Why we should sell the naming rights to Irish public places and utilties

It is time to start selling the naming rights to national landmarks and infrastructure to raise cash. Public streets, parks, utilities and buildings should be available for branding purposes.

We should start with Dublin Airport. If the DAA was to receive an offer of, say, €100m from an international firm -- Visa, Nestle or someone like that -- for five or ten years of naming rights, they should be allowed to accept that offer. (The airport would hence be known as Dublin-Visa Airport.) Similarly, if a company such as Renault or Toyota offered €10 million for five years' naming rights of the M50, the National Roads Authority should be allowed to accept that.

Sure, people would object. Until you dangle a little money in front of them. Then they could have the choice: take the money away and revert to the old name ('Dublin Airport', 'the M50') or keep the cash and live with the new names. Guess which option the Irish people would take?

Of course, part of the deal would require the Irish media coming on board. In particular, this would mean name-checking the sponsor each and every time the asset was discussed on air and in print. But that shouldn't be a problem, judging by how easily (and cheaply: a few private tours and tickets did the job) the mass media were bought with regard to the 'Aviva' stadium.

And if individual media outlets don't play ball? Simple: no VIP flight lounge access or Westlink passes for them. Just as there might have been no concert tickets available to music hacks who dared to continue referring to the Point Depot, instead of the 'O2'.

And if certain individuals object, in the way that they did in reference to Lansdowne Road constantly being referred to as 'the Aviva'? Simple: we dismiss them as being 'against Irish sport' and retarding 'progress'. That seems to work.

So it's time to get on with the great Irish naming-rights sale.

I once thought that selling the naming rights to national cultural and sporting focus points (such as our national stadia) was vulgar and lacking in dignity or class. I naively thought that self-respecting media pundits might take tradition and cultural legacy more seriously than a few euro from the highest bidder.

But that former version of me was living in the wrong country. Yes, we all mention Aviva three times a day, now. But look at the money we got from it! Cha-ching!

It is time to leverage our assets while we still can.

Comments

[Gerard Cunningham]

Why stop there? Ryanair Dail Éireann. The Four Nike Courts. Though getting a sponsor for the current Taoiseach might be a hard sell.

[Jason O'Mahony]

The Anglo Irish Bank Dail? Oh, wait... we paid them for that, didn't we?
Why stop there? Why not change the name of the country? Renaultia? Fordland? Subwayvia?
Or even better, we could commit to public servants using sponsored words in reports, public announcements, etc. Replace "Excellent" with, say, "Goldman Sachs". For example, "Well done, John, on your Goldman Sachs result in your exams!" " Mr. Hayes, the results from your colonoscopy were Goldman Sachs."

[le craic]

Imagine Harcourt Street was bought by the Irish Sun or the Daily Mail. I think you'd probably die of shame every time you handed out a business card. So probably best not to proceed with your madcap idea. Did you submit it to YCYC?

I keep saying we need to be build a huge domed city in the middle of the country with casinos. Only people that can enter are tourists.

[Paul]

100M is way too little for Dublin airport, How much did Aviva pay for Lansdowne Road? The airport has way more media exposure and foot traffic!

What about heritage sites. The Coca Cola Cliffs of Moher. Or go for the big time take Anglo, NAMA off our hands + clear the national debt for 20 year naming rights to the country. Fyffes Banana Rupablic or BP Ireland, has a nice ring to it.

[Nyder O'Leary]

I'm strongly tempted to be sarcastic, but others beat me to it, so I'll resist and point out that you're taking a serviceable model too far. There's nothing wrong as far as I'm concerned with allowing some facilities to be sponsored, but I'd object strongly to a road - a taxpayer-funded public thoroughfare that's owned by the people - being branded in that way. It cuts against the whole notion of public ownership.

Dublin Airport? Sure, why not. The place is a gigantic branding centre anyway, and I don't feel the same sense of communality there. Oddly, I wouldn't be too bothered about toll roads either (although I abhor the existence of toll roads).

Possibly there's a difference in attitude between public and semi-public. Ultimately, Lansdowne Road / Aviva / Whatever isn't a public facility so they can call it what they like. However, the erosion of civic feeling that would come from sticking a brand on everything is a hell of a cost.

I think it's a shame that you've gone to such an extreme with the suggestion, rather than a discussion of where the line should be drawn, which in my opinion would be rather more interesting.

[Adrian]

Nyder.
Taxpayer-funded? €190 million from taxpayers' funds for 'Aviva' stadium ring a bell?

Le C,
No prob with that at all. All other papers would find a way to take the piss.

Jason,
*rubs imaginary cash between thumb and forefinger* Hmmm?

[Nyder O'Leary]

Strawman. The new Lansdowne Rd is a private facility to which the government granted funding, as they felt it was in the public interest to do so. It is not a civic facility fully in public ownership, run and administered by the state on behalf of its people. There's a world of difference between The Aviva Stadium and Baggot Street.

[Adrian Weckler]

Nyder,

Who's 'they'? Don't you mean 'we'? We, the public, gave the IRFU/FAI €190m for a stadium. Not some alien crowd called 'the government'. And it is, indeed, a civic facility. A very heavily-funded one.

[Emmet Ryan]

Adrian

That €190 million is an important figure as it's an awful lot of money one which, if the Government which administered the decision to provide said public money, could have used as a hammer to demand the FAI/IRFU didn't sell on naming rights (and given selling stadium rights is hardly a new thing they can't claim ignorance). They chose not to use that stick as they was little benefit in doing so. I addressed this issue pretty extensively here http://action81.com/blog/?p=1041 after Vincent Browne ranted about it a few months back.