Northern Territory appoints The Royals

The Northern Territory should have its very own masterbrand in just over 12 months appointing creative agency The Royals to its $1.5 million account.

Says Andrew Siwka, managing partner, The Royals: “This is a particularly satisfying win for The Royals. We love taking on big strategic challenges and they don’t get much bigger than developing whole of territory master brands. The incredible diversity of the NT certainly adds to the project’s complexity but also whets the appetite of an Agency built on insatiable curiosity.”

The purpose is to deliver a one-of-a-kind brand and strategy for the NT that would have every Territorian talking up the Territory in the same way.

Siwka said brand presentation was more than what a tourism department could do: “This is so much broader than tourism.

“When you get this right, it invades elements from immigration to building business to exports and imports to external investment within a location. Tourism is definitely a key stakeholder but it’s so much more than tourism.

“If we get this right, you’ll see GDP growth and immigration growth.”

Siwka said it would take up to a year for the branding to take off but it would have everyone using similar language.

Says Siwka: “They won’t use exactly the same words, it won’t be one single thing, but every Territorian will be able to articulate what it is that makes the NT great.”

He said businesses would be able to use an online portal to get marketing tips: “When they’re selling beef to China, or they’re at a mining conference, they’ll be talking about what makes the NT fantastic.”

Siwka said an example of success was in Edmonton, where his team was able to get the whole community on message.

Says Siwka: “One of the most amazing things we did at Edmonton was we got schoolkids involved. They started coming up with ideas … and started coming up with ideas that made something ‘Edmonton’.”

Gunner said the tender was the next step of Team NT and his tourism stimulus package, and that he had “charged the best in the world with creating a unified and identifiable brand for the NT”.

Says Gunner: “This world-recognised team is tasked with framing the NT in the best possible way — crafting a brand that will ultimately drive population, jobs and economic growth. They will build a distinctive and identifiable brand that will provide the Territory with a unique competitive edge to enable us to better tell the Territory’s story.”

The Royals will also offer NT design students with internship opportunities in its Melbourne office where work on the Territory’s brand will be completed.

McGregor Tan has worked with many well-known brands during the past 40 years including international brands Toshiba, Mercedes Benz, Meiji Dairy Industry, Weber and well known Australian brands BHP, Westfield, Coca-Cola Amatil and Red Cross.

Boab has created branding solutions for an extensive portfolio of NT organisations, across a range of projects. Their clients include Kakadu Tourism, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Airnorth, Darwin Council, Darwin Waterfront, Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia Development Office, NT Airports, Darwin Festival, Parks Australia, TIO, Tourism NT, Halikos Group, among many others.