Is Australia Day approaching its use-by date for marketers?
As the nation continues to debate how brands should be engaging with Australia’s national day, brand marketer Nick Foley considers why marketers are withdrawing from the celebrations.
Woolworths’ announcement to reduce its Australia Day merchandise for January 26th set off a variety of different reactions. One of the most notable was the plea by the leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton, to call on all fair dinkum Aussies to boycott the retailer for being ‘un-Australian’.
The response from Dutton is reflective of the growing divide in this country about how people truly feel about the appropriateness of the public holiday. While many Australians see it as a day of huge pride, the number of those who feel less enamoured about it is gradually increasing.
The first major brand to distance itself from Australia Day was triple j. Given its younger demographic, it’s not surprising. In 2017, the radio station announced it would no longer schedule its iconic Top 100 countdown for January 26th, opting instead to run it a day later on the 27th.
Where are all the agencies and people saying that they’re working this ‘Invasion Day’ rather than celebrating an offensive day for First Nations peoples?
Is it because it falls on a Friday this year, thus a long weekend opportunity?
Depends if you are targeting the 63% of Australians who support Australia Day on the 26th, or the minority of Australians who are ambivalent or want to change the date / not celebrate.
If I was a retailer chasing broad reach, I know which way I’d go…
they ain’t called media hypocrites for no reason, all virtue signaling, little action.
*58.5%
The poll of 1,000 Australians, undertaken by marketing research firm Dynata, found 63% of respondents agreed with the statement ‘Australia Day should be celebrated on January 26′, 17% disagreed and 20% had no opinion. Support for Australia Day on January 26 has remained steady over the past 12 months. (Institute of Public Affairs Jan 24)
Whether you call it 58% or 63% vs ~17% who want to change the date, it is still a large majority.
Absolute rot