Marketing Transitional Ireland for FDI
Our distinguishing features are our creativity, our national responsiveness and flexibility in catering for changing needs and our relationship building. They are especially suitable for the knowledge intensive, globally networked age.
Eamonn Ryan,
Executive Director, Overseas
What Ireland has to offer in 2004 is significantly different from ten years ago. Then we were offering an offshore location for companies to base distributable functions of their business. Today Ireland is a knowledge economy and recognised internationally as such. Understanding this is essential to our future success in marketing Ireland. It defines our market position. But there is more to it than this. We are not just another region or location; we are differentiated by our capabilities, which have been evidenced by our performance, particularly in the past ten years.
Ireland’s capabilities can be measured in standard economic terms and they frequently are, both by economists and by businesses making location decisions. We rank highly in these terms. But there are intangible factors, less easily and less frequently measured, which underlie and underpin economic statistics. In Ireland’s case these factors are innate and cultural. Our distinguishing features are our creativity, our national responsiveness and flexibility in catering for changing needs and our relationship building. They are especially suitable for the knowledge intensive, globally networked age. The ease of Irish people in handling knowledge, and applying it, has often been identified to us by investors as a key ingredient in Ireland’s success.
The Essence of Ireland
The use of our “Ireland, knowledge is in our nature”™ theme seeks to capture and convey this essence of Ireland. It both reflects what exists and is forward looking. But it must also convincingly and substantially represent Ireland’s deepening capability to meet the demands of further high quality manufacturing and service activities and of knowledge intensive research and development. For the future, such capabilities are central to our desired global role and leading position.
What Ireland is now achieving – a knowledge driven, high value, open, flexible and responsive economy – matches very well the strategic intentions of the many leading global businesses with whom we have developed strong relationships. These businesses face, and sometimes create, the dynamics of the ever-changing market place. IDA’s marketing strategy must understand and relate to these dynamics. We must focus on next generation industries and requirements in newer fields such as biotechnology, nanotechnology and digital media, as well as on our existing areas of strength. We seek to, and must, offer complete solutions for investors’ needs.
“At the heart of both the Irish and Dell character is big dreams, a passion for building and re-building, and the tenacity to adapt to challenging circumstances.”
– Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO, Dell.
Solutions for Investors
Our relationship building with client company personnel is evolving as we move higher on the value chain. Traditionally, the main contact within the company tended to be the Vice-President (VP) International, Manufacturing or Tax. These will continue to be key people for us but, as Ireland’s product offering broadens and deepens, the decision makers whom we must influence now also include the Chief Officers in Technology, Finance, Information, Operations (COO) and up to the CEO. The demands on us are greater as we offer a more complex and sophisticated product.
IDA’s marketing strategies also involve developing credible relationships with key academic institutions, research centres and scientific bodies to advance our programmes. In doing so, we draw on the cooperative resources of the third level colleges in Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Their efforts and the investments currently being made in Ireland at every level of education, skills and research are the foundation of our future success.
The consistent proactive government policy towards inward investment for more than forty years is a major element of our international marketing programmes. Imaginative government decisions in areas such as education, incentives and taxation have strengthened Ireland’s attractiveness for inward investment. Latterly, as grants have become less significant, this pro-business policy has again been underlined by the SFI initiative and the legislative changes in the area of holding companies and R&D tax credits; vital to maintaining Ireland as the country where private enterprise is public policy.
Ireland is well placed to capitalise on the changing economic world in the post dot-com era, even in the context of debate, such as that in the US, on ‘the export of jobs’. This topic has become controversial in the US in recent times, stimulating much debate. On the one hand there are calls for short-term protection in the face of severe job losses particularly from some business people who seek a more stable environment and see the current trend of the export of higher quality jobs as ‘cutting into the muscle rather than shedding excess fat’. On the other hand, there is a coalition of minds between economists and strategically focused companies who call for innovation, not protectionism, and who accept the reality of economic competitiveness.
As the most globalised country in the world Ireland’s position has to be for openness. Success will come to the country whose workers are the best and most creative, operating within a national strategy of international competitiveness based on innovation. As countries specialise in their areas of comparative advantage, each can benefit. This is not a zero sum game; it has advantages for all. This is the Ireland view and the companies we work with understand it.
A team of thirty marketing executives, working from thirteen offices worldwide, implements IDA’s overseas marketing programme. Their role is to understand the requirements of our clients and their business, not just their current and immediate needs but their future needs. This must come from an ability to comprehend the characteristics and strategic imperatives of a company a number of years into the future.
In conjunction with our direct marketing strategies there is also a sharply focused promotions and media programme in each of our overseas markets. This includes sponsorship and collaboration with key international business events and prestigious Ireland-related events such as the American Ireland Fund and the Irish American Partnership. We are also involved with government promotional programmes with An Tánaiste and other Ministers as well as drawing on the overseas offices of our Embassies and Consulates. These programmes facilitate the development of contacts at the highest levels in organisations.
The Ireland brand is strong in our main markets. While this has been traditionally so in the US and Europe, the last ten years has brought a quantum leap in recognition in Japan. Our marketing strategy must continue to manage awareness and understanding of what we offer as we advance the knowledge-based economy. Our clients realise that globalisation is here to stay and they have to raise their game. Ireland is positioned as a resource in their endeavours. This is the product we offer.