Brand Health Survey Conducted by the Brand Tasmania Council December 2015 and January 2016 brandtasmania.com
Executive Summary A survey of 731 respondents conducted by Brand Tasmania in December January confirmed the State s brand is in good health at the start of 2016. The survey showed that: Perceptions of Tasmania were rated at an average of 8.4 out of 10; 83.44 per cent of respondents believed Tasmania s reputation was improving; Respondents rated their confidence in the State s future at 8.3 out of 10; The words used most often to describe Tasmania were: Clean; Beautiful; and Natural. 2 Brand Health Survey 2015
Responses were received from people in every Australian State and Territory and in 14 other countries, with the greatest number of overseas submissions coming from China. Three target groups were involved: efriends (Brand Tasmania efriends); Partners (Brand Tasmania Partners and other contacts, including media workers and other influencers); and the Public. There were minor variations in surveys sent to each of the groups. There are now more than 9,000 Brand Tasmania efriends in more than 50 countries, who are subscribers to the monthly electronic newsletter Tasmania s Stories. Brand Tasmania Partners are businesses and other organisations that have signed on to help in promoting the brand. They now number more than 450. Those in the Public group were contacted through social media and respondents were in Australia, China and nine other countries. The volume of responses compared reasonably with samples of about 1,000 in most major Tasmanian political polls. A total of 397 respondents included optional comments offering insights into the way Tasmania is perceived by Tasmanians and others. brandtasmania.com 3
Survey Results Overall the responses to the Tasmanian Brand Health Survey were positive, with the perception of Tasmania being rated at an average of 8.4 out of 10. Those who had spent time in the State as residents or tourists commented favourably about its liveability. Descriptors of Tasmania submitted by the respondents reaffirm the narrative that has been used in association with the State s master brand in recent years. While there were more than 450 unique descriptors, out of a total of 2,100 words or phrases submitted, the results presented no surprises. The top three words were Clean, Beautiful and Natural. A total of 397 respondents included comments (a response rate of 54 per cent) that provide additional insight into the perception and health of Tasmania s brand. Several overarching themes were evident, with Marketing of the state, Visiting, Liveability, Government and Produce (food and beverage) at the top. 4 Brand Health Survey 2015
In the efriends group the majority of comments were influenced by the respondent s experience, or desire, in visiting or living in Tasmania. Another key theme was the respondent s awareness of the State s brand drivers and suggestions on how to strengthen Tasmania s master brand, mainly through Government policy. The Partners group s comments were strongly focused on the themes of marketing the state, government and investment. This group was asked to name three things that would change their perceptions of Tasmania. Most referred to infrastructure, tourism development, customer service and general economic development issues. The Public group s comments address similar themes to the efriends group, but also touch on Tasmania s produce and government policies and performance. The following is a summary of the combined results of the survey for all three groups. (Please note that some result shown as percentages will not total 100 per cent due to data-entry errors by some respondents). brandtasmania.com 5
Survey Results Entries by region for efriends respondents North America: 8 1.94% Europe: 9 2.18% Asia: 8 1.94% South America: 0 0.0% Africa: 0 0.0% Oceania: 386 93.69% 6 Brand Health Survey 2015
Entries by region for Public respondents North America: 2 1.36% Europe: 1 0.68% Asia: 39 26.53% South America: 0 0.0% Africa: 0 0.0% Oceania: 101 68.71% brandtasmania.com 7
Survey Results Perception The respondents rated their perception of Tasmania an average of 8.4 out of 10. Reputation Question asked of efriends and Public only Do you feel Tasmania s reputation is? > Improving 83.44% > Declining 1.44% > Static 13.84% Confidence Question asked of Partners/media/influencers only The respondents rated their confidence in Tasmania s future at an average of 8.3 out of 10. Purchase behaviour Question asked of all three groups Do you prefer to purchase Tasmanian produce when available? > Yes 93.90% > No 6.10% 8 Brand Health Survey 2015
How often do you purchase Tasmanian produce? > Never 1.14% > Once 2.06% > Annually 8.82% > Monthly 26.36% > Weekly 59.32% Connection to Tasmania Question asked of all three groups Ever lived in Tasmania? > Yes 48.56% > No 51.44% Question asked of efriends and Public only Ever visited Tasmania? > Yes 84.21% > No 4.16% Of those that answered no 11.66% said they intended to visit in the future. brandtasmania.com 9
Survey Results Place of residence Partners/ Country efriends Media/ Public Total influencers Australia 387 132 130 649 China 31 31 Singapore 3 10 13 USA 7 1 1 9 Hong Kong 2 2 4 Germany 2 2 4 UK 2 1 1 4 Japan 3 3 Denmark 2 2 Malaysia 1 1 Indonesia 1 1 South Africa 1 1 Switzerland 1 1 Taiwan 1 1 Canada 1 1 10 Brand Health Survey 2015
Place of residence Partners/ state efriends Media/ Public Total influencers Tasmania 121 105 77 303 Victoria 117 8 18 143 NSW 92 11 9 112 Queensland 34 1 13 48 WA 12 5 17 SA 7 2 4 13 ACT 4 3 7 NT 2 2 brandtasmania.com 11
Survey Results Descriptors of Tasmania The respondents were asked to list three words they felt best described Tasmania with more than 450 unique words or phrases being submitted. These are the top 10 words nominated. 1 Clean 160 2 Beautiful 128 3 Natural 113 4 Fresh 80 5 Friendly 68 6 Green 85 7 Pristine 58 8 Unique 47 9 Food 42 0 Scenic 38 Upon review of the full list of descriptors the sentiment of each was rated and are summarised as follows > Positive 92.76% > Negative 6.65% > Neutral 0.87% 12 Brand Health Survey 2015
The word-cloud generated from all words and phrases is shown below. brandtasmania.com 13
Survey Results Other comments A total of 397 comments were submitted by respondents. Due to confidentiality reasons the verbatim comments have not been made public. Sentiment Upon review of all comments the sentiment of each was rated and is summarised as follows > Positive 60.36% > Negative 22.43% > Neutral 16.62% Themes Distinctive themes articulated in the comments were: Liveability cost of living, infrastructure, traffic, weather, natural and built heritage, clean environment, climate, fresh air, clean water, cool climate, fresh produce and relaxed lifestyle, culture, trading hours, penalty rates Landscape scenery, beaches, overall beauty Environment forestry, environmental assets, natural assets, litter, water issues, flora and fauna Government state and local government, all political parties, policy, priorities, relationship with large firms, investment, red tape, development in wilderness, politics Marketing awareness, perceptions, reputation, drivers, advertising, place-oforigin, meaning of the brand 14 Brand Health Survey 2015
Produce food and beverage, wine, organic, GMO free, affordability, availability Visit has or plans to visit, hospitality, visitor experience, service, TT Line, tourism investment and infrastructure Migration has or desires to move to Tasmania or has moved from Tasmania, AFL Hawthorn home games in Launceston and North Melbourne home games in Hobart Employment appropriate opportunities for children or themselves as a motivator for migration Arts MONA, TMAG History Investment freight capacity, foreign investment, private and government investment, government involvement Infrastructure general infrastructure, tourism infrastructure (airport), architecture, roads, transport, air access in and out of the state Economic Growth increase innovation, sustainability Mindset small town mentality, less insular, proudness, outward looking, encourage diversity, accept the new Retail opening hours, customer service, Education investment Collaboration holistic approach, consistency across sector, collaboration with businesses. Services health brandtasmania.com 15
Survey Results Upon review each comment was categorised into a maximum of two themes. If more themes were mentioned, the first two or main themes from the comments were noted as the key themes. The frequency of the most common themes are expressed as percentages: > Marketing 19.37% > Visit 18.50% > Liveability 17.63% > Produce 10.12% > Government 9.25% > Migration 7.85% > Environment 4.71% > Landscape 3.66% > Investment 2.79% > AFL 1.75% > Economic growth 1.40% > Employment 1.05% > Arts 0.70% > Education 0.52% > History 0.52% > Services 0.17% 16 Brand Health Survey 2015
Ideas to improve perception The Partners group (including media and other influencers) was asked an additional question Name three things that would change your perception of Tasmania. A very high response was received, testimony to the heightened engagement this group has with Tasmania. Due to confidentiality reasons the verbatim comments have not been made public. Themes Again each comment was categorised into a maximum of two themes. The majority of suggestions focus on infrastructure, tourism development, customer service and overall economic development issues. The following summaries how often the most common themes featured in comments > Government 18.32% > Visiting 18.32% > Marketing 12.57% > Environment 6.28% > Infrastructure 6.28% > Mindset 5.76% > Liveability 5.24% > Investment 4.19% > Produce 4.19% > Economic growth 4.19% > Collaboration 4.19% > Education 2.09% > Retail 2.09% > Weather 2.09% > Employment 1.57% > Innovation 1.05% > Migration 0.52% > Arts 0.52% > Services 0.52% brandtasmania.com 17
Methodology The brand health survey was developed and administered using Wufoo, an online software tool that provided a costeffective mechanism for preparing the survey and collating the responses. Three slightly different surveys were developed for three different groups. The largest group was the more than 9,000 efriends, a contact list with global reach that had been built up organically over the past 10 years. The second list, Partners, had more than 1,000 contacts comprising Partners of Brand Tasmania (>450) as well as influencers and media workers with a connection to the State. The final group was designated Public a mixture of people with varying degrees of knowledge and engagement with Tasmania. Campaign Monitor was used to contact people on Brand Tasmania s various distribution lists, with invitations to complete the survey circulated on 18 December. While many respondents can be assumed to have a positive bias because of their connections and engagement with Tasmania, their responses provide valuable insights into the health of the brand and suggestions about risks. Contacts were encouraged to complete the survey by being offered chances to win prizes. A total of 2,564 people opened the email, with 548 responding: a response rate of 21 per cent and a conversion rate of 60.3 per cent (the number of completed surveys divided by the number of survey opens or page views). Those in the Public group were invited to complete the survey via Brand Tasmania s social media channels (Facebook and Twitter); through industry associations (Wine Tasmania, Hobart Chamber of Commerce) and by email to key contacts in Australia, China and Singapore. Austrade also provided assistance. By 18 January, a total of 731 responses had been received and this was deemed an acceptable sample size. It carries a potential margin of error of less than 3.7 per cent. An immediate benefit from this survey was that 101 respondents in the Public group expressed a desire to subscribe to the monthly electronic newsletter Tasmania s Stories. This ensures ongoing engagement with a majority of respondents from all three groups. 18 Brand Health Survey 2015
Glossary Response rate total number of completed surveys divided by total number of email invites opened. Data provided by Campaign Monitor (www.campaignmonitor.com) and Wufoo (www.wufoo.com) Conversion rate total number of completed surveys divided by total number of survey opens or page views. Data provided by WuFoo Margin of error 1/ N. www. sciencebuddies.org/sciencefair-projects/project_ideas/soc_ participants.shtml brandtasmania.com 19
The Brand Tasmania Council Inc The independent Brand Tasmania Council Inc was established by Tasmanian exporters to formulate and promote placeof-origin branding for the State. The council s members include leaders of the private sector and representatives of relevant Government agencies. Through the Executive Director, the council engages proactively with relevant Government business units and is responsive to a range of other key organisations involved in marketing Tasmania, including: Industry peak bodies; Local government councils; Other State government departments; Organisers of major events; and Significant businesses. Contacts Brand Tasmania PO Box 957 Sandy Bay, 7006 Tasmania Australia Robert Heazlewood Executive Director Mob: 0419 564 745 robert.heazlewood@ brandtasmania.com Martin Turmine Senior Manager Mob: 0409 559 670 Tel: 03 6165 5053 martin.turmine@ brandtasmania.com Angela Cranwell Project Officer Mob: 0400 168 592 Tel: 03 6165 5225 angela.cranwell@ brandtasmania.com