News of and IDA Ireland seeking proposals from US based PR firms speaks well for the country's forward momentum, and tells volumes about real business expectations of communications companies. IDA's call for proposals makes no bones about media outreach as a component value.
An interesting bit of news came across my digital desk this morning, a request for proposals (RFP) from Ireland's agency for developing direct investment in the country, IDA Ireland. Flatly stated, the document I saw targets US agencies for an apparent revamping or renewal of IDA's recruitment of investors from the United States. For those not aware, IDA Ireland was formed way back in 1949 as part of the Department of Industry & Commerce there.
Besides the numbers indicated in the RFP where the US direct investment in Ireland are concerned (about 70% currently), what's fascinating about this particular PR competitive call are the "deliverables" - the expectations for precise numbers of media mentions, and etc. This sort of mini-expose of the external communications aspect of a leading international investment player, is also a bit of a module for emulating success in one view. The fact IDA and other Irish incentive variables have influenced this degree of US investment in the past, provides a little template for showing how PR is still leveraged toward the ends of business. IDA successes, like the 2010 Fi-Tech Dublin announcement from whence the image below came, add inextricably to arguments for PR in this century.
[caption id="attachment_44404" align="alignleft" width="585"]
L - R Peter Marshall, Managing Director Fi-Tek, Batt O'Keeffe TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Barry O'Leary, Chief Executive IDA Ireland - courtesy MerrionStreet.ie[/caption]
Our source informs us that IDA, at least partially as a result of the "constant challenge of competiton from other foreign direct investment governments agencies", needs significant media mentioning to help overcome competitor challenges. To wit, we are told IDA expects media outlets such as; CNBC-TV, Bloomberg-TV, Fox Business Network, CNN-TV, Fox News Channel, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and Forbes in the following proportions:
- Print and TV Interviews - At least 75 per year
- One-on Meetups or Briefings - At least 48
- Tier 1 Placements - At least 25 per year
- Conference Calls - At least 48 per week
- Ireland offers a corporate tax rate of 12.5% for active business.
- And there's a 25% Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit available
- Plus, an Intellectual Property (IP) regime there leaves a positive write-off schema for such acquisitions.
