SYDNEY: Relatively few Australian brands have found global success, in part because of the country’s geographical isolation, but as international competitors look to expand into the Australian market, brands in many categories will have to consider how they fight back.
A new report from BrandZ – The Top 40 Most Valuable Oz Brands – stated that Australian brands have long been sheltered from outside competition because of that isolation.
Only 13 of the ranked brands report any overseas revenue – with such contributions making up just 7% of total revenue.
In terms of category, only alcohol and airlines can claim any significant overseas revenues; banks, retail and telecom providers, which supplied the the top ranked brands, reported only between 1% and 5% of revenues from overseas.
But physical remoteness is no longer guaranteed to protect local brands. That factor is being “flattened” by technology: global brands are now just a click away while international competitors are also looking at expansion into new territories as a way to build growth.
So Australian brands face having to defend their own markets while simultaneously finding news ones.
The next great challenge for Australian brands, according to BrandZ, lies in “building transferable equity to establish presence in foreign markets”.
That means tapping into the fact that consumers everywhere now expect more from brands, favouring “tech savvy” ones that can offer greater convenience and efficiency.
The report highlighted two other areas that may be opportunities for Australian brands, one of which is the building of trust – something bank brands are already having to deal with.
“Trust is built by communicating a friendly, relaxed and informal tone,” BrandZ suggested – qualities that many people around the world already associate with Australia.
The other area is differentiation: no finance companies or telcos appeared in BrandZ’s top 10 most Meaningfully Different brands, an indication that “some of the top Australian brands can improve on delivering clarity to consumers and define what makes their brand special”.
A new report from BrandZ – The Top 40 Most Valuable Oz Brands – stated that Australian brands have long been sheltered from outside competition because of that isolation.
Only 13 of the ranked brands report any overseas revenue – with such contributions making up just 7% of total revenue.
In terms of category, only alcohol and airlines can claim any significant overseas revenues; banks, retail and telecom providers, which supplied the the top ranked brands, reported only between 1% and 5% of revenues from overseas.
But physical remoteness is no longer guaranteed to protect local brands. That factor is being “flattened” by technology: global brands are now just a click away while international competitors are also looking at expansion into new territories as a way to build growth.
So Australian brands face having to defend their own markets while simultaneously finding news ones.
The next great challenge for Australian brands, according to BrandZ, lies in “building transferable equity to establish presence in foreign markets”.
That means tapping into the fact that consumers everywhere now expect more from brands, favouring “tech savvy” ones that can offer greater convenience and efficiency.
The report highlighted two other areas that may be opportunities for Australian brands, one of which is the building of trust – something bank brands are already having to deal with.
“Trust is built by communicating a friendly, relaxed and informal tone,” BrandZ suggested – qualities that many people around the world already associate with Australia.
The other area is differentiation: no finance companies or telcos appeared in BrandZ’s top 10 most Meaningfully Different brands, an indication that “some of the top Australian brands can improve on delivering clarity to consumers and define what makes their brand special”.
Sourced from BrandZ; additional content by WARC staff
