Election washout – selling the EU to a public that couldn’t care less

Date: 24/06/04

IT HAS Beethoven's Ode to Joy as an anthem, the familiar blue flag studded with yellow stars flying from buildings across Europe and its own currency.

But some argue that what the EU does not have is a brand. European leaders are still reeling from the electoral blow delivered to the EU project by voters who abstained in droves or protested by backing Eurosceptics. While politicians struggle to understand the lessons of the historically low turnout in the 10-13 June elections, some say the uninspiring names of political parties in competition and their lack of appeal to citizens are partly to blame.

Graham Watson, leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament, which itself is in the process of a possible major "rebranding" exercise, believes that acronyms used for the assembly's political groups do not help endear them to citizens.

He said: "Names like EPP (European People's Party), PES (Party of European Socialists) and EDD (Europe for Diversities and Democracies), among others, don't exactly register with the public.

"It would certainly help if the political groups had shorter and more easily recognizable names," the chairman of the ELDR (European Liberal Democrat and Reformers) said.

However, he adds: "What you can't do though is try to sell the EU like washing powder. What is needed is not a rebranding exercise but something far deeper."

UK Tory MEP Roger Helmer agrees and urges the EU to dump what he calls the "whole alphabet soup" - CAP, CFSP, ECHR, ECJ, EMU (that's the Common Agricultural Policy, common foreign and security policy, European convention on human rights, the European Court of Justice and European Monetary Union).

But Parliament's outgoing President Pat Cox, credited with having done more than most to help promote the assembly, points to the limitations of public relations campaigns. He says: "No PR strategy can be a substitute for raw politics, expressed with reason, passion and conviction."

The 25-member EU, though, would concede that in many countries its name simply fails to inspire warmth or trust and is often accused of being a "colourless technocracy".

The Dutch government, which next week (1 July) assumes the EU's rotating presidency, chose an understated approach to boost public interest in the EU. Their slogan is "Europe. Quite important" (Europa. Best Belangrijk).

The deliberately low-key approach stems from the Dutch government's wish not to ram pro-EU propaganda down the throats of the public.

But some suggest what is needed is a far more direct approach - a rebranding of the much-maligned EU, no less.

Wally Olins, the award-winning, rebranding "guru" who has advised many of the world's leading organizations and is widely credited with having rebranded Portugal (currently hosting the 2004 Euro soccer tournament), believes the bloc must have a go at packaging itself as a brand.

"The simple truth is that many people simply couldn't care less about the EU, but developing a brand could go some way towards combating that by encouraging an emotional response. That is what the EU lacks."

Everything from nations to sports products has had a go at branding, with varying degrees of success.

The way football clubs sell themselves is said to be more important than the game itself when it comes to scoring wealth. When US lifestyle guru Martha Stewart was found guilty of lying in March, it was assumed that her once-admired brand would be irrevocably tarnished.

But, in fact, it appears to be going from strength to strength. However, other attempts at rebranding have proved less successful. The "Cool Britannia" campaign launched a few years ago by the UK's Labour government - initially hailed as a marketing brainwave - was later seen as the elevation of style over substance.

Heather Grabbe, deputy director of the London-based think tank the Centre for European Reform (CER), points out that the EU already has its own brand of sorts. "The Union is already branded like a product," she says.

"It has an anthem, a flag and, of course, a name but none of these things appear to have endeared it to the public."

She adds: "It is the EU's reputation, not its image, that is the problem."

The EU depends upon its member states to sell the product at home and foster some degree of sentiment towards the Union. Grabbe says that national governments must bear some responsibility for the poor reputation enjoyed by the EU and, in particular, the Parliament.

"They are happy to take credit for the successes and blame "Brussels" for the failures.

"But the EU itself needs to do more by emphasizing its added value. It isn't enough simply to say it wants an "ever closer Union". It has to come up with a mission statement and explain itself more effectively."

The European constitution adopted at last week's Brussels summit proposes a slogan for the Union - "United in Diversity" and a public holiday on Europe Day, 9 May (the anniversary of the Schuman declaration, by French foreign minister Robert Schuman, which launched the process of the EU integration).

"The public holiday is not a bad way to proceed but I can't say I am wild about the slogan," says Ian Wood of Landor Associates, one of the world's leading branding consultancies.

"I would prefer something more forward looking - Celebrating Diversity - perhaps. "United" is bound to backfire when you are all locked in a row over something.

"But these are just the trappings and you can see why the EU might want a brand - it would make it more tangible to the man on the street," he added.

"My advice, though, is to work out what you want to communicate first. I think they could make more of peace in Europe, for instance."

Major feature in which the writer examines how the EU can promote itself better to an increasingly sceptical public.