THOSE who wonder what it takes to galvanise a politician into immediate action need only have taken a look at the recent row over Bord Failte's new marketing plans, to see it takes no more than a little green shamrock. Politicians lined up to defend the shamrock when it was suggested that Bord Failte might axe the national symbol as part of its £30 million plan to restructure what they refer to as the "branding" of Ireland.
The shamrock, it seemed failed to trigger off a clear connection with Ireland, and word spread like wildfire that it was to be replaced. Bord Failte however, insisted it had no intention of abandoning it entirely; it was just going to be "complemented" with alternative logos.
The initiative is part of what a spokesman for Bord Failte describes as "one of the biggest undertakings we have made to date in this area", and will be launched in mid November with a series of commercials currently being filmed around Ireland. Information as to the location of these advertisements will not be forthcoming until then: nor, indeed, will any information on them at all, from their content to their visual approach. Equally, the new logos are not being discussed, other than to acknowledge that they arc no threat to the shamrock.
"The idea is to create a new experience for the visitor to Ireland," the spokesman said. "There is a lack of awareness about all Ireland has to offer, and our intention is to make it a more emotional experience for those who come. Obviously I can't reveal the details of how this will be done until the launch but I think a lot of people are missing the point in concentrating on the shamrock logo; it is not going, it is just going to be complemented with other visual identities that are currently being developed."
This overhaul of Ireland's image is part of the run up to the millennium. For an idea as to just how marketable the country is we need only spend a night in front of the advertisements on TV - the idea of selling a little bit of Ireland, be it in a pint of stout, a tub of butter, or a packet of sausages, pervades the advertising industry, and the concepts of Ireland they promote rarely rise above nostalgia and sentiment. If Bord Failte has found perceptions of Ireland dated and failing to show the true Ireland exactly what kind of Ireland should we be promoting?
"I don't think there is any need to dress things up for international consumption," says Paul Mc Guinness, businessman, and manager of U2. "It genuinely is a very interesting place to live. Ireland is seen abroad as this hip young, technocratic place; it is seen to have energy and to be outward looking. At a business level, companies formerly came into Ireland under the IDA looking for cheap labour. Now they're coming because we have a highly educated workforce - you only have to go out to Kildare to see what companies such as Intel are doing to appreciate how much confidence international companies now have in Ireland.
"When I'm in America, for example, I find from people's reactions to Ireland that they are very aware of these developments; the country is very much seen for what it is rather than was. I think we are simply experiencing our industrial revolution 150 years late."
Such business confidence remains a relatively new development: the side of Ireland that has long been prominent in other nations' perception is our culture. This is a side Bord Failte already promotes, but many believe there is tremendous scope for further development, promoting everything from Irish cinema to the new writers and musicians making their mark internationally.
Rod Stoneman, chief executive of Bord Scannan na hEireann, is glad to see Bord Failte reassessing it's marketing strategy.
"The shamrock is a popular symbol, but maybe it deserves a rest for a while. It has cobwebs all over it and is enshrouded in a Celtic mist along with a whole lot of other exportable anachronisms. We're more interested in promoting a new Irish cinema which can embrace the great diversity of cultures on the island, films which celebrate the urban and rural, contemporary and historical . . we want to see films made from the tradition of agrarian Ireland, from Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway, from the different cultures and classes of the country as a whole. The scope is there.
Theatre director Lynne Parker, whose production of Stewart Parker's Pentecost is currently playing at the Donmar Warehouse in London, has found that the arts act as a spearhead for many people's perception of Ireland. "There is a great awareness of Irish talent abroad, we have world class directors in people like Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, Garry Hynes. We shouldn't be ashamed to do a good bit of boasting about it. We have new talent rising all the time and there is this constant process of replenishing through writers like Gina Moxley and Conor Mc Pherson. If Bord Failte want to widen the view of Ireland then I think they ought to make sure everyone knows about these people, and this side of the culture.
A crucial indication of Ireland's appeal lies in the country's falling emigration statistics. In 1989, an estimated 70,600 people left, with 26,700 choosing to return to Ireland, or come to live here. Last year, those figures stood at 39,500 and 33,500 respectively - a fall of over 30,000 in terms of emigrants, with almost as many people returning as leaving. This, Paul Mc Guinness suggests, bears testament to the economic and social growth of the country, a factor he feels should be at the forefront of any marketing campaign. "There is a distinct trend of my generation returning, having left when the country had less to offer. Many people are choosing to stay now too which is a tremendous development. There is a business sense everywhere that has changed things - we now have trader artists, like my own clients, U2, and Gabriel Byrne, Noel Pearson, Liam Neeson, Neil Jordan. They have all developed an approach that being an artist also means being on top of business. That has been very important in developing the cultural side of Ireland at an international level."
Bord Failte is basing its new campaign on consumer research undertaken in 17 target markets in the past 18 months. It found Ireland characterised "by accessible and unspoilt nature, friendly engaging people, and the opportunities for personal interaction which enhanced a holiday", according to its internal journal. Prof Brendan Kennelly, poet, academic, and sometime purveyor of the Irish advertising industry, finds these elements particularly pertinent to how the country develops its image abroad. "Communication is one of our great strengths, the tradition of the talker, and I think we should preserve and nurture that quality," he says. "We value people, we have a sense of people over objects, and we have a lot of very bright young people whom we should free from the points mentality in the education system and allow to be faithful to their own talents.
"I grew up in an Ireland with a lot of fear, and there were many sources of it. If we can pay attention to this fearlessness in our country, and pursue it in our everyday lives then I think we will be saying something about ourselves that the world will recognise."
Accentuating the fundamental idea of friendliness that is such a part of the standard image of Ireland is an approach Judge Rory O'Hanlon is more inclined to promote. "We ought to accentuate the simple, unsophisticated, traditional way of life which so many people in the rest of Europe or the US appreciate, for they do not have it in their own highly developed countries. People come here to be released from the ordinary pressures of life, to a place where the traditional values are more respected. I had some visitors from Spain recently who were very impressed with how many people still go to Mass here, and how unselfish we are as a people.
"There is a lack of vision on the part of politicians and a lack of discernment in the media in promoting these qualities, but they are certainly respected by people outside the country."
Ireland's current presidency of the EU coupled with its 22 year membership, have had an extensive effect both on European awareness of the country, and on its economic and social development. Colm Larkin, director of the European Commission in Ireland, has found the image of the country abroad has diversified considerably during its membership of the European Union. "We have carved out a new image of ourselves in Europe, an image of efficiency and style. We have been punching well above our weight in the construction of Europe with people like Garret FitzGerald, Peter Sutherland and Ray MacSharry. And it is not just our individuals; our Presidencies of the European Council, which involve thousands of our officials, have been consistently praised.
"There may have been a culture of failure in Ireland in the past, but now it's the opposite. We expect Irish people to be in the top rank, whether it's the Nobel Prizes, the Olympics, the Venice Film Festival, or the World Cup. This ambition is raising standards throughout the country. We leave this century with a much stronger national and cultural identity than we entered it."
While the stereotypical image of Ireland is to some degree still fuelled by ideas of copious drinking, extensive friendliness and sweeping countryside, perceptions have broadened over recent years. In effect, the job of promoting Ireland abroad was taken out of Bord Failte's hands some years ago.
The cultural and social reference points arc so wide and internationally successful that the country is now actually doing the job itself, through films, plays, literature, comedy and industry rather than through stereotype.
