Tourism Ireland has the job of attracting visitors to this island. It is targeting 12 overseas markets in a major public relations push but, depending on local consumer patterns and existing perceptions, the content and timing of the ads will change from market to market, writes Laura Slattery.

"Ireland - the island of memories" is how Tourism Ireland, the new all-Ireland tourism body, will market the country in a €5 million (£3.9 million) television and print advertising campaign to be shown overseas this year.

The ads are designed to capture a "mental freeze frame" of the country - "a perfect moment from a holiday in Ireland that someone would remember for a lifetime or recount to others".

Promoting Ireland as a holiday destination for overseas visitors, the main aim of the body, is a major marketing operation with funding of more than €76 million over the next three years.

Ireland as a tourist destination is treated as a brand.

"International consumers, whatever their level of knowledge of Ireland, have a set of perceptions at an emotional level of what Ireland has to offer," according to Tourism Ireland, which has responsibility for managing the relaunched Tourism Brand Ireland logo.

Ireland's brand values - the beauty of the country, the friendliness of the people and the relaxed pace of life - are the basis for the new advertisements, which tell the stories of different characters enjoying their experiences of Ireland.

The public relations push targets 12 overseas markets but, as marketing strategies need to reflect local consumer patterns and existing perceptions of the product on offer, the content and timing of the advertisements will change from market to market.

"There are particular nuances that we would want to emphasise given individual market requirements," says Ms Niamh Fitzpatrick, director of marketing at Tourism Ireland.

"In Britain, for example, we would focus on people interaction and the social aspects of holidays here, and promote Ireland as an exciting destination. But in the US, we would concentrate on the mystical, magic elements. And in Germany, the visuals we would use would emphasise the beautiful landscape and the slower pace of life."

The campaign is being rolled out throughout the spring, timed to suit the length of consumer decision-making processes in each country.

In the US, consumers booking long-haul flights and planning more complex accommodation need longer lead times. Advertising starts there this month, whereas closer-to-home markets such as France and Britain will be targeted in March.

In fact, the British market is an "all-year-round market", says Ms Fitzpatrick, and was already the target of Tourism Ireland campaigning over the Christmas period.

This year, with Americans reluctant to fly following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the importance of these more local markets has increased.

An extra bank holiday in Britain to mark the Golden Jubilee means that many workers will have a four-day weekend free from June 1st to June 4th this summer, which may lead to an increase in city-break holidays to nearby countries such as Ireland.

"Typically we would see an increase around the times of bank holidays in the UK and France, and Patrick's Day is another time we would highlight activities in the country," says Ms Fitzpatrick. "In Britain, the market is very much price-driven. It is about working tactically with tour operators and ferry partners, providing a platform for them to advertise and getting people to come here."

Getting people to come here by ferry is another challenge.

"A lot of the attention has focused on the drop in the amount of access through the airlines but there's also very, very significant ferry capacity available," Ms Fitzpatrick stresses.

The ferry-travelling tourists are significant because they represent the "own car segment" of the market, who tend to stay a bit longer, travel around the country and spend more money.

"That's the kind of tourist that we really want," adds Ms Fitzpatrick - the kind of British tourists who share the consumer behaviour of Americans, who hire cars over here but this year are expected to stay at home in greater numbers.

The numbers of both British and US visitors fell last year for the first time in a decade, but the estimated 7 per cent drop in the total number of visitors was eased by the fact that those Americans who did come spent more, with only a 1 per cent decrease in total revenue.

But while Tourism Ireland is busy promoting this country to British consumers, the British Tourist Authority has stepped up its efforts to lure Irish tourists to its sights and cities. A £5 million sterling (€8.2 million) marketing campaign to entice overseas visitors back to the country after the disastrous effects of foot-and-mouth disease was introduced in London last week, under the slogan "UK OK". It will run in seven countries including Ireland, where 53 per cent of the outbound travel market is to Britain.

"Ireland is quite a late-booking market but this year we want people to travel as soon as possible, respond to the offers and look at new destinations," says Ms Linda Tuttiett, manager of the Britain Travel Centre in Dublin.

With a budget of approximately €1.7 million to sell Britain to Irish travellers, Ms Tuttiett is "delighted" that this year's campaign is five-times bigger than any previous campaign in Ireland. It centres on four major themes: activity or family holidays in the countryside, city breaks, heritage in Britain and sports tourism.

The British Tourist Authority is encouraging the travel trade to promote a number of "gold", "silver" and "bronze" discounts on holidays as well as "dream offers" - packages consumers could never normally buy, such as private champagne tours of the Crown Jewels or a personal tour around Princess Diana's family home, Althorp, by her brother.

"All the signs are that 2002 is going to be a great year for travelling between the UK and Ireland," Ms Tuttiett concludes.

But while the volume of two-way traffic across the Irish Sea will come under the spotlight, it will be important for the Irish industry to maintain brand presence in the US market to take advantage of future growth.

"We have invested strongly in the American market and we want to be favourably positioned when there is an upturn and safeguard our investment," says Ms Fitzpatrick of Tourism Ireland.

Mr John King, heritage and tourism director of Shannon Development, agrees. Shannon Development has established a Tourism Action Force to represent industry interests in the region, putting together a €1.5 million marketing plan to draw business into the West.

"That money is a drop in the ocean of what needs to be done on a national basis but we are stretching the value of the euro, if you like," says Mr King.

The organisation is promoting a new website aimed at the international travel media in the US and Europe, using direct mail marketing.

"We have spent years and years cultivating relationships in the US," says Mr King. "There might not be any significant return on our investment this year but, in 2003, we want people to still be aware of us."