Comments for The Marketing Rack

Comment on Qantas Strikes Another Blow to Brand Australia by Ian Norris

Ian Norris — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:57:17 +0000

Ian Norris • Brand Australia has had a bit of a battering recently, the doors don’t close as well as they used to, windscreen wipers could work a little better, we could probably pump the tyres up a bit, but the engine that drives this colossus, is still in very good order. What we need to do is give it a service and fill it up with petrol and put it back to work. What we are lacking now and have for a little bit of time is the right driver to get it working again and pay its way.

What we are lacking in Australia at the moment is that driver. We need leadership that can take Brand Australia and turn it around and get it doing the good things we have done over the last century. That leadership needs to come from stable government and thirsty enterprise that can see and use the things that we do well in this country. We are not just a quarry in the ground or a sheep yard outback. This country has some of the most talented people I have met and I make that statement based upon 35 years in the information technology industry as I compare the talent and capabilities of other nations around the world and in particular comparing to the top five democracies. We are a long way off being a bunch of dummies and cowboys.

In Australia we have developed technology that can be not only described as very good but rather brilliant and very innovative. The list of these developments is extremely extensive for example some of our more modern technology developments is the cochlear ear transplant but also a 50-year-old technology called the photo copier. The photo copier was developed in Australia and could not get the backing of government or the private sector because they couldn’t understand why you would want to copy a piece of paper and ultimately the technology was sold to the Xerox Corporation. This is an example of how our talent can generate wealth for generations if we support the engine that makes it work well. The list is long and we need to identify more accurately these technologies and keep them at home.

The Australian public desperately want both government and private sector champions as we don’t have them on the radar at the moment. There is too much interest in just playing politics and short-term investment and if we take a leaf out of the book from Japan who work on not one year, not five years but 50 year plans. We will only prosper long-term if we plan long-term. Governments and businesses tend to only look at the short term return on investment as politicians and business people are only interested in what will make them look good politically or on this year’s balance sheet.

A basic fundamental required is to allow people to develop and inovate resulting in growth and wealth. One of the reasons that China is now growing and reaping rewards is because it has developed an understanding of rewarding its people for their effort. If not already so, in a very short time, China will have more billionaires than the G8 group of nations. They have changed the distribution methodology of effort and reward replacing the balance so that those who do provide the effort and investment will gain the rewards.

We will probably never be a China in my lifetime with respect to size of innovation and effort but I am absolutely convinced that if we get the right captain running the ship and looking at the ledgers, for both short-term and long-term we will again be rewarded. Help find the captain to give brand Australia a new paint job a new set of wheels and lots of petrol so it can take Australia on the long road to success and growth.

Comment on Things you SHOULD and SHOULDN’T post on LinkedIn by JOHN MILNE

JOHN MILNE — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:05:04 +0000

Thanks Rebecca.This is a very timely list for us super oldies as we navigate social media with great skill and luck.

Comment on Seven Marketing Mandatories for 2012 by Andrew Allen

Andrew Allen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:25:06 +0000

Excellent points Rebecca. Interested in communicating differently by email, that’s an area where a lot of communication is done with clients in our business, many of whom are interstate or overseas

Comment on Qantas Strikes Another Blow to Brand Australia by Karin

Karin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:39:34 +0000

I agree Qantas hurt their brand with their customers but maybe it was a much needed wakeup call. Us Aussie’s have it great! Fact: Qantas employees earn more than their counterparts, much, much more. The world has changed, we are now more connected than ever before and we no longer have an isolated economy but a global one. Times they are a changing and to remain competitive and viable in business we all need to look at ways to deliver our services and products at the same high standard if not higher but also reduce our prices and to keep profitable and thereby viable we need to examine our costs.
Qantas had heart share of Australia and the world, they delivered reliability and service, an unequalled level in the airline industry but us Aussies fell for the lure of Less, we choose to save money , lets face it – a lot of money in our quest for travel and seeing the world. We embraced budget airlines and so drove Qantas into this decision. Alan Joyce is a smart gut, i guarantee this was a tough, well thought out and courageous decision and not just an unplanned reaction. He was frustrated yes to see an Iconic Brand Die, and to die through its supposedly loyal team of employees! His job is not just to keep it viabile but growing and flourishing. How does he do that when the playing field is not level. Other airlines in this country don’t pay the same wages Qantas does, nor do they have the restrictions of Trade Qantas does. It was a brave and contreversial decision but a necessary one. It was a wake up call Australia!
Yes it was harsh but what does it take for us all to learn we should be grateful for our lifestyles, freedom and incomes. We no longer have a monopoly, we are no longer an isolated economy, we live in a connected world, we are multicultural and love seeing other countries and sampling what they have to offer.
Brand Australia is each of us, united to add our value to the world. We need to realise times have changed, and so have economies, the rest of the world is crying and yet we have remained relatively unscathed in comparison.
We need to learn the lessons from Qantas about collaboration, about teamwork and economic viability. And recognise this is an opportunity to learn and to profit from this experience. We are still the lucky country, in comparison to so many others, but their is no such thing as a free ride for any business. They either add value at a price we see as valuable and the determiner is where we spend our dollars. Increasingly we Aussies have chosen to spend them elsewhere.

Comment on Are You Really Online? by Jennifer Lancaster

Jennifer Lancaster — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:27:16 +0000

You’ve made some great points here. Often people don’t write out their LinkedIn Profile as well as they should; in effect it’s a mini advertisement for what you offer. I also like #4. As most people already have information overload – it’s nice if you can provide a summary of news or a clipping that relates to their main business (not yours).

Comment on Is Your Business Full of Starving, Hungry or Fat Cats? by Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:56:39 +0000

Bec

Great article – it reiterates an adage that those who work hardest, you are consistent with their activity and focussed will earn the rewards. It alwasy amazes me how people try to mareket / business develop via email or the phone – you need to get in front of clients to really find out what is happening, otherwise you do become a fat cat and the hungry cat will sneek up and take your clients.

Comment on Social Media enters the world of “Big Business”. by Kylea Tink

Kylea Tink — Tue, 31 May 2011 01:55:47 +0000

Hi Rebecca and thanks for your post on this. It’s been interesting for me to watch the conversation around the power and potential of social media evolve over the last 8 years or so and what really strikes me is the potential for big business to get this really wrong. From my perspective the reality is that many of these strategies have worked so well for people to date because it has ultimately been about the democratisation of content – the concept that you can have direct control over the conversations you have and when you have them – and I’m somewhat disappointed to see “big business” now try to step in here to make it work for them. Ultimately, along the same point you make, social media is about people speaking with and forming relationships with other like minded people – not big marketing campaigns or faceless corporate messages. I’ve seen for myself how powerful it can be when you really hold this principle close and live it. In my current role with the McGrath Foundation we have a Face Book Fan Page of some 253,000 people (something that has taken us nearly 3 years to build), nearly 17,000 Twitter followers and emerging audiences in Four Square and You Tube channels. We literally talk with, not at, these groups every day and the power they display is amazing. Similarly it is also daunting – people on these forums don’t always tell you what you want to hear and it has been interesting for us at times to receive negative feedback via these channel and to watch other companies respond. As we always explain at the time – it’s a conversation and we welcome it. But youcannot go into this space only seeking to hear what you think you want to. Perhaps the thing I will find most interesting though is the “what will come next” for as surely as big business moves into this space real people will step out it yet again and into the next big thing as afterall – we didn’t go there in the first place to be spruiked to.

Comment on Changing with the times… Making your business more marketable by Jeff Polley

Jeff Polley — Thu, 05 May 2011 10:41:31 +0000

I’m involved in the printing industry. It’s a space where everyone has the same capabilities in regards to machinery and staff. Artwork is often supplied, so no chance to be different there. And who wants to compete on price?
The one place where you can shine though is in service. Because selling a product is easy. It’s the delivery that can set companies apart. Deliver the goods, on time and in spec, then follow through with great after sales service.
And if that isn’t good enough, do you really want them for a client?

Comment on Changing with the times… Making your business more marketable by Anon

Anon — Tue, 03 May 2011 23:44:18 +0000

Very true. I’ve just finished assessing proposals from two professional services firms. Everyone was told at the start that we needed more flexible, less paper-based processes, better communications and no hourly billing in 6 minute increments.

One, the incumbent, proposed to do more of the same – hourly billing, slow cumbersome processes, lots of paper! The other, a relative newcomer in the market provided an innovative billing approach that will save us money, flexible processes, more electronic documents and work-flow and most importantly improved communications.

No surprise that we went with the 2nd firm. Firm 1 hasn’t changed how they do business in over 10 years and they are slowly losing clients.

Comment on Everything Matters in Marketing by Howler

Howler — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:41:54 +0000

Good article. Yes, the client certainly wnats someone who’s enagaged and dynamic – no doubt.

How about the “some things matter” person. A person who make sure that things that DO matter are taken care of, but small, insignificant things – maybe aren’t so vital?

The trick is trying to work our what, if anything, doesn’t matter?