Whatever your opinion about the political system in Australia, it’s obvious to everyone I think, that things are changing. The traditional centre right party, the Liberals, are waning and lurching further right to combat the more popularist party of the radical right.
One of the causes of this was the success of Community Independents or Teals in what used to be traditional Liberal seats. The Teals, aptly named from using a colour that is a mix of Blue (Liberals) and the Green(s). This week saw the launch of what the press has been calling the Teal Party. Allegra Spender and Zali Steggall have announced their new political organisation called Community Strong Australia (It’s too small to be a Party).
In politics, as with all things, you get one first impression. The girls have blown it. While the strategy, values and messaging seems to be in the right place the naming and identity is weak, to say the least.
A name should be memorable, easy to say, easy to own and most importantly differentiated. Community Strong Australia is none of these things. Even shortening it to Community Strong, which I assume is what they will do, doesn’t help. It sounds like a local council group or a charity org. There’s already charities and community programs out there called or using the term Community Strong. It might make sense for them, but here it’s pretty low-fi. It’s a terrible word salad, that ticks woke boxes while meaning little. Did no-one check what CSA might mean? And Aussies shorten everything to a couple of syllables, Comms or Commies anyone?
Then there the icon and colours they have chosen. Where’s the teal? A strong shift to the last edges of aqua maybe. Ah, I get it, we’re centrists, the white woke in the sandwich between the red left and the blue right. But the charity hand, begging for donations or is the dirty politician looking for someone to grease their palms? There may be a speech bubble in there, we’re about grassroots conversations, we’re about community. Is it the red sun rising over the buried undead or the right? And it’s a heart, that’s taken a tumble.
It seems a missed opportunity to not grab and own the Teal name and colour. It’s what they’re known as anyway. Every single article has referred to them as the Teal Party. If the media wants to help that much, let them (God knows it’s working for Pauline). It’s used as a slur against other country independents by the right. That’s how much power it has. It’s a great name and it’s sitting there waiting for someone to own it.
