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Branding on ambiguity? Place branding without a national identity: Marketing Northern Ireland as a post-conflict society in the USA

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Abstract

This study focuses on place branding as a method of promoting a positive image of Northern Ireland as a post conflict society in the United States of America in the absence of an agreed single national identity on which to build. Qualitative methods were used to collect data on the views and opinions of key stakeholders in both Northern Ireland and the USA. The results show that Northern Ireland has adopted a ‘Janus’ strategy when marketing Northern Ireland internationally, marketing Northern Ireland as ‘Irish’ in Irish-friendly markets and as ‘British’ in British-friendly markets.

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Notes

  1. Named after the Roman god of gates and new beginnings, Janus is portrayed with two faces and can look at two different directions at once.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Employment and Learning, Lesley Buildings, 61 Fountain Street, Belfast, BT1 5EX, Northern Ireland

    Michael Gould

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  1. Michael Gould
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  2. Heather Skinner
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Correspondence to Michael Gould.

Additional information

1has just returned to live and work in Northern Ireland after four years as the First Secretary and Deputy Director, Northern Ireland Bureau, Washington DC. He is a Chartered Marketer and has a wide range of experience of marketing in the public sector, particularly within the food supply chain and marketing education, and in the private sector in aquaculture management. He has worked throughout the UK and Europe and prior to taking up this diplomatic posting he lived and worked in Sweden.

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Gould, M., Skinner, H. Branding on ambiguity? Place branding without a national identity: Marketing Northern Ireland as a post-conflict society in the USA. Place Brand Public Dipl 3, 100–113 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.pb.6000051

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.pb.6000051

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