Government launches $20 million tender to develop “Australia” brand

The Federal Government today announced a $20 million tender for advertising agencies to come up with a new brand to help sell Australian tourism, and business opportunities, overseas.

The announcement comes just weeks after some of Australia’s leading executives, including Rod Eddington and Qantas chief Alan Joyce, developed the Brand Australia Council to lobby the Government into developing an overseas marketing strategy.

Trade minister Simon Crean said today the Rudd Government will spend $20 million over the next four years to help build an international brand for Australia.

“The new brand project is about selling Australia to the world,” he said. “We need a cohesive brand that captures the essence of Australia and underscores the quality of all that we have to offer in sectors such as trade, investment and education.”

The Government will announce the tender over the next two weeks, with calls for creative agencies to submit proposals for the “Building Brand Australia” program.

Crean said the Government hopes to submit the brand during February 2010, with an international launch at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. He said Austrade will work closely with businesses and state governments to develop the brand.

“I have an open mind and do not want to preempt the outcome of the creative process. We want our best creative minds on the job and we want them to engage the Australian people in this exciting project,” he said.

Crean also says the brand will help trade opportunities, as he believes there is little understanding overseas of what Australia has to offer from a corporate perspective.

“We’re trying to sell our goods and services to the world on the basis of better promoting the full breadth of our capacity. The more I go overseas and talk about our trading opportunities, the more I realise how little that’s understood,” he told ABC radio this morning.

“I think the tourists already know this is a great place to come and have a holiday. What we’ve got to convince people about is that it’s a great place to invest, it’s a great place to come and be educated, it’s a great place to live, it’s a great place to build your business base from.”

But Michel Hogan from Brandology says the effort is more of a marketing campaign than a branding exercise, and says the Government should address it properly.

“The fact of the matter is that Australia has a brand. That brand hasn’t changed. It’s based on our culture and values, and all an advertising agency can do is dress it up a bit. It’s a way of marketing that allows people to see us in a way they haven’t seen us before.”

“Branding is much more than the face we put on an organisation or whatever. That’s the external vision of the brand. This new tender means you’re changing the way people see Australia, but you’re not changing Australia itself, and they should be clear about that.”

If the Government needs some inspiration, it could look to the new Talent Inc! Personal Brand survey, which recently crowned Kylie Minogue as Australia’s most powerful personal brand.

The company said Minogue topped the survey due to the scope of her brand which covers her musical entertainment, acting, perfume and lingerie endeavours. Coming up second was supermodel Elle Macpherson, who has her own skincare and lingerie products, with cricket personality Shane Warne coming in third.