In the first of an occasional series Richard Slee argues the case for being bolder in the promotion of the Isle of Man.

Marketing matters. Professional marketing provides economic stimulus, contributes to innovation and on the whole is generally a good thing for society.

Like many people in the island, I listened with keen interest to the Treasury Minister’s budget update in July.

There was an encouraging reference to marketing when Mr Cannan highlighted that, ’we will look to capitalise on the opportunities our response to the pandemic has given us - through enhanced marketing of the island as a great place to live for entrepreneurs and business leaders’.

This comes after the additional funding given to Visit Isle of Man which, pre-lockdown, had delivered its own ambitious, impressive strategy for growing tourism in the Isle of Man.

On the face of it, Mr Cannan’s enhanced programme concentrates on highlighting the island’s quality of life.

It’s not clear yet whether this enhanced programme will cover primary sectors.

strategy

A new economic strategy to be delivered as part of the Programme for Government has not yet been launched, so there is little clarity to the interested observer at this moment around how the island plans to focus its efforts to grow the economy.

And, of course, Covid-19 just muddied the watersâ?¦

The future success of our economy will depend on the application and communication of our real and relevant strengths.

It is also important that the markets we choose to target should be: compatible with the vision outlined in the future economic strategy; realistic and attainable given the resources available; profitable in terms of offering value creation for the Isle of Man; and viable in terms of alignment with the Isle of Man’s competitive advantages.

In order to drive growth it’s essential that the island increases overall awareness of what it has to offer.

We residents know it’s a great place to live and do business - but we aren’t the intended audience.

Previous perceptions research undertaken within the UK on behalf of the Government indicated that many of the things associated with the Isle of Man were the stereotypes we are all familiar with: being a tax haven for example.

When the island has made the national and international headlines in recent years it has usually been around issues where it has been misrepresented and poorly portrayed.

The Paradise/Panama Papers and Lewis Hamilton’s private jet were, needless to say, not great news for the island’s reputation despite the good efforts of Government representatives in trying to counter the negativity.

There is no doubt that the island has been pretty effective at niche marketing activity for example e-gaming, in the past.

However much of our messaging is only exposed to low reach and low frequency media - for instance in specialist trade magazines.

Why invest further in marketing and

promotion?

Extensive research undertaken three years ago for Ireland found that every â?¬1 spend on marketing generated â?¬5.70 for the Irish economy. Other research across different countries found similar, often larger, effects.

Now, more than ever, is the time when we need to be bold and proactive in investing in the promotion of our island.

Not only to highlight the benefits of living and working here but also to showcase and support the many reputable quality businesses that are delivering great products and services around the world.

Anyone interested in how our near neighbour Liverpool is addressing similar issues of brand, reputation and economic growth can attend a free webinar being hosted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) next month.

Chris Brown, director of Marketing Liverpool will be talking about how they plan to position the city region as the most progressive, values and ethics led economy in Europe, with a vision to make Liverpool the most exciting city in the UK.

To book your free place for the CIM Webinar Express taking place at 1pm on September 10 featuring Chris Brown ’Covid-19 impact on the promotion of place and the role of destination marketing organisations’ visit www.cim.co.uk/events

Richard Slee sits on the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s North West Board and is managing director of local marketing, communications and PR firm RS Marketing and PR. He was recently named CIM Volunteer of the Year 2020 for the North West region.