€48million to rebrand ESB and Bord Gais

Wile E. Coyote · 20-10-2010 04:08PM #1

Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has said the estimated cost of rebranding the ESB will be €6m-€8m.

Eamon Ryan gave the figure in the Dail today amid calls from the Labour Party to have plans to rebrand ESB and Bord Gais scrapped.
Labour Party spokesperson Liz McManus said the exercise was costly, had no justification and was totally unacceptable.

The minister said the ESB's rebranding will happen in a cost-effective way and said there was timescale for which Bord Gais will make its changes.

The cost rebranding of Bord Gais has been put at €40m.

Link...

Can anyone please explain to me how it is beneficial to the country to spend the guts of €50million rebranding the ESB and Bord Gais? Also will this be paid for by the companies profits or will it be funded by tax payers money?

ei.sdraob · 20-10-2010 04:47PM

What happened to his permanently tattoed smile

Lenny Lovett · 20-10-2010 05:01PM

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

Link...

Can anyone please explain to me how it is beneficial to the country to spend the guts of €50million rebranding the ESB and Bord Gais? Also will this be paid for by the companies profits or will it be funded by tax payers money?

Either way it comes out of the exchequer at the end of the day.

donkey balls · 20-10-2010 07:26PM

Can someone explain to me why to we need to re brand both these semi state companies,A global company i worked for re branded at the cost of millions of dollars but they saved in the long term regarding fleet logos/headed paper&fuel etc,Is this some EU reg that compels us to change company logo.:rolleyes:

Overheal · 20-10-2010 09:31PM

I can think of why maybe?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/daily-show-gop-just-needs-some-rebranding

Companies rebrand themselves to disassociate from negative press. BP did it over the summer (3 guesses); And Samantha Bee made the linked-to report in Jan 2009 before we saw the emergence of the Tea Party Protesters, Who support their own "Tea Party Candidates" (And a Token Democrat or two) and you can guess whom they are strikingly reminiscent of..

I'll bet a fiver they'll be rebranded to try and disassociate them with Government control. "Board" will likely be removed from both brands. Or Marginalized

Eliot Rosewater · 20-10-2010 09:33PM

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

Can anyone please explain to me how it is beneficial to the country to spend the guts of €50million rebranding the ESB and Bord Gais?

They're being ordered to do so by the regulator, I believe.

He's Irish, not European, by the way.

20-10-2010 10:26PM

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

They're being ordered to do so by the regulator, I believe.

He's Irish, not European, by the way.

Really?..the regulator is telling them to rebrand?..seriously?..

Eliot Rosewater · 20-10-2010 10:42PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Really?..the regulator is telling them to rebrand?..seriously?..

Something about competition and levelling the playing field, I believe.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/taoiseach-under-fire-over-energy-firms-rebranding-477499.html#ixzz12EbmnPuC

I'm not too well informed about the issue, so I shouldn't pass too definitive a judgement, but Bord Gais have, over the past year, been pushing their prominent "Big Switch" advertising campaign, and it seems a bit silly that they should have to change their name after they put so much money into that campaign.

Either Bord Gais knew they'd have to change the name soon, and powered on regardless, or they didn't, in which case the regulator is to blame.

PanchoVilla · 21-10-2010 12:50AM

I'm actually gonna switch over to Airtricity tomorrow and send an email to the ESB explaining why. I'm fed up with these clowns throwing our money away and raising the price of electricity. I suggest other ESB customers who feel the same way do likewise. The only way to get the message through their thick skulls is through their wallets.

View · 21-10-2010 12:59AM

donkey balls wrote: »

Can someone explain to me why to we need to re brand both these semi state companies,

At a guess, because ultimately the re-branded companies will be sold by the state. We do have a massive hole in the state's finances after all.

donkey balls wrote: »

Is this some EU reg that compels us to change company logo.:rolleyes:

No. The EU doesn't care what the companies competing in a market are called, just so long as they do compete (or at least not actively agree not to compete with each other).

ei.sdraob · 21-10-2010 07:26AM

PanchoVilla wrote: »

I'm actually gonna switch over to Airtricity tomorrow and send an email to the ESB explaining why. I'm fed up with these clowns throwing our money away and raising the price of electricity. I suggest other ESB customers who feel the same way do likewise. The only way to get the message through their thick skulls is through their wallets.

You do realise that it is not ESB who is keeping prices high but the regulator?
so the likes of Airtricity seem attractive to simple folk who do not ask questions and dig deeper.
If ESB where allowed they would have seriously undercut the likes of Airtricity.

You, me, everyone is directly subsidising this monstrosity of distorted "competition" price-fixing

You do not know that your are being taken for a ride so you go blaming the ESB, there is alot more to this story
Blame the regulator and government but especially blame the green environuts whose green spinning nirvana is not competitive or cheap.

now you know...

bijapos · 21-10-2010 03:40PM

The way I understand it is this: The government wanted to introduce competition, to do this they had to get the ESB, which had a monopoly in this country, to go below 60% in the market. The only way to do this was to guarantee that the likes of Airtricity and Bord Gais could charge lower prices to gain customers. This is essentially why they are guaranteed to be at least 10% cheaper than ESB until they have at least 40% of the market. Once they have achieved 40% the market will then be a free for all, anyone can charge what they want.

I stand corrected on the above if it is wrong but thats the way I understand it.

I also heard/read (sorry cant remember) that this is on track to happen by early 2011, then the price controls will fall.

OhNoYouDidn't · 21-10-2010 04:30PM

People want semi states to be more like the private sector. When they do exactly that and spend money on marketing, people complain. How curious...

bijapos, you are bang on. ESB are being forced by the regulator to overcharge. Its surreal.

FreudianSlippers · 21-10-2010 04:37PM

View wrote: »

At a guess, because ultimately the re-branded companies will be sold by the state. We do have a massive hole in the state's finances after all.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head with this one. They will likely want to remove any indicator in the name that they are part of a government "board" and will either sell of the entirely or at least the majority of the shares in the companies.

The government just cannot compete fairly or well in these markets against private enterprise.

bijapos · 21-10-2010 05:01PM

ei.sdraob wrote: »

You do not know that your are being taken for a ride so you go blaming the ESB, there is alot more to this story
Blame the regulator and government but especially blame the green environuts whose green spinning nirvana is not competitive or cheap.

now you know...

What method would you suggest to get the ESB share to below 60%. i.e how else would you encourage Airtricity, Bord Gais or whoever to enter the Irish market?

donkey balls · 21-10-2010 05:03PM

I think the govt would be mad to sell off the ESB considering the ESB pay the govt a divedend of about 800 million per annum,And i would not like to see our electricity network be handed over to a foreign company which Air tricity is.

ninty9er · 21-10-2010 05:22PM

It's absolute lunacy if you ask me. You could call them Electro Nat West and Gas Force. People are still going to know that they are ESB and Bord Gais.

Competition wasn't the way to reduce prices, price control is. Eventually the state is going to end up making hostile takeover bids on all the private enterprises as the ones with established reserves (ESB for electricity, Bord Gais for Gas) will blow the competition out of the market once the competitive controls are lifted.

It happened in New Zealand. It's not a completely identical situation, but could happen. Just remember...the public wanted competition though.

FreudianSlippers · 21-10-2010 05:34PM

ninty9er wrote: »

It's absolute lunacy if you ask me. You could call them Electro Nat West and Gas Force. People are still going to know that they are ESB and Bord Gais.

Competition wasn't the way to reduce prices, price control is. Eventually the state is going to end up making hostile takeover bids on all the private enterprises as the ones with established reserves (ESB for electricity, Bord Gais for Gas) will blow the competition out of the market once the competitive controls are lifted.

It happened in New Zealand. It's not a completely identical situation, but could happen. Just remember...the public wanted competition though.

I disagree. I don't think I can recall a single long-term success of governmental price control. Competition and deregulation of sorts is really the way that prices are driven lower.

PanchoVilla · 21-10-2010 06:51PM

ei.sdraob wrote: »

You do realise that it is not ESB who is keeping prices high but the regulator?
so the likes of Airtricity seem attractive to simple folk who do not ask questions and dig deeper.
If ESB where allowed they would have seriously undercut the likes of Airtricity.

You, me, everyone is directly subsidising this monstrosity of distorted "competition" price-fixing

You do not know that your are being taken for a ride so you go blaming the ESB, there is alot more to this story
Blame the regulator and government but especially blame the green environuts whose green spinning nirvana is not competitive or cheap.

now you know...

I wonder if that's similar to the relationship between the financial regulator and Anglo-Irish. In case you haven't realized it yet, this country's government is deeply corrupt. The ESB is nothing more than a cartel, and the government will allow the ESB to charge what they like and tell people like you it's all the regulator's fault. Give me a break, I wasn't born yesterday. Back room deals between the ESB and the regulator means ESB directors and shareholders can make a fortune while everyone blames the regulator.

ei.sdraob · 21-10-2010 08:04PM

bijapos wrote: »

What method would you suggest to get the ESB share to below 60%. i.e how else would you encourage Airtricity, Bord Gais or whoever to enter the Irish market?

during my time in ESB Power Generation circa 2006 their share was already about 45-50% in 2006 (44% in 2007) and serious amounts of plants where closing down (mostly the old ones) their market share is about 25-30% by now.

there is no need to continue this crazy price fixing scheme and there was no need for a few years already

we are told all the time that green energy is the next best thing since sliced bread, one has to wonder then why it needs to be subsidised so heavily by all of us. we are quite littery giving money away to private companies (oh wait we excel at that here in this bank run state)

actually i still to this day remember a comment from a colleague,
"if ESB was a fully private company we be out of Ireland tomorrow to the continent where there is more money to be made", they already do work abroad via ESBI
something for yee to think about

donkey balls · 21-10-2010 08:22PM

Yep ESB I many people dont know about the international arm of the ESB which is profitable and well known through out the developing world.

ninty9er · 21-10-2010 08:29PM

donkey balls wrote: »

Yep ESB I many people dont know about the international arm of the ESB which is profitable and well known through out the developing world.

And the developed world.

donkey balls · 21-10-2010 08:32PM

ninty9er wrote: »

And the developed world.

very true indeed but alot of the work they do is in sub saharan africa:D
and futher a field.

€48million to rebrand ESB and Bord Gais

Comments