Boomerangs and Creativity: Analysing the Core Messages of the New Brand Australia

DIEGO NAVARRO

Sydney

Seminario; 2010 Seminars Series; 2010

Center for Cultural Research-University of Western Sydney

The aim of this paper is to describe the country brand for Australia released by the AustralianFederal Government in May 2010, ?Brand Australia?. One year later, only the logo is available,and further details of the strategy (activities, targets, partners) are to be announced at a later date.This paper is focused on the available elements of the new Australian strategy; its antecedents indestination branding; the process conducted by the the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade indeveloping the new brand; the primary and secondary resource studies used by the BuildingBrand Australia program; policy aims; and the messages delivered by the brand?s new visualresources.My research method is based on website analysis and interviews. In addition to interviews withspecific key respondents linked to the brand strategy, several interviews were conducted withresearchers connected to tourism and cultural studies as an exercise in ?thinking together? about aphenomenon that is new, but also framed in a cultural sphere that is ?exotic? to the author. Themain findings of this research can be summarized as follows: Australia enjoys the advantage ofan outstanding perceived image, largely built on ?soft? portrayal items; Brand Australia focusesits core message in a couple of weak items (creativity and technology), probably consideredstrategic and undervalued by international audiences; the new program is not particularly worriedabout some other weak issues (culture and environment); the new logo includes only a fewelements (of the boomerang and the Australian map), mixing controversial and innocuous wellknown icons.