Should consumers be blamed for not buying locally made brands, as indicated by Pacific Brands CEO Sue Morphet on 60 minutes on Sunday night or does the blame lie with the companies who have not done enough to convince us consumers as to why we should buy Australian made products. Is the quality better? Is it about patriotism or giving your fellow Aussie a fair-go? What is it, about “Australian” that consumers care enough about to pay more for? If you are trying to flog a product that has no additional benefits (perceived or real) at a higher price than your competitors, by merely slapping an Australian made label on it, then of course consumers aren’t going to be prepared to buy it. And why should they. This is what branding is about - finding the insight that taps into something consumers perceive valuable (ie: worth paying for) and then helping consumers on that journey. That might be an image-led thing, it might be a quality or variety led thing or might be something more esoteric and community orientated. But whatever it is, if you’re going to try and flog “Australian made”, you have to explain to consumers the benefit to them, the consumer, of buying such a product. Its marketing 101.
Of course, Bonds is one of those “iconic”Australian brands - all seaside and sunshine, bronzed bodies and friendly holiday vibe. Which probably works fabulously overseas. But, since we live here, we get that just by waking up every morning. The opportunity to capitalise on such a positioning, locally, by talking about keeping Aussie’s in work, at this moment in time, was probably huge. Instead, Pacific Brands kept all eyes on the balance sheet and none on the consumer and have probably sounded a death knell for the Bonds brand here in Australia. It is hard to see how any amount of advertising could overcome the damage done to the “Australian” identity of Bonds here in Australia.
