B2B Marketer
Issue No. 55 - October/November 2010
Kiss ‘Brand Australia’ better
by Kimon Lycos and Kimon Lycos and Kimon Lycos and Kimon Lycos
Since the release of my research, the press coverage and response has been fairly interesting.
From being interviewed by NZ national radio who took delight in pointing out where NZ goes right, to being the third most popular article in the Brisbane times online, along with a cameo on the 7p.m. Project, it looks like a nerve has been smacked.
To start with let’s look at the article published in the Sydney Morning Herald, which included comments from Andrew McEvoy, Tourism Australia MD. Sadly, it seems a gross miscommunication has happened somewhere, with Andrew feeling compelled to point out there is nothing wrong with showing white beaches etc. and that the branding his department is responsible for is not in the business of thinking about business.
I agree. We do indeed have great places to visit, and no one expects a brand of such magnitude to be hamstrung with the whims of people outside of core business, which is to attract holidaymakers to our shores. It is not my mission to try to improve tourism ads, that’s outside my expertise. In fact, the interview subjects and I were realistic enough to understand that in the pursuit of generating about $24 billion in business from visitors, our concerns are not likely to have much relevance. You can’t please everyone.
But the $180 million question - that’s the advertising budget - is, “Does Brand Australia really reflect Australia, and is it working?” Perhaps we need to add, “Just who are we looking to attract with these scenes of serial BBQers, foul-mouthed models and depictions of a population doped to the eyeballs on Ritalin?”
Again, I have no interest to improve the branding. All I have done is provide an insight about its damaging effects. Now, if the upside of the branding was the creation of we...
