Politicians need to market the EU like the Ford Mondeo to win the Nice referendum, suggests Mike Welsford.
If Bertie Ahern was a car, what make of car would he be? The question is not as daft as it sounds - it's a way of encouraging people to think about issues or personalities in a less knee-jerk way, and to analyse the qualities that provoke a reaction.
Just before the last election, we asked some people that question. It wasn't enough to constitute a scientific sample, we were curious about how people might react to a political "brand" that was being advertised at the time on every lamp-post.
And the answer was surprising, at least at first glance. The consensus that emerged was that if Bertie was a car, he'd be a Ford Mondeo. It was the reasons people gave that made illuminating reading - and showed why they were certain to trust him with forming the next Government. A family car, not too flashy, great value for money, reliable, really comfortable on a long journey. And above all safe.
These are great attributes in any brand - and they showed that the instinctive emotional reaction that people had to the Taoiseach was trust. Would the same thing apply, I wonder, if we were trying to analyse the instinctive reaction of people to the Nice Treaty and to the EU?
The new referendum on Nice is expected in late October, and the Government has made it clear that its passage is the number-one priority. A huge investment has been made already in trying to understand what went wrong with the last Nice referendum, with a high-powered forum searching for answers. They haven't found any one answer which explains why people couldn't bring themselves to be enthusiastic about Nice.
Perhaps this time the political elite needs to step into new territory. Maybe it should look at the business models that have allowed most of the biggest companies in the world to grow, succeed and capture the hearts and minds of their electorate. Its electorate is the consumer, who voted No to Nice. The elite should ask why is it that we show such strong preferences for one product over another, indeed for one country over the next one?
The reason is brands. Branding strategy has become one of the hottest topics in corporate life. And for good reason, too. Attracting and holding loyal customers is a skill that requires an understanding of what resides in that customer's heart.
The notion is simple enough. Buyers make a choice largely on the basis of the affinity they feel towards a product or service. This is what makes a brand. And brands are what people buy into in a big way. They display loyalty and commitment to favoured brands. They build deep levels of trust. They feel confident about buying the same brand time and time again. In short, while the relationship between us and the products we buy is practical, the relationship between us and a brand is emotional.
Marketers understand this. They spend an inordinate amount of time digging deep into the emotions of their customers to shape and direct the way in which their brand proposition is communicated.
The notion of applying the principles of branding strategy to nations and continents is not new. Indeed, the creation of "Brand Ireland" has been at the heart of the strategy used by Bord Fáilte in its efforts to craft a favourable image of our country. There are many who would pay credit to this work as a core component of the huge success we have enjoyed from the tourist boom during the recent past.
But the key thing in branding theory is the recognition that in the absence of an emotional hook, a brand is no more than a product.
And in all the studies one can read about Europe, if one puts it into marketing language the truth is that the EU is still a product and has not yet become a brand. The absence of any strong positive feelings for the EU supports this possibility. If it were a brand it would already be on the back foot because it has to compete for the affection of its citizens with each separate nation.
The emotional connection Irish citizens feel for Ireland will always be deeper than that for a collection of states which they see (rightly or wrongly) as having been artificially created for reasons that are mostly economic.
If you did do a brand study of the EU, using the relevant and highly sophisticated marketing tools available, what would you find in people's hearts? At a guess, you'd find this - old, distant, cold, well-fed, secretive, bureaucratic, over-paid, remote, inaccessible, and an awful lot of gobbledegook. This is not a brand that people are going to rush out and buy!
The physical manifestation of the EU brand in the form of the blue flag with its 12 stars is hardly stirring and frankly feels cold and disconnected. Take the passion that national symbols such as the harp and the tricolour hold for Irish citizens and the challenge is brought sharply into focus.
In short, the EU is in desperate need of good basic brand management. It needs to define for itself a clear set of values. These values need to be understood and lived out by its brand owners. We are talking here about such core values as equality, transparency, accessibility, integrity and accountability.
There is no place for the expediency, elitism, or opportunism with which the last Nice debate, for example, was seen to have been managed. This time, if loyalty is to be inspired, there must be real passion in the approach.
Notwithstanding the challenge there is a way forward. Young Europeans are much more likely to embrace the vision defined for the EU. They are less connected to the "nation brand" and more likely to respond to brand-building cues put forward by the EU brand management. This is the point of entry.
But it has to stand for something and at the same time tap into relevant feelings on which a solid brand platform can be created. Thereafter the EU brand needs to be actively managed just like any other brand to ensure it flourishes and grows, that it remains true to itself, and protects the equities inherent in its make-up. It requires strong brand management embraced at the highest level and acted upon by all its stakeholders.
For the EU to succeed as a brand the politicians will have to be trained in brand asset management. Their responsibilities will include competitive positioning, customer satisfaction management, and ultimately brand loyalty. Unless they get that right, they could lose it again.
Mike Welsford is chairman of communications company Ogilvy Ireland and an expert in branding.