Loving the lovemarks

An Australian is looking to NZ for inspiration in re-branding itself at home and abroad; hoping to shed its “where the bloody hell are you” ocker image by emphasising its sporting culture, vibrant food and wine industry, and Aboriginal heritage. Columnist Elspeth Probyn writes in The Australian, “I’ve been playing with the idea of what Saatchi & Saatchi’s chief executive, Kevin Roberts, calls lovemarking. He developed the idea when he was in NZ as a strategy to turn that distant little place into the centre of the world. Roberts wants expat Kiwis to be a central element in his worldwide lovemarking of NZ.” Roberts launched the Lovemarks concept five years ago and has since published two books on the subject.