the brand

...what makes it distinct

(1) Origin of the logo

The thought-balloon element of our logo is intended to symbolize the experience of recognition that occurs in one's mind when one has noticed something imbued with characteristics one associates with Australia or Australians, or which simply remind one of being Australian.

The trademark design was conceived with the intention of conveying warmth, simplicity, accessibility, wonder, authenticity and playfulness.

Our work is about making sure the brand is firmly associated by Australians and admirers of Australians with the experience and societal benefit of observing and sharing sensory moments that remind them of the Australian experience.

Moreover, we intend that the Australians and admirers of Australia come to associate the logo with the ongoing logo become associated a perpetual dialog of inquiry between and among people of all backgrounds who share a common citizenship as a means of building a better society.  

(2) Brand Values – What Being Australian Represents

Being Australian is about the experience of Being Australian through the eyes of Australians. This project assumes people are the experts on the subject of experiencing life in myriad Australian contexts. To that extent, Being Australian is merely a conduit for Australians to discover, connect and relate.

Being Australian is a brand identity Australians will recognise as symbolic of actual life experience, not icons (popular culture et al.), values or national identity.

Being Australian a signal to Australians that they are being heard, not lectured. It is about starting conversation through sharing and discovery, not ending conversation through imposition or declaration of stated beliefs, values or opinions. Being Australian is not an attempt to answer questions about 'what it means to be Australian'.

The audience for Being Australian includes all Australians and admirers of Australia ranging from young people to our senior citizens, from merchandise customers to television audiences of future national broadcasts.

Being Australian’s business sustainability model requires a sensitive balance between revenue earned and public interest. While enterprise sustainability relies on critical commercial objectives, these objectives are and must be seen to be subordinate to the social objectives of this work. The reverse of this may be seen to betray the public interest since the Australian public is the source of the content that makes Being Australian possible as an enterprise and valuable as a recognizable brand. The public has the most to gain from the outcomes of this work. [Top]

(3) Brand as Invitation

Being Australian is aimed at Australians, by Australians, for Australians. The brand is an invitation to Australians everywhere to take and interest in how they experience life occurs in . What Australians reveal becomes the raw material for original content, cleverly produced and presented, that informs, excites, entertains and inspires a nation of people who, according to the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, are in search of community and a sense of belonging. [Top]

(4) The "being" in Being Australian

Being Australian is about "being" -- a moment that is alive and real for the person recalling it.

For the purpose of this project, the state of "being" means something is going on, someone is doing something, something is happening and we are involved in it - even if only as observers - during or after the fact.

(8) Relevance of the Being Australian brand

We think the Being Australian is timely and relevant. ‘“Love and inspiration are part of our world now. …Fully distilled, Roberts’ idea is that consumers now own the brands. When companies act in a manner that forgets that, it is the consumer who will turn on them. “I do not believe it is the optional thing now for companies to just talk about [being responsible], they (had) better be socially responsible, they (had) better be cleaner than clean, they better be doing something.” [Top]

Roberts closes his books with the call for companies to change the world. Not to sell as such but to attain a higher social purpose... ‘Can business make the world a better place?’ he writes. ‘Of course it can. Will business take up the challenge? It is in our best interests to do so…What can inspire us with the emotional urgency required to undertake this epic task? The creation and rewards of Lovemarks.’ [Top]

(Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, from his book, Lovemarks. The Future Beyond Brands excerpted 6 May 2004 in The Australian, Media & Marketing section, p 19) [Top]