ConnectIreland received international recognition for its concept at the Place Marketing Awards ceremony in France this month.

The 2014 Place Marketing Forum, an international conference attended by over 400 market leaders and experts, was held in Aix-en-Provence on Thursday and Friday, 16-17 October.

A committee of renowned marketing experts applauded the ConnectIreland team for their ongoing commitment to creating real and sustainable jobs for Ireland.

Shortlisted by an expert committee, ConnectIreland was chosen as the best example in the “attractiveness, peer marketing and ambassadors’ strategy” category.

ConnectIreland CEO Michael McLoughlin attended the conference and addressed delegates on the Irish model. Effectively a marketing campaign for the island of Ireland, the ConnectIreland model has “never been done before”, according to Michael.

“ConnectIreland is empowering ordinary people to make a difference,” explains Michael.

The annual awards ceremony rewards the best worldwide practices in the field of place marketing.

In awarding ConnectIreland, the Place Marketing Forum Jury commented; “Connect Ireland is a remarkable and innovative marketing achievement of customer’s conquest focused on peer marketing, ambassadors and digital technologies.”

“The ConnectIreland approach is a model which illustrates the new ambassadors’ strategies deployed by the Irish Government to revive the overall attractiveness of a severely affected country, by the economic crisis of 2008.”