Defining our national brand

At a time when nations, their institutions and businesses compete for everything from investment and tourists to overseas student enrolments, wine sales and film audiences, perceptions and branding are increasingly important. Australians are well aware of our nation’s many diverse strengths. We need to do better, however, in marketing these to the world in a way that encourages international engagement. To that end, the Australia’s Nation Brand project is a worthwhile initiative. Designed by Austrade to boost our economic strength, diplomatic and “soft power” influence and cultural and scientific impact in coming years, it is being led by a high-calibre advisory council chaired by businessman Andrew Forrest. Far from being a feel-good push to boost Australians’ morale, the exercise is geared to achieving quantifiable, long-term results.

According to a Deloitte paper produced for the Australia’s Nation Brand advisory council in November, based on data from 41 countries, Australia ranks 11th on the Brand Finance nations index, which is led by Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. A one-point improvement, it was calculated, would lift Australia’s merchandise exports, foreign direct investment, inbound tourism and international student enrolments substantially.

In its 2017 white paper, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade explained why the nation needs to act. Australia’s branding, it said, had become fragmented, with “no unified representation of the country internationally”. Singapore’s “Passion made Possible”, “100% Pure New Zealand” and Britain’s “GREAT” marketing campaigns exemplify what can be achieved. Australia, DFAT concluded, needed “a brand concept and creative execution so good it makes the world sit up and listen”.

The advisory council’s research, understandably, notes that Australia ranks well around the world for physical beauty, enjoyment and lifestyle. The nation is not well regarded, however, in terms of culture, innovation and technology. Given the contributions of leading Australian scientists, that perception should be redressed. As Mr Forrest told the council last year: “We need to capture a national spirit that has evolved and create a brand that can serve the businesses our children want to start. These are businesses in traditional industries, but also in new services and tech sectors, in culture, education and world-beating products that compete globally.” The teaching and specialist research strengths of Australia’s leading universities deserve to be more widely acknowledged.

Nor can Australia afford a resurgence of concerns about public safety. A decade ago, a series of heavily publicised attacks on Indian students, some of which were racially motivated, prompted widespread negative publicity on the subcontinent, resulting in a heavy fall in new enrolments from India. Such fears, or perceptions of racism, could decimate enrolments from nations such as India, South Korea and Indonesia.

Notes from the council, obtained by Sean Parnell under Freedom of Information laws, make it clear that “nation branding” is a “long game”. The council, which includes Qantas chief Alan Joyce, Tourism Australia’s Bob East and Austrade’s Stephanie Fahey, recognises that the “nation brand needs to be something all Australians will celebrate, a rally cry”. It must be trusted, aspirational and authentic, and take on board our inherent contradictions as a young nation with one of the world’s oldest indigenous cultures; a nation that loves to win but likes the underdog. Provided it stays on track, the initiative deserves bipartisan support and should not be undermined by populist political vagaries.