A new national brand? No worries
There’s no such thing as an easy $3 million, argues Peter Fuller. How will Australia’s creatives meet Austrade’s call for expressions of interest to create a new nation brand?
As one of Australia’s brand communication agencies we welcome Austrade’s call for expressions of interest to create a new nation brand.
Unsurprisingly the brief requires a lot for the price tag of $3 million.
Photo Credit: Lora Ohanessian, Unsplash
In a three hatted restaurant I was paying over $150 for a three course meal and I asked for my shiraz to be topped up. The reply was “no worries”. I could only have been in Australia. It is such an informal but reassuring term.
Much better than “you’re welcome”
I doubt our laid-back Aussie design culture is going to embrace a ‘no worries’ attitude with crowdsourcing attempting to derail the party.
https://99designs.com.au/poster-design/contests/community-contest-design-inspiration-australia-rebrand-833298/brief
Is that Fuller himself?
I’m not convinced the right response to a brief focused on “creating a new nation brand” is to chuck Australia a new tagline.
This is a big brief that demands a big response. It demands that we find fresh insight into what’s driving our country forward and what its future might hold; that we pull in perspectives from far and wide; that we consult every citizen and capture every hope and every aspiration.
Then we can define the value that modern Australia has to offer the world, articulate its proposition and forge it a new narrative.
After that, we should think about the brand’s expression and I dare say any well worn colloquial phrases will probably be unfit for purpose.
Too easy.
Put simply: I love it.
I say it unconsciously some many times a day, and it’s such a unique, relaxed phrase.
It’s a great sentiment and it sums us up. But, like with any colloquialism or slang unique to a particular area of the world, it probably won’t translate well. Then not only do you have the job of selling the country, but explaining the line you’re using to sell it…
Completely agree that the task is more than just coming up with a fancy slogan, but to “consult every citizen and capture every hope and every aspiration” is exactly how not to make decisions and how not to create a tight, differentiated brand.
A brand simply can’t be everything to everyone – or it ends up being nothing to nobody. We need an actual positioning (not just a line) that is truly representative of who we are and how we want to be perceived.