Branding on ambiguity? Place branding without a national identity: Marketing Northern Ireland as a post-conflict society in the USA

This study focuses on place branding as a method of promoting a positive image of Northern Ireland as a post conflict society in the United States of America in the absence of an agreed single national identity on which to build. Qualitative methods were used to collect data on the views and opinions of key stakeholders in both Northern Ireland and the USA. The results show that Northern Ireland has adopted a ‘Janus’ strategy when marketing Northern Ireland internationally, marketing Northern Ireland as ‘Irish’ in Irish-friendly markets and as ‘British’ in British-friendly markets.