AQW 21801/11-15


Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim


Tabled Date: 15/04/2013
Answered On Date: 25/04/2013
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the advertising spend by InvestNI in the United States of America, in each of the last three years.


Answer:
Presenting and promoting Northern Ireland as a great place to do business is key to Northern Ireland’s success in attracting inward investment and encouraging exports.
The advertising spend for media placed in the US market over the last 3 years has been collated and is detailed below. The total is £819,990.
Financial Year
Advertising Placement (£)
2010-11
34,843
2011-12
366,171
2012-13
418,976
Grand Total
819,990
Advertising activity over the last 3 years has supported sales activity in-market and has been specifically aimed at raising the profile of Northern Ireland and promoting the region as a destination for inward investment and to highlight expertise in the region. Channels used include online, airport advertising and selected print publications.
Research has indicated that Northern Ireland does not enjoy a widespread positive high profile particularly in the more distant emerging markets. In some markets including the US there exists a level of supposed familiarity that requires augmented/adjusted – eg some people’s awareness is confined to bad news stories they may have been exposed to and their perception of Northern Ireland may be based on outdated information about the region’s stability. Research has also highlighted that people are sometimes unlikely to be able to differentiate between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.
Given that the biggest barrier is one of perception, this can be addressed by marketing and promotion and increased budget has been allocated to this over the last 2 years.