And it's over to you Mr Robinson

By Jim Fitzpatrick Politics Show

The St Andrews Agreement is merely the Good Friday Agreement in drag - that's how Seamus Mallon put it recently.

Whether you agree with the former deputy first minister or not, you have to admire his ability for pithy analysis.

Peter Robinson will explore the possibility of unionst unity

It was he who famously described the Good Friday Agreement as "Sunningdale for slow learners".

Bring the two together and the unfortunate image is one of dim transvestites running the country.

It's certainly not the picture the various spin doctors will try to promote this weekend as Ian Paisley steps aside after a remarkable year in Northern Ireland politics.

To date, most commentary on the change from Paisley to Robinson has focussed on style and presentation.

Will the Chuckle Brothers become the Brothers Grim?

The departing first minister has even slipped into marketing speak - as his son did in his resignation speech - to talk about a change in "brand".

"You'll have a different brand now," he said.

Brand Robinson will also want to project a vision to lift people's spirits in these utilitarian times, and the obvious distant rainbow here is unionist unity

"Peter will be in charge and he will do his own thing in his own way, and rightly so. I wouldn't want him doing it any other way, I don't want him to be an aper of me, I want him to be himself."

Brands are "products with personality". Human beings make decisions based on emotion - so marketeers give functional products attributes that enable us to relate to them.

The Paisley brand was essentially nostalgia. This is an extremely powerful emotional weapon.

It was the trick that rescued a struggling jeans company called Levi in the 1980s as vintage sound tracks combined with images of a bygone America to make button-fly denims a global phenomenon.

Brand Paisley is in the same tradition, but it's more Werther's Original than Levi Jeans.

A couple of those Paisley toffees and people seem to forget their troubles, forget what they used to think of him, and feel everything is well with the world.

But what will Brand Robinson be? Can it match the potency of the Paisley formula and will consumers buy it?

Brands have life-cycles and Peter Robinson is no doubt acutely aware of the diminishing returns achieved by doling out the toffees.

He's a pragmatist who knows that year one of devolution was given full marks for simply surviving.

Year two will be judged by what's achieved.

Ian Paisley said he wants the new leader to be his own man

The political consumers won't buy nostalgia this year; they'll be looking for effectiveness - something to resolve issues like the Maze, education and water charges.

With Brand Robinson, stubborn stains, sticky messes and blockages in the system could all become a thing of the past.

Behold the Cillit Bang of first ministers!

Unrivalled effectiveness that achieves results is certainly the hallmark of many successful brands, but politics requires more emotional appeal than a spray cleaner.

Brand Robinson will also want to project a vision to lift people's spirits in these utilitarian times, and the obvious distant rainbow here is unionist unity.

Combine the vision thing with the effectiveness thing and you've probably got a reasonable idea of how Peter Robinson will be sold.

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What's the consumer equivalent? Something that cleans but also makes you feel better about yourself? Mr Robinson needs to be a Dyson.

On The Politics Show this Sunday we'll be exploring the potential for unionist unity in the Robinson era, and Rosy's been to Derry to investigate if the Maiden City is receiving a raw deal from devolution.

Jim

PS - I hosted a round-table discussion with some of our local politicians at a conference recently.

After the event, many people complimented me on my handling of the discussion.

That was very flattering. It was less flattering when they went on to say that it was the most boring thing they'd had to listen to.

I'm considering a new marketing campaign of my own to overcome this problem, essentially a reworking of a slogan last seen here at checkpoints: "Don't blame me, blame the politicians".

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