Given the relatively small size of the Irish domestic market, Irish export success is crucial to the strength of the Irish economy and also vital to the long-term growth of the majority of Irish companies: markets like Birmingham is bigger than the entire Irish domestic market. However, a survey by KPMG found that a lower than average proportion of Irish companies (49% compared with 60% for the European average) saw international business as part of their company strategy, and only 27% of all companies were planning to move into new export markets, the lowest out of eight European countries surveyed. Are Irish companies setting their ambitions high enough when it comes to exporting their brands?

Understand your export market

It is clearly important to unders tand that an export market may differ dramatically in terms of consumer tastes and preferences, culture and spending patterns, which means that it is unlikely that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to different elements of the marketing mix elements of advertising and promotion, product, distribution and pricing will be transferable. The degree to which you can export exactly the same brand will depend on the category itself, and the degree to which local associations matter, as well as the export market. For instance, a survey by the Irish Marketing Review found that approximately 57% of Irish drink brands are identical in their domestic and international markets, but only 4% of food brands – the role of food in society and culture is tremendously diverse around the world, but that of soft drinks, perhaps less so.

Flahavan’s

It is clearly important to unders tand that an export market may differ dramatically in terms of consumer tastes and preferences, culture and spending patterns, which means that it is unlikely that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to different elements of the marketing mix elements of advertising and promotion, product, distribution and pricing will be transferable. The degree to which you can export exactly the same brand will depend on the category itself, and the degree to which local associations matter, as well as the export market. For instance, a survey by the Irish Marketing Review found that approximately 57% of Irish drink brands are identical in their domestic and international markets, but only 4% of food brands – the role of food in society and culture is tremendously diverse around the world, but that of soft drinks, perhaps less so.

Potential benefits of exporting to consider

1) Potential for long-term growth: it may be a better use of resources to pursue a smaller slice of a bigger or fast growing market than concentrate on growing share in the domestic market
2) Split risks: operating in multiple markets can protect companies from the risks of downturns or losses in single markets due to unforeseen shocks or competitive activity
3) Test-bed for innovation: where consumer trends or market conditions are advanced, new product or brand innovations can be tried out, and brought back to the domestic market if successful
4) Export success as a sign of quality in domestic market: a long running domestic campaign for Kerrygold highlighted the fact that French people use the butter for their cooking, which acted as an endorsement of quality for the brand.

How important is Irishness to exporting the brand?

The advantage of identifying a product with a country is what brand strategist Martin Lindstrom calls “free branding—leveraging a country's brand rather than building your own”. Showcasing the local expertise that has gone into manufacturing can also be a way to differentiate a brand. However, there are major caveats

1) Irishness can be executed in different ways: for provenance to catch the attention of the consumer, there has to be a compelling brand story. Using a brand provenance story and visual identity that is very similar to the competition is likely to commodify the brand

2) Irishness is a more important positive association in some categories than others. For instance, Bord Bia research found that in dairy, beef and sausages, Irishness is a more important sign of quality and expertise

3) For British consumer, perceptions of what Irishness is are often blurred and not highly developed: for instance, 39% of British consumers see the Republic of Ireland as part of the British Isles

Factors to consider when communicating provenance

- How interested are people in where it comes from and how it is produced? (higher for food than drink, higher for meat than dairy and vegetables)
- How can you communicate freshness in an export market where relevant?
- Bear in mind some scepticism about origin for some categories: Irish vodka needs to work harder to demonstrate credibility than Irish butter!
-Think about different layers of provenance in where a product is farmed, manufactured and packaged. Consumers are most interested in where a product is made, not where it is packaged or where the head office is!

Niche approach case study:
Gourmet’s Choice Smoked Salmon

Gourmet’s Choice is a family run smoked salmon business based in the North-East of Scotland, which was awarded the Exporter of the year category at the 2009 Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards. The company first started exporting to the USA in the 1980s and 1990s, and built on this by expanding into the Middle East and Asia from 2001. The following factors can be identified in the company’s success:
1) Leveraging the PR it has received from winning food awards over the past 3 years by promoting this heavily in trade journals, on its website and in email correspondence
2) Using international trade fairs, such as the Dubai based Gulfood show at which it has been a regular exhibitor at, as a means of building relationships with existing customers and winning new customers
3) Intelligently harnessing support and advice on how to export from industry associations such as Food From Britain and Scottish Enterprise, as well as maintaining good working relationships with their transport and logistic providers, which is critical for flexibility when dealing with a short shelf-life product

Mass brand case study:
Jameson Irish whiskey

Jameson is the third largest single distillery whiskey in the world, and by far the highest selling Irish whiskey in the world. Part of the reason for Jameson’s success was the active decision Pernod Ricard and Irish Distillers took to put the large scale investment required behind marketing and distribution for the brand rather than the comparable Powers and Paddy whiskey brands, because it was felt the Jameson brand was more adaptable for the international market. Jameson’s is a globally recognizable brand but adapted according to the preferences and tastes of local markets.

It is also worth noting that the Jameson take on Irish provenance differs greatly from their competitors and sets the brand apart as younger, more entrepreneurial and more dynamic.