Neighbours, but worlds apart

x Sponsored content on Research Live and in Impact magazine is editorially independent.
Find out more about advertising and sponsorship.

Businesses marketing their products on both sides of the Tasman Sea face a number of common issues and often struggle to see why their campaigns perform differently in Australia and New Zealand. To find out why, we explored whether there were key differences between Australian and New Zealand cultural constructs, the competitive landscape, the equity of brands in each market, media consumption and digital attitudes and behaviour. 

With similarities between Kiwis and Australians often quite obvious – some shared history and values, a semi-integrated economy, a love of the outdoors – the research looked into the differences and asked the questions: ‘Why are we seeing such differences in terms of the communication effectiveness?’ and ‘Why do some Australian ads not travel well across the Tasman?’.

The answers revealed more pronounced differences in areas such as: the cultural stereotypes New Zealanders and Australians aspire to; humour; and heroes and celebrities.

Typically Australian stereotypes are more fun-loving, cheeky, sarcastic and like to make fun of themselves. They are also regarded as more confident, brave and good at standing up for themselves. 

On the other hand, Kiwi stereotypes stand out for their ‘can do’ attitude and tendency to be environmentally conscious. They are also seen as more adventurous, hands-on, family-focused and loyal. 

But a critical factor is that stereotypes can sometimes be very different from how we actually see ourselves, which is the case here. Australians don’t feel as laid back, sociable, adventurous or as fun-loving as the cultural stereotype would suggest – or as tough and brave as they’d like to be. 

New Zealanders, too, are struggling to live up to their ‘can do’ attitude and enviropically an exaggerated expression of New Zealanders and their culture; so the chances of dinmentally conscious image. They don’t feel as adventurous or as sociable as their stereotypical image suggests, but they do feel more confident and sarcastic, which are more typically thought of as Australian traits.

It is the stereotypes that are often communicated in New Zealand advertising – tysconnect are high, if they can’t identify with what they see being communicated.

The research also revealed a different view of heroes and celebrities. 

Australian heroes are high-profile. Resilience, bravery, courage and confidence are admired, specifically the ability to transform in the face of adversity. 

New Zealand heroes are typically everyday people – ‘my mum and dad’ – hard-working, loyal, caring people who genuinely make a difference to their families and communities.

Like brands, TV celebrities can have distinct profiles and reputations on opposite sides of the Tasman, and some can either antagonise or win over different markets. 

Australians aspire to a more Americanised narrative, and the strong US accent feels aspirational. However, for New Zealanders this Americanised-style creative can lack relevance; Kiwis are more likely to respond positively to British rather than American cues.

These differences, when coupled with some proven truths about the competitive landscapes of the two countries, really start to offer valuable insights.

For example, the New Zealand market has less competitive intensity and is more price-conscious than Australia; Kiwis are less willing to pay a premium for added value or extra convenience.

Confectionery brands in Australia and New Zealand present a great example of how the competitive landscape is rarely the same, and brands often have different levels of familiarity and engagement in New Zealand than in Australia. Their campaigns also highlight that superficial changes to localise – such as voiceover dialect and product shots – are often not sufficient to improve relevance.

Nicola Stokell is qualitative director at Kantar TNS New Zealand