Emergent Theme 3: Knowledge

In relation to the perceived lack of leadership in Government, some informants also cited a lack of specialist knowledge or education as a contributing factor in both the deficiency in political leadership and in relation to implementing the nation brand due to an “inconsistency in talents within the Government”, that is “arguably at political level” (GBSH03). This is also to an extent, reiterated by CDI02 in believing that “they [politicians] are pharmacists and teachers the Government, no disrespect because a lot of good things come out of the Isle of Man Government, they are very accessible, you can talk to them in the public etc., etc., but it is what they are pharmacists and teachers.” As well as by CSKS04: “well I think that the problem you’ve got here is that these are small communities so the politicians are drawn from a very small well, a small pond. They’re big fish in a very little pond.”

Although The Chief Secretary’s Office had a project manager, (CDI03) one informant (CDI01) believed he was “not exactly a huge assistance.” The lack of specialist knowledge in nation branding also meant that, “the government had to find the nearest fit for the job” and the consultant employed had “no academic or professional background or expertise in the field” and “didn’t know anything about it” (CDI02). On discussing the brand’s measurement and reporting procedures, when asked if the brand was ‘measured or monitored in anyway’ CDI02 responded: “no”. The interviewee added: “I don’t think there’s anybody qualified to measure here, I mean who’s going to measure it? Because nobody really understands what they’re doing anyway or what we’re doing” and “I think it’s important that there are people like you who are around and are asking the right questions and are actually formulating the questions to ask because we don’t know what they are. We don’t know

what those questions should be” (CDI01).

Additionally, politicians were thought to not “really appreciate how big the areas was” and as such, “we lost the battle at the fairly early stage” (PMVF05). Interestingly, in comparison to SCPR01’s view that “Donald Gelling understood it,” PMVF05 believes that “Donald inherited it, possibly Donald’s view was that of the public, that this was a, ‘were not a tin of beans, we are not going to be labelled’, and maybe missed some of the earlier discussions about what this really was about.” When asked whether all members of the Steering Committee had a ‘hundred per cent grasp’ of what they were trying to do, CDI01 responded: “I think that’s fair”. The interviewee continued: “I think that there was definitely mixed abilities, because they came from such disparate backgrounds and often were less involved in the creative side of understanding what brand composition, what the elements, it might do, yes some of them could not necessarily grasp what’s right and what is not right.”

A lack of understanding of the intended purpose of the brand is also evidenced by PMVNA02 believing: “I think you probably had a high level of awareness of Freedom to Flourish, if you asked somebody, ‘what is the Islands, brand or strap-line’, or ‘do you recognise any of these terms, when you look at Freedom to Flourish’, I think you would get a high level of awareness, but awareness doesn’t equal understanding” (PMVNA02). The informant then goes on to say, “I have heard of Freedom to Flourish it is banged about a lot, but do I really understand what it means, I am not entirely convinced that I do.” Additionally, when asked to justify the reason for rating the impact of the brand as “two verging on one” out of ten, CDI01 explained: “I would put it down to two things. One is the Government being unaware of what importance a clear definition of the Isle of Man to an external audience might mean, and what it might do, as opposed to a lot of one to one conversations the Government has with potential investors or potential companies, what might a clear coherent perception benefit, that is not understood.” To assist in fostering understanding and to make it ‘real’, one interviewee found it necessary to explain that “we’re looking to enhance

social cohesion and we’re looking to protect our unique culture, heritage and identity” and as a consequence, “It no longer became this very, very difficult to define concept” (CDI02). The difficulty defining the concept is also referred to by SCPR01 in believing that its is “a difficult concept to explain and understand.” To explain the branding strategy, one informant allocated time, “telling people no, Freedom To Flourish isn’t a brand, the Isle of Man is the brand, Freedom to Flourish is a reference point, its an operating principle” (CDI02). This is also pointed out by CDI03 in thinking: “all the difficulties, probably were people confusing the branding slogan, the brand is the Isle of Man and there is no doubt to me in people who are working in it, that the brand is the Isle of Man. I think a lot of people take the short cut and think the brand is Freedom to Flourish and it is a slogan.”