Tribe CQ

The Tribe has spoken it’s time for you to go… and sell Central Queensland to the world! Are you an Ehrenberg-Bass (E-B) or a ‘Tribe’ grocery shopper? When doing the grocery shop have you thought what triggers you to buy a particular brand of product. Price can be a major factor, but if it was the only factor why do private label goods (Woolies & Coles house brands) only account for about 25% of all supermarket sales. The E-B shopper is most likely influenced by television commercials or in program endorsements (think of the brands mentioned in those TV cooking shows); the brand uses mass broadcast channel(s) to continuously promote their product. A Tribe buyer is influenced by people they closely associate with (a tribe). Persons within the tribe who feel strongly positive about a brand (advocates) impartially recommend it and sometimes that brand becomes part of the tribe’s DNA. Think the brand ‘Lorna Jane’ and women at gym’s. Apple (computers) is another example, the way brand preference developed amongst the graphic artist tribes. My previous column identified that CQ was basically in a competition with other Queensland regions to attract people from south east Queensland to live, work, learn and invest in at the Regional Qld Showcase. Obviously a one-off 2 day showcase won’t be sufficient to make a significant impact on intrastate migration. It needs a long term strategy. An E-B strategy would include on-going mass media, traditional and digital, advertising. Good but expensive, not something the CQ Councils would likely fund. How do CQ Councils therefore initiate, even better foster, the alternative strategy – Tribal Marketing? Is there a tribe of CQ devotees? Initially CQ Councils need to identify individual CQ devotees and by providing and encouraging them to produce and distribute content under a common banner help form a tribe to sell CQ. Social media is the obvious tool for this connection, creation and dissemination. Outside Council’s roads, rates, rubbish charter! If we want an economically stronger region CQ needs more people living here, investing here. Councils must be pro-active and supported in marketing the region. Looking at ways of helping create a CQ Tribe, encouraging members to use their personal networks to promote CQ could be effective in both boosting population growth and developing a more positive outlook from existing residents.