Hits and myths for brand NZ

Sunday 1st July 2001

Could .nz be sought after as the private paradise of the net?

It always amazes me how far sheep jokes travel. It seems no matter which continent you're on, when you say you're from New Zealand you get a "beautiful country, millions of sheep" remark. They seldom know much else about us. I have no idea how the whole world got to know such an inane fact. Pastoral images on postcards, perhaps. Or maybe a simple myth explaining why a tiny dot at the edge of the map was richer than just about every other country (those were the days). It's quirky enough to be memorable but it was no deliberate marketing campaign - it just kind of happened. And it shows that when it comes to defining your tiny country to the world there isn't too much space left in people's heads for facts. It also shows that we have an image problem. Sheep don't suggest "knowledge economy".

There was a famous ad put out by US publishing giant McGraw-Hill in the 1950s. An imposing, impatient chief executive glares at a withering salesman. "I don't know who you are. I don't know your company. I don't know your products. I don't know your record. I don't know what you stand for. I don't know your reputation. Now - what was it you wanted to sell me?" Made to sell advertising, the ad's point was that if you don't have an "advance party" such as advertising to explain why you're qualified to be there, you'll waste a lot of time getting to first base. And if your advance party gives the wrong message, you've lost before you start.

We need to fix our image problem. One option is an ad campaign to build a "brand New Zealand" with a more relevant message. But global brands need big budgets. Besides, as far as countries go, such campaigns are unlikely to compete with the myths that have given them their character. A better approach might be a bit of guerrilla marketing to make a new myth for New Zealand. Myths are stories and, like sheep jokes, they get around on their own.

We could build one around privacy. Why privacy? Respect for privacy makes good business sense; like global warming, its effects cross borders and expose polluters to the world. New Zealand could become the tiny dot(-com) at the edge of the map that best respects people's privacy.

Imagine this: a global company boosts its reputation when it has the privilege of operating from "dot-nz" and goes down when it's a "dot-com". Today it's the opposite, which is why even Kiwis scramble for "dot-com" credibility. This could change. Like the green movement, privacy issues will drive business, once mainstream consumers join the early voices of the loony fringe and vote with their chequebooks. A privacy-conscious jurisdiction, with honest business and government, plus a credible legal system, could attract big chunks of global business - the cyberspace equivalent of a giant organic garden.

The payback could be huge. Take the market for hosted services, one of the hottest growth markets in IT and picked to be worth more than $40 billion annually by 2004. Privacy is a wedge into this market and the downstream industries it will spawn. When a Kiwi-based company bids to host a major global corporation, it will get a boost if consumers feel confident using the site. "Hosted in NZ" would be like the TRUST.e organisation's (www.truste.org) voluntary privacy seal on steroids.

But it's a myth we'll have to earn as well as talk about. We can start with a top-down commitment from business and government to provide a legislative framework with teeth - and an explanation of why it's important. Then we'll need an angry consumer rights group to push the envelope from the bottom up. The only way it will work is if everyone buys in.

A country that heads world rankings for corruption-free business and government is well on its way. Respect for privacy sits well with how New Zealand is already seen. Here, small, feisty and independent is better than big and powerful. And it fits with the clean, green image we've already cultivated. It makes sense that a place that's seen as careful not to pollute the physical environment will make the same effort to protect the shared environment of cyberspace. And hey, let's not forget about the sheep. After all, what you do in the privacy of your own farmyard ...

Martin Taylor is managing director of IDG Communications and Unlimited's publisher

Martin Taylor

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