Sydney Opera House deemed more esteemed brand than Australia itself

The iconic Sydney Opera House is considered internationally as a more "relevant and esteemed" brand than 'Brand Australia' itself, according to a new report by Deloitte released for the 40th anniversary its construction (see pic).

The Opera House, which contributes $775m to the national economy each year, where the experience of performances are valued at 38% more than ticket prices, remains the key asset in attracting tourist dollars to Australia.

"More than half of surveyed tourists for the report from China, the US, UK and New Zealand, said the Opera House was their main reason for visiting Sydney,” according to Deloitte Access Economics partner, Dr Ric Simes, who is one of the report’s authors.

“In 2012 it drove the spending of $640 million tourist dollars in Sydney. As we identified in our recent Building the Lucky Country report, tourism is set to double in size in the next 20 years, with Asia’s expanding middle classes fuelling the growth. The Opera House is a key attraction for them and other visitors to Australia."

This year, the Brand Asset Valuator by Young and Rubicam showed that the Sydney Opera House "demonstrated great brand strength and differentiation".

Among early adopters and innovators over 40 years of age, it's considered the most distinctive brand in the country, ahead of Apple’s iPhone.

The report also found that for the same audience, "its uniqueness ranks second only to the brand of Australia itself".

However, internationally, it’s considered as more relevant and esteemed overall than the national brand: Australia itself.

“This demonstrates the critical and dynamic role Sydney Opera House plays as an aspect of Australia’s international appeal now and in the future,” stated the report.

"When we’re talking about brands, the Sydney Opera House is quite simply Australia’s best,” said Deloitte partner and chief marketing officer David Redhill.

“Forty years ago it was one of the biggest, bravest ideas we’d taken on as a nation, employing multiple new technologies and techniques, sourcing global design talent, and always likely to take a few government cycles to complete. Today, it’s repaid the faith Australia had in it; nothing else in Australia commands the same degree of universal admiration or affection as the Opera House. The brand and economic research now backs up what many Australians have known for years," added Redhill.

The report also analysed the Opera House as a digital entity. It found that the Opera House currently has a significant digital footprint, with scope for even greater digital impact in the future.

Here’s some of the key digital findings from the Deloitte report:

– The Sydney Opera House has online digital reach of 128 million, 93% of which comes through Facebook.

– Since 2009, over 600 pieces of video content have been created, from exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, live streamed and recorded full performances to the production of award-winning music video.

– In the last financial year, 4.2 million people watched video of Sydney Opera House performances online via YouTube and the House’s own Play channel.

– Based on the Deloitte research, future viewings of online performances could grow to 94 million per year.

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