CALL NOW-1800 631 311
  • Home
  • Image Consulting
  • Personal Branding
  • Reputation Management
  • Resources
    • FAQ
    • Blog
    • Media
    • Podcast
    • Training
      • Train to become an Image Consultant
    • Why Work With Us
    • Terms & Conditions
  • Our Clients
  • Contact

The NSW Government Re-Brand

by Image Maker | Nov 23, 2017 | Political Branding, Re-Branding

By Jon Michail

The Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, and the Australian Museum are all facing a re-brand.

And they aren’t the only ones.

A directive issued by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in August informed the state’s most famous cultural institutions that the NSW Government Waratah was to be “the only brand identity” used on communications including advertising and signage.

I think this is a smart move by Berejiklian’s government. They have grasped something other politicians often fail (to their own detriment) to grasp – the importance of branding.

Also affected will be Sydney Olympic Park, the Art Gallery of NSW, and Barangaroo (Sydney’s new landmark waterfront destination,) along with other government-owned organisations, such as government departments, statutory authorities, cultural organisations and universities.

NSW-Government-Waratah-Logo-Brand

The NSW government’s Waratah logo. Image: Business Insider

So why the change?

According to Berejiklian, the re-brand is necessary to “ensure consistency across public sector communications and improve the recognition of NSW government projects.”

Because brand is a powerful thing.

NSW-Government-Waratah-Logo-Branding

By bringing these disparate brands together under the Waratah, the NSW government is cashing in on some big opportunities.

So the re-branding of these institutions becomes, in a way, a re-brand of the NSW government.

Picture state government and you are more likely to conjure up images of bickering parties, and state and federal divides, than you are to think of cute platypuses or world-famous architecture.

This move is all about creating some much-needed positive brand sentiment around something Australians seem rarely to feel very positive about.

These are already government-owned organisations, but the NSW government has seen very low return-on-investment when it comes to recognition. Here are world-class institutions – achievements to be proud of, and it seems the government is sick of being left out of the limelight and is more than ready to bask in the glow.

When tourists think of the Opera House or Harbour Bridge, they instantly think “Australia” – they may even think “Sydney” – but they certainly don’t think “NSW Government.” Not yet, anyway.

Berejiklian-NSW-Government-Waratah-Logo

Premier Gladys Berejiklian in a hard hat bearing the NSW government’s Waratah logo. Image: AAP

A brand is about more than recognition – it is the spotlight that recognition shines on the integrity, achievements, and personality of an institution, icon, or person.

A unified brand with a consistent message is hard to beat. It’s the thing that separates the adequate from the excellent. In making this bold move towards branding excellence the NSW government is cleverly implementing something that will serve them well for years to come. A smart move that will outlast the term of a single premier (another concept our politicians usually fail to grasp) and continue to pay-off well into the future.

Companies have brands, governments have brands, and people have brands. Thinking about our own brands objectively can be a hard and counter-intuitive thing to do at first, but the exercise proves well worth it in the end.

Have you put as much care and thought into your own brand as the NSW government has to theirs?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Jon-Michail-Image-Group-International

Jon Michail is a veteran coach with a Who’s Who clientele, the CEO and Founder of Image Group International, an Australian-based corporate and personal brand image advisory and coaching organisation that conducts transformational seminars, workshops and one-on-one coaching in over four continents. He is recognised as Australasia’s No. 1 Image Coach.

Search the Blog

Recent Blog Posts

  • Building a Powerful Personal Brand on Linkedin.
  • The 5P’s of Personal Branding:
  • Personal Branding Trends for CEOs, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders in 2022
  • Thought Leadership And Personal Branding- Myths Vs Reality
  • Why Does Personal Branding Matter in 2022
Image Group International
 

OUR ADDRESS

MELBOURNE
Asia-Pacific Head Office
South Yarra Corporate Centre,
Suite 33, 209 Toorak Road,
South Yarra, Victoria, 3141 Australia
  
1800 631 311       (Free call within Australia)
+61 3 9824 0420  (Outside Australia)
+61 3 9820 4441  (Fax)
enquiries@imagegroup.com.au

SYDNEY
MLC Centre
Level 57, Martin Place,
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Australia
 
1800 631 311
       (Free call within Australia)
+61 2 9238 7633  (Fax)
enquiries@imagegroup.com.au

NEW YORK
One World Trade Centre
Suite 8500
285 Fulton Street New York, NY, USA 10007
 
+1 212 252 2251
info@imagegroup.global

STAY CONNECTED

The ImageMaker Blog
Contact Us
Terms & Conditions
image-group-spacer

Image Group on Facebook Image Group on Twitter Image Group on Instagram Image Group on LinkedIn

image-group-spacer

image-group-spacer

=
Home | What We Do | Our Clients | Why Work With Us | IGI Education | Media | Sitemap | Terms & Conditions | Contact Us