Smug attitude costly PrintIncrease Text SizeDecrease Text Size04 Dec, 2013 04:00 AMANDREW MARSHALL Advertising specialist Craig Davis says too many of our producers and exporters had the illusion that the world would knock on their door and our natural agricultural capability should automatically translate into big demand and rich rewards for our produce.Advertising specialist Craig Davis says too many of our producers and exporters had the illusion that the world would knock on their door and our natural agricultural capability should automatically translate into big demand and rich rewards for our produce. SMUG Australia is doomed to be little more than a low-cost exporter of unbranded, bulk farm commodities unless theres some urgent action to build a respected home-grown brand. Our export future could be prosperous, but the Australian farm produce story has historically been caught in a rut and dumbed down to a low-price message, says advertising specialist Craig Davis. Our continent, its coastline and farming areas may all be impressively large, however Mr Davis said our reputation overseas was underwhelming. Asian neighbours saw Australians as the lotus eaters, with leisurely lifestyles and lazy minds, while on a global scale the nation was seen to suffer from supermodel syndrome. Wherever she goes she expects the worlds attention, people to come to her - shes self-absorbed, complacent, a poor listener and prone to fickle relationships, Mr Davis said. He told the recent Australian Farm Institutes (AFI) roundtable forum that too many of our producers and exporters had the illusion that the world would knock on their door and our natural agricultural capability should automatically translate into big demand and rich rewards for our produce. But while food sales opportunities to cashed-up consumers in nearby Asia were exciting - particularly with two thirds of the worlds middle class living there within 20 years - our history of bulk, short-term trade objectives was inappropriate for the future. We need to start behaving like a challenger, a start up, said Mr Davis whose recent career has spanned leading jobs with global advertising agencies Saatchi and Saatchi, J Walter Thompson and Publicis Mojo. We need to be more agile, entrepreneurial and engaged, and we need a new, simple way to think about brand Australia. Consumers and customers come first of all - theres a need to listen to, respect and collaborate with our stakeholders. Unfortunately the opposite was often the case, according to the consultation feedback which led to the federal governments release of last years Asian Century white paper.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 18:57:33 +0000
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