Australian Government crest

How do we brand Australia?

A strong nation brand defines our aesthetic as a nation and provides a set of principles that governs the expression of our identity. It is more than a single logo, slogan or marketing initiative.

Nation branding involves creating a framework and consistent narrative to market our credentials to the world. The Nation Brand will guide Australia’s messaging (what we say about ourselves to the world), provide visual cues (identity markers to help Australia stand out and be easily recognisable) and deliver marketing activities.

A successful Nation Brand will:

  • Be embraced by Australian industry, business and government
  • Be used by all industry sectors to project a united approach in international markets
  • Enhance Australia’s competitiveness and support economic growth
  • Be enduring - built for challenges of the global marketplace now and in the future
  • Be able to create moments of nation pride in Australians both at home and abroad

While exact implementation strategies are still being developed, these are some of the ways Australia’s Nation Brand could come to life.

nation_brand_actions_activities  Credit: Bloom Consulting

nation-brand-implementation-buckets

Australia’s Nation Brand will be an opportunity for businesses to build on Australia’s strong international brand to open international doors and keep them open.

How industry insights are shaping Australia’s Nation Brand

Australia’s Nation Brand will require support from all levels of government as well as industry and community buy-in and commitment to be successful. We are listening to stakeholders and target audiences at every step, to ensure we’re developing the right nation brand for now and for future generations.

What Australian industry want from the nation brand

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Industry Engagement Forums were held in June and July 2018. The consultations confirmed a strong interest and support for building a robust nation brand, with interest fuelled by a belief in the economic potential and social cohesion that can result from a stronger more unified country reputation.

Essence of Australia 

Industry Engagement Forums’ word cloud summary describing the essence of Australia
Credit: PWC Consulting

Participants identified four key benefits in a strong Nation Brand: economic impact, empowerment of business, a catalyst for collaborations and a source of national pride. They wanted a nation brand that builds on Australia’s strength of character, with an emphasis on our smarts and capabilities. These insights are guiding the development of Australia’s Nation Brand.

Shifting our reputation

Shifting our reputation: emphasis for Australia’s Nation Brand
Credit: PWC Consulting

Testing creative concepts

Creative concepts were qualitatively and quantitatively tested with over 8,700 people, domestically and internationally. The results guided the selection of Australia’s Nation Brand’s creative agency, and produced invaluable insights that are directing the creative development of Australia’s Nation Brand.

What we learnt:

  • Developed markets have strong pre-conceived ideas about Australia that can be hard to shift.
  • While colloquialism and informality are established characteristics of Australian people, in an international business context, creative concepts that are too casual can undermine seriousness and hierarchy.
  • Creative ideas need to communicate the long-term benefits of partnership and engagement.
  • The idea of a nation brand is highly appealing among Australian consumers and business people.
  • Australians felt it is important Australia’s Nation Brand clearly communicates the salient and unique business benefits of choosing Australia.