News/article
Students save Australia’s endangered brands
In an effort to save iconic Australian brands from possible extinction, FutureBrand has asked young Australians to vote for Aussie brands they don’t connect with. In an age where “Gen Y” seemingly has the balance of power when it comes to the lifecycle of brands, putting brands “on the endangered list” gives a wake-up call to brands who may think their iconic past assures a long and prosperous future. They’re wrong.
From a national online survey and a Melbourne-based SMS feedback competition, Telstra mobile, Fosters Beer and Mambo were chosen as the top three iconic Australian brands to head up the endangered list. Reasons such as “my parents would buy this brand”, and “my cred would diminish if I was associated with this brand” were just some of the reasons that put these three brands on the top of the list.
So what’s the conservation plan? How do these three brands fend off apparently inevitable extinction?
Australian students under 25 have been given an open brief for these brands: Just Fix it. In any form imaginable, students have been asked to submit their ideas on how these brands can re-connect with an increasingly uninterested generation of twenty-somethings. From brands re-designs, to new products, communication strategies and initiatives, students will put forward their most creative and strategic ideas in the bid to win a three month internship at FutureBrand, which includes a month in an overseas office and a cash prize.
The solutions will give a snap-shot of creative initiatives that reflect a generation who are discontent with old iconic Australian brands slowly evolving down a path of brand maturity. They want excitement. They want a reason to say “Yes! This brand needs to stay”. This wake-up call will hopefully give these brands and the many others like it, the initiative to change and the awareness that this generation will make or break these brands of the future.
