Is the dire state of Australian political party brand identity a reflection of the state of Australian politics?
We’re the first to admit we have an unreasonably high expectation of brand identity standards. We set the bar pretty high and expect everyone else should follow regardless of industry, category or political leaning. And whilst we don’t think you need a great logo to be a great political party, there are more reasons to be worried by this crap collection of branding than meets the eye.
We all wish those who represent us to have some fairly important attributes, four of which should be:
• They should have a strong sense of vision of a healthy and vibrant Nation and their role in that.
• They should be professional in the way they think, act and behave.
• They should be values driven.
• They should be trustworthy and act in the best interest of us – the voters.
It’s true that not all brand identities are created equal. Some identities play a secondary role – say to a product brand and packaging in the case of a cereal pack on a supermarket shelf. And it’s not like these brands are going to get much coverage, other than air time on regional and cap city news programs, printed on posters appearing all around the country at polling booths and on how to vote cards handed to only every Australian over the age of eighteen on election day. If there was a group of brands who should be doing everything than can to leverage the engagement and influencing power of their branding it’s these political parties.
The last thing we want is for our political parties to whitewash their image through spin and unauthentic branding, but is it too much to ask that we be inspired by a professional presentation of their vision, that helps us to understand the values they represent? Whilst the major parties have at least a professional presentation of their brand, they fall short of communicating a set of values or communicating a view of the world. However, even those relatively bland examples of political branding look stunning by comparison to the efforts of the lesser parties.
Australia Motoring Enthusiast Party
John Madigan’s Manufacturing and Farming Party
Bullet Train for Australia
The Greens
The Nationals
Sustainable Australia
Country Liberals
Pirate Party Australia
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers
Nick Xenophon Team
Australian Equality Party (Marriage)
Australian Antipaedophile Party
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)
Liberal Democratic Party
Katter’s Australian Party
Australian Sex Party
Dave Ansett
David is the founder of Truly Deeply, a brand agency with 25 years experience working with brands to position them for growth. His deep expertise is in the creation of high engagement brands that attract the attention of their audience and stand out from their competitors. David has extensive experience working with corporate, retail, food & beverage and entrepreneurial clients. Find out more at…
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