g’day
korea is the coolest country in the world right now.
k-pop, k-skincare and k-film have all entered the mainstream (and who predicted kias would be cool?)
japan had the mantle and is hugely popular amongst tourists with consistently good food and a perfect blend of culture shock and western cool.
but i learned last week that it’s by design (thanks, zac).
both nations have been ‘nation branding’. korea with the presidential council on nation branding and japan with cool japan movement.
meanwhile, australia seems stale and divided.
we’ve spent decades coasting on mining, sport, and laid-back charm, but we don’t have a coherent story for the future.
when a solid chunk of the population believe our core logo, the aussie flag, is racist. we’ve got serious internal branding problems.
so what if we treated australia like a brand worth building again?
an aesthetics-first vision of our nation that unites a fractured country.
then project it out and achieve some cultural dominance.
the email was late this week, cos i’ve just put the finishing touches on my most ambitious video yet: 50 ideas to rebrand australia (now uploaded).
some ideas are serious (flags, typefaces, bill of rights, national colours).
some are cooked (music festivals, invading new zealand, jims mowing, etc).
but they’re all part of a coherent vision for a new australia.
charlie
ps – please email me: what would you add to the rebrand, what have i missed?
thanks jae lubberink, charlotte mortlock, jack nunn, zac innes and gabriel dickinson for your help on this one.
