"Guernsey needs a brand"

Wednesday 05 February 2020

The island's business leaders have been told that Guernsey needs a brand that is more visible to those that are not necessarily looking.

That was one of the messages of the man running the States' digital transformation, Richard Hanrahan, who gave a talk to the Institute of Directors yesterday on the islands Digital Vision.

The CEO of Agilisys - the business contracted by the States to run their digital transformation - told the audience about what they were doing and why, about trying to have technology with value, that would allow a business to use its most valuable resources - its staff - for the most important tasks all the time.

Thank you for having us today @IoDGsy – it was a pleasure attending today’s winter seminar alongside @jt_business and @resolutionitgsy, discussing the enormous opportunities made possible by #digital. Very excited for all that's to come! pic.twitter.com/UZDl7cHx3s

— Agilisys Guernsey (@AgilisysG) February 4, 2020

But Mr Hanrahan also spoke about Guernsey in general.

He said it was not impossible that the island would be dislodged from its position as an international finance centre, and so it was on everyone to be ready to diversify the economy, and take any opportunity that presented itself.

Pictured: Mr Hanrahan gave a presentation to the IoD.

"We should all always be thinking about ways to grow and diversify the economy," he said.

Mr Hanrahan is currently living in the UK, and is set to move to Guernsey soon, but commenting from his position off island, he said Guernsey needs a proper brand, promoting the island as not only a holiday destination, but also one open for business.

"Guernsey needs a brand. I see very little about Guernsey when I am off island on my social media feeds. There is so much that the island has to offer, and the lack of explanation and showing that off blows my mind.

"We could have a brand that incorporates huge organisations like Specsavers and shows off what can be done over here. 

"The VisitGuernsey advert is brilliant - and it really does do a good job of selling the island - but I have spoken to so many people that have never seen it, even when watching the right kind of thing of TV. We need to find a way to engage on an national and international level." 

Mr Hanrahan praised the Islands of Guernsey advert, but said not enough people were seeing it. 

At the talk, Mr Hanrahan also sat on a panel with JT Guernsey's MD Paul Taylor, Resolution IT's CEO Olly Duquemin and IOD Digital Lead Meriel Lenfesty. 

They were all talking about the digital transformation of the States, and Mr Hanrahan pointed to Denmark as an example of how it could be done.

In 2018, he said Denmark was the most digital country in the EU, and had managed to get to a point where 91% of the population was actively using their services, and 92% of those users were satisfied with it. 

Mr Hanrahan suggested maybe Guernsey could benefit from a visit to the country. 

To read more about the Digital Transformation, click here. 

Pictured top: Richard Hanrahan.