1. Ireland >
2. Expanding a Business >
3. Marketing a Business

Marketing a Business in Ireland

Expanding a business to Ireland is more than just costs and procedures. It's more cultural acclimatisation than calculatory acumen. It's making sure your product or service fits the inclinations and idiosyncrasies of a nation; finding a way to culturalise your business in order to reap the same results your business has achieved domestically. This is accomplished through one simple step: effective marketing in Ireland.

Marketing your business on indigenous soil is an art-form in itself; attempting to do it overseas is nigh-on miraculous. Countries may be becoming more heterogeneous, but the foundations of a culture rarely budge for anything: their sensitivities, traditions, humour, discourses, protocols are essentially unchanging and stubbornly unaccommodating. Therefore, the identity of your product or service needs to seamlessly fashion itself upon a nation, not the other way around, shoehorned in, hoping for the best.

Advertising and Sales promotions in Ireland

If you are expanding a business in Ireland, the principle advertising medias are television, press, radio and outdoor advertising, respectively in size of market share. One third of the Irish televison market only receive RTÉ television programming, which has a code of standards established by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland. Cable television and British TV transmissions are received by a large section of the population. The Irish National Public Service Broadcasting Corporation has five radio stations and two television stations and provides a highly competitive advertising envrironment. In the press, UK media has a wide circulation and the are approximately 60 Irish newspapers and 150 trade publications.

Setting up a business in Ireland also means that any prices should be in Euro and it is recommended that British advertisers consult a professional agency before launching a campaign.

Overseas

Cultural Sensitivity
Cultural sensitivity and understanding of protocol is paramount to effective marketing in Ireland. The intricacies of a nation its beliefs, even its superstitions can make or break your business. Know the market; immerse yourself in it. Never assume your marketing strategy will be transplantable to a foreign country. There is only a slim chance language will translate well. Anglophonic countries may be susceptible, but if your product or service plays on a quintessentially British characteristic or joke the chances are, it will not be well received.

As for other countries, don't bank on using the same strap-lines or gimmicks. Unless they are perfectly transitional, your product or service could suffer especially if it relies on humour.

Unless you are certain your product or service can sell itself on indigenous merits, it is probably wise to revise its selling-points for a foreign market. As always, however, only your own fastidious research can conclude this.

In Ireland, culture is very similar to the UK, with UK TV widely available and brands such as Manchester United enthusiastically supported.

Click here to Ask an Expert about Marketing a Business in Ireland