CQ Uniform

What would be the CQ uniform and message that retailer’s would wear during Beef Week next year? That was a question to last week’s column suggesting instead of wearing Levi’s and chequered shirts, that Rockhampton retailers wear a CQ uniform to encourage Beef Week visitors to explore the region. The uniform should be made of CQ produced cotton, wool or other natural fibres. It need not be sublimated with a miss-mash of images of CQ, I think a well designed t-shirt that’s made with CQ cotton and ideally manufactured in CQ would suffice. Now the all important message and/or image; it’s got to be simple and achieve its purpose of encouraging visitors to explore the region, whether it be during their stay or on a return visit. Challenging: perhaps a competition could be held to source a suitable t-shirt design. But who should determine the winner? And is there only one image/message that is CQ’s Sydney Harbour Bridge. I don’t think so, thus I believe the design of the t-shirt should include a prominent QR code or more suitably a CQ code that when scanned by a smart phone leads visitors to a web site rich with CQ images and messages. With the high penetration of smart phone ownership the idea of Beef Week visitors, if incentivised, scanning a t-shirt worn by thousands of locals is arguably likely to occur. The incentive may be just a accompanying invitation on the t-shirt; ‘The CQ Code – Scan Me’. Better yet, develop a coordinated promotion with accommodation prize(s) at a number of CQ attractions to those who can decode the clues in a hidden treasure like game. Social media with the hash tag #thecqcode could enable Beef Week visitors to share images of CQ with family and friends in their home towns, states or countries. A coordinated promotion would really enable Rockhampton region and Central Queensland to gain more from the high profile week of beef industry focussed activities. Hopefully an organisation who has the suitable resources likes the idea and runs with it. It would be a shame if we don’t make as much as we can from the attention Beef Week will bring the region.