Government calls creative tender for new $20m Building Brand Australia project
The Federal Government has announced plans to spend $20 million revamping Australia’s international identity and will call a tender for creative agencies to submit their proposals for the Building Brand Australia project in the next two weeks.
In a statement released today, Trade Minsiter Simon Crean said Australia was in need of a brand which sells the country to the rest of the world.
“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,” Crean said.
He added: “We must find a better way to define our identity, and brand it.”
The problem with this project, like DDB’s work, is that it is likely to focus on brand tactics like image and taglines rather than actually focusing on a long term brand strategy. This has long been the problem with almost all of this type of work for the past 10 year and why the recent Baz Luhrmann Australia campaign and DDB’s followup work failed to attract a single additional tourist to Australia. Secondly, it’s going to be about export and tourism dollars and the focus will be purely external and is doomed to failure. Everyone knows the best brands are built on the basis of an engagement with all stakeholders and, in this case, what the Australian people think and feel about their country. If this is going to be the focus Building Brand Australia would do well to look at the work setting done by Tourism Victoria, at least they have a strategy and are now Australia’s leading tourism state.
http://www.diffusion.com.au
Is this Rudds attempt at “Cool Britannia”? We had The Clever Country back in the 80’s – that didn’t do much for us. Why not just go with The Lucky Country. Everyone in the world knows it’s true – and what’s wrong with being luck I say.
Also this sounds like a very short deadline to me. Launch brand in Feb 2010 after a call for tenders in mid September and presumably submissions some time in November before Canberra shuts down for Summer.
“The Lucky Country” would be great…
if the complete and contextually correct quote from Donald Horne wasn’t:
“Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.”
Intrigued to see how this kick-bollocks-scramble-urgent-brief-review-design-by-committee shitfight plays out.
I just had this evil vision of KRudd deciding to front the campaign, Aussie John Symonds-style……
“The Land of No Worries”
Or …
Sun, Sea, Sand, Snakes & Spiders
Now … I’d like my $20m in unmarked $100 notes please 🙂
Simon Crean says he’s got an open mind, doesn’t want to pre-empt the outcome of the creative process and calls for the best creative minds for the job.
Why do I think this will end in tears?
What, DDB couldn’t come up with one themselves?
Just like they couldn’t think of a TV ad?
How about ‘Fuck off we’re full’. Or has Cronulla already taken that?
It will be the usual tactical applications from ad agencies from around the land. Seemingly without a strategy as much as anything that came out of Tourism Australia and DDB did. What was it that was a measure of the success of the Baz Luhrmann Australia campaign? Oh, it was the number of mentions and hits to the website. Gee, as if engagement built around “awareness, consideration, purchase intent, purchase and loyalty” would somehow translate magically into tourists with a more sophisticated awareness of what Australia now represents.
Why does Australia always have to be so cliche…Australian’s are smarter than
“No worries’ or G’day. Does the UK brand itself on ‘fancy-a-cuppa’ or ‘How do you do’
The sooner Advertising agencies crawl out from behind their bullshit ‘smoke and mirrors and start delivering the better. Awards may look nice to impress the clients but results are what count in this competitive brand ruled world. ‘Plagiarising Agencies’ need to rethink. Nitro have based their mandate on brand success and indeed have been successful with this approach. Australia needs to get a more sophisticated approach. The outback-wards tarnish of simpletons scrambling with kangaroo pouches to buy a VB with a shrimp from the Barbie may just fail to ignite the investors and tourists of the future. Unfortunately, I fear that the government themselves have been too slow in protecting this magical country with environmental issues. What happens when the Great Barrier Reef dies, the tacky Gold Coast sinks, Noosa’s stolen sands disappear, Byron Bay becomes the new Noosa. And that’s just Queensland.
So why travel to Australia in the future. The government should spend $20m on saving the country not re-branding it. The future relies on todays actions.
The Australian is key to the country.
Wow. 3 months to complete this task?
Good luck! A proper ‘identity’ process takes time.
Time to develop, execute, grow, toss away, start again….
Disaster in the making…
Lucky country! – bit cynical I would say
Come to our Lucky Country, you country sucks???????
sorry!
your country sucks!!!!!
got carried away
what about:
200% Australia 🙂
It needs a cunning stunt. Something that will trick the world into thinking ‘they aren’t the racist bastards that beat minorities up on the beach, only allow anglo saxons to get permanent residencies and charge overseas students through the roof. No, they’re actually sophisticated, and sometimes have running water (when it’s not a drought).’
Wow so many negatives.! stop bagging everything chaps and come up with something better.? although there could be one problem.? maybe, just maybe Australian adland may keep doing the same old same old.? why not open the idea up to the public.? we need something out of the box, something that says we’re ready for the 21st century, (no guys in prawn suit’s please) we can do this.! i actually have an idea a TVC if anyone’s interested. The $20 mill is dragged out over 4 years, as for Michael’s comment re: the time frame, i agree if they stick to that it might look a tad undercooked.