Brand Australia

Before I talk about my topic for this week, I have a note for anyone who reads my blogs regularly – as of next week it will have a new name – Brand Matters – Spring is here and I thought it was a great opportunity for a new coat of paint!

Onto “brand” Australia…

As most of you will be aware the Federal Government has decided to put out our “brand” to tender. Now I’m not sure how you feel about this, but it makes me uneasy. We’ll get to the fact that they aren’t even talking about brand in a bit.

I, for one, am pretty attached to brand Australia. I love that anywhere I go in the world, people think well of me before they even know me, just because I am Australian. Lots have a story to tell about when they’ve been in Australia, and everyone else who hasn’t been here wants to visit, or live here.

That doesn’t sound like a brand the needs fixing to me.

Now certainly, there are many great things about our country outside of Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Harbour, and it is true that they might not be well-known around the world. A very smart guy called Thornton May once said at a conference I attended: “You might have the best thing since sliced bread, but if I don’t know about it, it doesn’t do me a damn bit of good.”

And he is right. So what are we talking about here?

Marketing.

I know marketing loves to try and be all about brand, but in fact there isn’t a campaign of any kind that can fundamentally change the way Australia is, our culture, our values, our foundations. And those are the things that make (and break) brand. A quick definition – brand is what you believe and what your actions show to be true.

So if we reframe the project as outlined by the Government… how about we develop a multi-faceted marketing campaign to take all of Australia to the world? Tourism, business, industry, research, resources, work, play, live. Let’s do it utilising all the media and communication channels available to us today (including social media), and engage all Australians in promoting who we are and what we have to offer.

Just imagine if every Australian who travelled overseas for any purpose saw part of their journey as being an ambassador for Australia. If every Australian on Twitter and Facebook and You Tube, were given the tools to spread the word about our great country in all it’s diversity.

Now that’s something I could get behind.

Can we please, please, please just not call it a “new brand”. Australia has a brand. I’m rather fond of it and I really don’t want a bunch of ad types trying to tell me how I should think and feel about my country.

And maybe how we all individually feel about Australia is another great place to start. Australia is a country of diversity. With a nod to SBS there are over 20 million stories that together make up the fabric of our nation and our brand.

What’s yours? Do you tell it to the world?

See you next week.

Michel Hogan is a Brand Advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States, she helps organisations recognize who they are and align that with what they do and say, to build more authentic and sustainable brands. She also publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment.