The Liberals need a rebrand
How is the Liberal brand positioned and who is its core target market? According to Jaid Hulsbosch, director of branding and design agency Hulsbosch, it's something the party needs to figure out - and quickly.
While counting in the federal election continues across the country and seats are won and lost, one thing is clear: the Liberal party failed to gain ground. Indeed, the party went backwards.
The immediate attention for federal Liberal was on finding a new leader, given Peter Dutton’s loss of Dickson, with Sussan Ley winning the contest.
In addition to choosing a new leader, due diligence should be given to determining what the Liberal brand represents in 2025.
Put simply, how is the Liberal brand positioned and who is its core target market?
When positioning a brand there are only three choices. Create a new position, re-position or de-position.
Most of the time marketers choose to re-position. Why? Because the brand has lost relevance with its target audience. Other than relevance, re-positioning may be warranted if a brand lacks differentiation to its competition or – occasionally – if there has been a collapse in trust.
Sussan Ley
For the Liberal brand the underlying reason for re-positioning is a loss of relevance with Australians. Specifically, younger Australians. The recent election marked a first in this country. Namely, the number of millennial and Gen Y voters out-numbered baby boomers. As further information comes to light on how Australians voted, the other group where the Liberal brand is lacking relevance is women. No doubt, the choice of Ley as leader is designed to address this.
One doesn’t require a PhD in political science to forecast how the Liberal brand will perform at the next election if its relevance with a younger demographic, as well as female voters, continues to diminish. The immediate focus for the Liberals should be making the brand more relevant to more Australians. The last time the Liberal party did this with lasting effect was when John Howard led the Liberals to power in 1996. Their stint in power lasted eleven years and the brand campaign centred around the slogan ‘For All Of Us’.
When repositioning a brand, four fundamentals come into play. What is the brand’s purpose, what does it value, what does it promise and what is its overarching idea – also referred to as the brand essence. The combination of these variables go onto to make up the DNA of the brand. With the brand position established it can then be leveraged to inform the brand experience along with the brand’s communications.
Done well, brand positioning serves as a foundation for the organisation it is attached to. It also informs the brand’s visual identity. Herein lies another reason for why the Liberal brand needs a makeover. Their logo (visual identity) appears as if it was last updated in the 1980s. It has the look and feel of a Foster’s Lager can when Paul Hogan was encouraging tourists to visit Australia and ‘throw another shrimp on the barbie’.
In contrast the Labor party’s visual identity was recently updated and has a progressive look. If we accept that a logo is the visual manifestation of how a brand is positioned then, we can see why the Liberals would do well to immediately commence renovations on their brand.
Jaid Hulsbosch
I should know: Hulsbosch has partnered with some of Australia’s most well-known brands to create visual identity systems that stand out and cut through.
Of course, the temptation for the Liberals is to focus purely on their new leader and look to the future rather than examine the past. This would be akin to a company assuming that a new CEO will fix its long-standing marketing problems.
Now is the time for the Liberal brand to undergo a makeover.
In the same way the Labor brand in the UK initiated a re-positioning strategy ahead of its landslide electoral victory in 1997, with three years until the next Australian federal election, the Liberal party should do a deep dive on what will drive relevance and engagement with Australians if it is to have any chance of regaining power in the foreseeable future.
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I am happy to assist with the rebrand.
What is the brand’s purpose: To block Labor
What does it value: Donors
What does it promise: The status quo
What is its overarching idea: Accelerate the transfer of wealth faster than Labor
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Is that a typo in the lede? Shouldn’t there be an “i” before the “n” and an “e” after the “n” … would make more sense after last weekend.
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