Easy to Do Business With

• Preferred destination for conferences

• Good to extend a business trip


Positioning

TOURISM BUSINESS

The island of

character and

characters

The island

of vibrant

possibility


The two main Targets

- Tourism and Business -


A roaring Success

GDP growth averaged 6.3% through the 1990s, with close to 10%—between 1995

and 2000. Ireland’s GDP per capita surpassed the UK’s.

FDI averaged over $2.5 billion per year and unemployment reduced to 5%. Fiscal

surpluses became the norm, national debt all but disappeared, and emigrants

returned in droves.

Ireland designated “The World’s Best Country”

“Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the

new (the fourth highest GDP per head in the world in 2005, low unemployment,

political liberties) with the preservation of certain cozy elements of the old, such as

stable family and community life.”

The Economist Intelligence Unit, Quality of Life Survey, EIU World Report, 2005, p. 86.

Success of Celtic Tiger


We Irish basked in the glow and

thought we were wonderful

but

pride comes before a fall......

And fall we did!


Ireland’s Reputation crumbles

Cowen's global hangoverSeptember 15, 2010

BRIAN Cowen’s hangover went global today.

As the country’s economic standing plummets, the

world’s most influential publications and websites

reported on the Taoiseach’s late night drink-in.

Coverage of the debacle featured in 457 articles in

400 publications across 26 countries.

The Wall Street Journal said the timing of Cowen’s

“bizarre ... slurred and tired” interview, “couldn’t be

worse”.

It said that that the country’s spiralling debt crisis

was “fuelling concerns about the Government’s

ability to weather the storm”.

Fianna Fail TDs were reeling after their annual

think-in was renamed the “drink-in”.


Cowen's global HangoverSeptember 15, 2010

Over 400 publications covered

the story; 457 articles were

published by midnight on 14th

September, less than 24 hours

after the interview;

The coverage represented a

692% increase on the average

daily coverage for Mr Cowen

over the proceeding five days

Brian Cowen (Global Coverage 10th – 14th September 2010)


http://olearyanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Brian-Cowan-Global-Coverage-Last-5-days.jpg

The Story appeared in Publications in 26 Countries including: USA, UK, India and China

Brian Cowen (Global Coverage 10th – 14th September 2010)

Country by Counrty Breakdown of International Coverage


Bailout by the IMF and the ECB

Today the 12 men and women from the International

Monetary Fund, in suits and sensible coats, arrived

in Dublin to clear up the financial mess.

By any measure it was an extraordinary day for

Ireland. Historian Diarmuid Ferriter described it as

devastating and a "humiliating milestone" that the

nation's sovereignty was being compromised nearly

100 years after hard-fought independence.

A leader in the Irish Times talked of ignominy.

"There is the shame of it all," it said. "Having

obtained our political independence from Britain to

be masters of our own affairs, we have now

surrendered our sovereignty to the European

Commission, the European Central Bank, and the

IMF."

Ajai Chopra, Deputy Director of the

IMF European Department, on his

way to a meeting at the with the

governor of the Central Bank of

Ireland. November 18, 2010


http://newswhip.ie/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Ajai-Chopra-the-Deputy-Director-of-the-IMF.jpg

When Irish Eyes Are Crying

“First Iceland. Then Greece.

Now Ireland, which headed for

bankruptcy with its own mysterious

logic. In 2000, suddenly among the

richest people in Europe, the Irish

decided to buy their country—from

one another. After which their banks

and government really screwe them.

So where’s the rage?

Michael Lewis, March 2011


Nation Brands are about trying to achieve

Convergence between Identity and Image

Identity Image


Typically Identity is more positive

than Image

Identity

Image

Positive

Neutral or Negative


In Ireland’s Case, it is now the reverse

Identity

ImageNeutral or Positive

Negative


Our Trust in our Institutions crumbled

Global 55

Brazil 80

UAE 78

Netherlands 73

China 73

Italy 56

India 56

Sweden 52

Spain 51

France 50

Poland 49

Germany 44

US 42

UK 40

Russia 40

Ireland 39


Ireland less trusting than global Peers of most Industries


Ireland least trusting of Government among all EU Countries


So, what is the outlook for the future?

Are we Irish and Brand Ireland destined to

reside at the bottom of all rankings for the

foreseeable future?

And, more importantly,

Is this going to damage our economy in a real

and lasting way?


The Answer is -- not necessarily

For several Reasons

1. Ireland’s problems are relatively minor in the scale of

events that countries have to deal with.

2. Research demonstrates that corporations (not unlike countries) bounce back very quickly, even from very grave problems.

3. Strong leadership and good communication have been shown to be effective tools in accelerating recovery.

4. Evidence from the Irish economy shows that it has actually started to recover already.


Catastrophies form a continuum in Terms of Gravity

Mismanagement

Malevolence

Technological Disaster

Confrontation

Major Natural Disaster


Ireland’s Problems are at the low End of the

Continuum

Mismanagement

Malevolence

Technological Disaster

Confrontation

Major Natural Disaster


Research Evidence shows that Corporations recover

very quickly from catastrophic Events

• Sales of contaminated or recalled products return to

their normal levels within 6-12 months, eg Tylenol,

Perrier, beef.

• Share prices and volume of trade return to their normal

levels within a year, eg. Toyota.

• General corporate reputations return to their previous

levels inside 3 years--survey of CEOs of major plcs.


Searches about Travel to Ireland have declined by

more than 60%

Interest over Time


Interest in Business in Ireland

Interest in business in Ireland was very high during the boom

years, declined as the recession took hold, but showed signs of

recovery in 2010

Interest over Time


Irish Exports have held up well and Growth

accelerated in 2010

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

20002001200220032004200520062007200820092010

Exports Imports

Irish exports up 6.9% in 2010 compared to EU27 average of -3.9%

Export and Import Volumes


Ireland’s Share of FDI is Still Very Strong Ranked

2nd in the world in 2010

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Singapore

Ireland

Thailand

CzechRep

Brazil

Poland

Australia

India

Indonesia

UK

FDI Index


Tourism Numbers have suffered but there are Signs

of Uplift this Year

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,0008,0009,000

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

000OverseasVisits

Overseas visits to Ireland peaked in 2007 at 8 million, falling to 6

million in 2010, a decline of 25%

Overseas Visits to Ireland


Our Trust in our Institutions is also improving

Trust in Business Infomred Publics ages 24-64

Ireland trust in busness now equal to US trust and catching up to EU


And we have a new Government which should bring

fresh Leadership and better Communication


berlininternational economic congress

Documents

success outlook

nation brand reputation

central bank of ireland

illustration of damage

global today

averagedaily coverage

interviewthe coverage

positioning tourism