New research from the independent media sales agency IRS+ casts a new light on some of the pre-conceived ideas about what Dubliners and people from the rest of the county actually think of each other.
Called “Who Do We Think We Are”, the research sought the opinions of 1,343 adults in May of this year to establish whether or not some of these preconceived ideas actually stack up against the facts or do we simply default to caricatures and lazy stereotypes like the Jackeens Vs Culchies trope that has been around for a long time.
As part of the research, which was carried out by Empathy Research, a number of key topics were explored including sport, personal finance, media consumption habits and technology.
According to Peter Smyth CEO of IRS+: “In our business of creatively presenting brands to consumers, understanding your audience is vital. Our previous research on Local Accent Bias proved that local accents matter and that voiceover accents can impact the effectiveness of advertising.
He adds: “That led us to thinking about how people from Dublin and the country view one another. No one has recently investigated this topic before in terms of meaningful research and it’s tempting sometimes to fall into the trap of imagining that everyone in Dublin and the rest of the country is essentially the same. However, we now have the evidence in ‘Who Do We Think We Are?’ to show that they are not the same, and that will help us to tailor and target campaigns to these different groups of people, otherwise brands will miss out.”
Some of the key findings include the following:
GAA + Soccer
For many sports, the level of engagement is broadly similar in Dublin and the rest of the country. However, there are some eye-catching differences. For instance, the myth is right – there is much stronger engagement with Gaelic football in the country (Dublin 32% v Country 42%) , while engagement with soccer is slightly higher in Dublin (Dublin 54% v Country 49%). And when it comes to Hurling / Camogie, there’s a big gap in popularity (Dublin 17% v Country 40%).
Is Dublin the rugby stronghold? Don’t think so……
This is one of the big myths. Despite people both from Dublin and from the country associating rugby with Dublin to a much greater degree, engagement – the research shows – is that perception is way off the mark. In fact, engagement with rugby (as a hobby, club member or supporter) is much stronger outside of Dublin (36% Dublin v 48% Country).
Big Spenders – but on what?
Both Dubliners and those from the country are spending money, but not always on the same things – Dubliners are much more likely to be planning luxury foreign holidays (Dublin 33% v Country 18%) but country people more likely to be planning significant home upgrades worth €25k or more (Dublin 5% v Country 16%). When it comes to plans to buy new cars in the next two years, it’s a pretty similar picture (Dublin 36% v Country 33%).
Social Media + Streaming Habits
True, Dubliners are more likely to be regularly found on social media (Dublin 77% v Country 68%) and also spend an extra half an hour daily doing so (Dublin 120 minutes v Country 91 minutes). Those living in the capital are also marginally more likely to be listening to podcasts (Dublin 27% v Country 22%).
Smart Tech
The perception is true – Dubliners have more smart tech overall although not quite to the degree people think. In terms of who owns what…..
Smart Watch (Dublin 49% v Country 41%)
Smart Speaker (Dublin 41% v Country 31%)
Gaming Console (Dublin 53% v Country 41%)
Ring Video Doorbell (Dublin 26% v Country 19%).
Banking + Financials
There’s an embedded perception by those in the country that Dubliners use digital financial products more. In fact the difference is marginal with Digital Only banking scoring Dublin 19% v Country 16%. Traditional Banks seem to have a hold on everyone (Dublin 77% v Country 77%) while the Credit Union scores higher in the country (Dublin 53% v Country 61%). Building Society (Dublin12% v Country 8%) and An Post (Dublin 17% v Country 9%).
Neighbourly Intentions
While a majority feel those in the country are more likely to know their neighbours well, the actual figures are equivalent at close to 8 in10 for both (Dublin 77% Country, 80% ).
Interestingly though, Dubliners are slightly more likely to have keys to their neighbour’s house (Dublin 31% v Country 27%).
