Adelaide Bashing - Strategies to Combat

[mutt]

thats because they moved it from May to March

a stupid Rann idea. the Adelaide Cup cannot attract a decent enough field in March, but in May it could remain Group 1.

i'd prefer the holiday in May too. the Black Caviar event simply illustrates that the public will turn up for racing at this time of the year providing the quality on offer is provided.

[Matt]

On a side note, I was ambushed by some sales person at Westfield London a few months ago. We got talking and she obviously recognised my accent and asked where I was from, because she's travelled all over the place.

Anyway, I said Adelaide, and she immediately screwed her face up and started ranting and raving about it being THE most boring place she's ever visited. Lovely.

To be frank, this sort of thing happens often over here. People have either never heard of Adelaide, or if they have, they screw their faces up or make unsavoury comments.

Adelaide as a city had a real image problem and needs far better marketing both domestically and internationally.

As someone else said, the "sniffing wine" ad campaigns are hideous.

Why not focus more on our beaches? They're stunning. Whenever I go back and photos go up on Facebook, everyone over here goes mad over them. Miles of continuous crystal clear and stunning coastline.

If Adelaide sold itself better as a destination and marketed to the younger generation as opposed to middle class retirees, I think it'd go a long way to correcting the whole (entirely inaccurate) "backwater" tag.

[mutt]

the feedback reflects reality
different marketing is only deception

it is what it is and its not for everyone. people who like London will never like Adelaide. they have nothing in common except language.

the slow pace, the hills villages, the warm weather and the food produce is what makes Adelaide attractive to those who like this kind of thing.

the beaches here are ok, but by Australian standards they're not that good. interstaters complain about our murky water and lack of surf

[Maximus]

Matt and mutt... This is getting confusing! <jokes>

My general strategy to combat Adelaide-bashing involves being on the front-foot at all times and using a mental compendium of impressive Adelaide facts. Lots of things about Adelaide are actually the best/biggest in Australia, or even the world, but such things are often not well-known. Also, many people are not aware that a number of notable Australian companies are based and/or originated in Adelaide. For example:

• Fringe Festival - Australia's biggest arts festival. World's second-biggest Fringe festival.
  Coopers Pale Ale - Regularly wins 'best beer in Australia' awards, and has previously been voted best beer in the world.
  Coopers is also the world's largest manufacturer of home-brewing equipment.
  News Corporation - Headquartered in Adelaide until 2004.
  Holden cars - Made in Adelaide.
  Hill Hoist - Invented and made in Adelaide.
  That safety switch in your fuse box... Made by a (formerly) SA company (Clipsal).
  Tour Down Under - First ever ProTour cycling event outside of Europe.
  The Marion Megaplex was the world's biggest cinema complex (number of screens) when it opened in 1997.
  Haighs - 'nuff said. (Someone I spoke to recently thought Haighs was a Victorian company!)
  Around half of all Australia's wine is made in SA, and much of it is world-renowned.

Talking to Canberra people about the weather in Adelaide is also a good strategy at this time of the year -- i.e. April temps in Adelaide in the mid-high 20s, when here in Canberra it's been close to zero a number of mornings in the past few weeks.

I also talk to people about pie floaters, kitchener buns, frog cakes and berliners. (Admittedly some people think this is a bit weird. )

Finally, just as a point of order, I also like to remind people that the name of our daily newspaper (however questionable its quality might be) is 'The Advertiser', not 'The Adelaide Advertiser'.

[peas_and_corn]

When was Coopers voted best beer in the world?

[Nathan]

When was Coopers voted best beer in the world?

All I could find was some vague "Beer World Cup" in 2006 naming Sparkling Ale as the winner. Not sure how much of an authority that is though.

However, Coopers did recently get named the "Worlds Best Family Business".

[peas_and_corn]

The world beer cup doesn't list coopers in their winners for 2006. World Cup of Beer is a homebrew competition. I couldn't find a Beer World Cup, though.

[metro]

the beaches here are ok, but by Australian standards they're not that good. interstaters complain about our murky water and lack of surf

Adelaide is not the only major Australian city to have beaches with murky water and lack of surf

[jk1237]

When was Coopers voted best beer in the world?

it just is. No voting needed

[Wayno]

Hey Maximus, thanks for sharing your list. I've made a mental note and will use when the opportunity arises. I also talk about Cold Chisel & The Angels coming from Adelaide. Other famous people include Anthony LaPaglia, Shaun Micallef, Scott Hicks (film director) and more recent celebrities such as Hilltop hoods, Beccy Cole, MKR cooks, Wes Carr, Reece Mastin, that blind girl on the voice, blah. There's many more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pe ... m_Adelaide). Point being we continue to punch above our weight.

I like Ben's approach of asking for examples to justify silly anti-Adelaide statements. Definitely a good way to break someone's habit of negative thinking.

victorious80, you make a very good point about people who have never traveled, and perhaps having less education. There's literally thousands of SA people who have never gone over the border, and who's world perspective is governed by journalists at The Advertiser. We all know people like this and personally they send a shiver up my spine. Not sure what can be done though. I think these people will be the last to convert their thinking. The term 'lagging indicator' comes to mind.

mshagg's comment about Adelaide vs SA is also worthy of consideration. I never really thought about it, but NSW & Victoria are 'branded' by their capitals which are considered worthwhile destinations in their own right. By way of contrast Brisbane is not a destination (ever heard of anyone going to brisvegas for a holiday?), instead the focus is on the coral reefs, Gold & Sunshine Coasts. What's to be learned here for Adelaide & SA? I'm not sure - thoughts? maybe this is why Tourism SA behaves the way they do?

Waewick is also spot on about 'cookie cutter' tourists. i believe they represent a large % of the younger tourist population and they are simply crying out for novelty. We don't have that. Even the Fringe, as fantastic as it is, probably doesn't even register as a blip on the radar for younger tourists. All 'fringe style events' occur in other australian cities at various times of the year - we just compress them into a mad frenzy.

Maybe much of what is needed to improve Adelaide's image is already mid-flight; activating city streets & lanes, increased level of development (as evidenced by cranes all over the city) & more interesting architecture (e.g. HRMI on Nth Terrace, 123 Flinders St), increasing building heights (esp for park land facing apartment development - e.g. South Terrace which will create a new dimension in living), and improving infrastructure (AO, riverbank, bike lanes, rail electrification, NEXY to speed the trip to the Barossa, duplicating southern expressway, superway).

I also wonder how much of the Adelaide negativity is consciously perpetuated by other state governments as a way of protecting themselves. One less competitor to deal with. Maybe i'm just being paranoid.

Mutt has posted twice saying we should simply ignore. Maybe he's right but personally i find that hard to do.

What we really need is a constant stream of positive grassroots feedback, and not from local SA folk. Will the AO redevelopment, foot bridge and riverbank help? yes they will. Hundreds of AFL fans traveling to Adelaide to watch their fav team every couple of weeks and hanging around in the city for lunch/dinner/drinks will definitely help. Tourists coming to visit our traditional attractions (i.e. wine, KI, etc) will hopefully be surprised about how good the CBD is, helped along by the likes of deregulated shopping hours, and talk with their friends back home about how they wish they had more time to hang around in Adelaide city.

As far as additional strategies to combat, maybe we (being the members of S-A) should target journalists who use stereotypical comments about Adelaide? what would be the best approach?

[Maximus]

When was Coopers voted best beer in the world?

All I could find was some vague "Beer World Cup" in 2006 naming Sparkling Ale as the winner. Not sure how much of an authority that is though.

However, Coopers did recently get named the "Worlds Best Family Business".

Apologies. This was the result of me writing the post quickly at lunch time and not properly checking my facts! Yes, it was Sparkling Ale named world's best beer in 2006 by 'Off Licence News' magazine. I agree -- not much of an authority.

Of more note is that Pale Ale has won the Australian Liquor Industry Awards for 'best tap beer' for the past five years in a row, and 'best full strength beer' for four out of the past five years.

http://foodsouthaustralia.com.au/2011/1 ... ards-pool/

[mshagg]

maybe this is why Tourism SA behaves the way they do?

Yeah, ive got friends there and that's pretty much 'the deal'. From their perspective, they're looking to get the best bang for their marketing buck. Not that there's anything wrong with that - I think those of us that live here dont always appreciate how awesome these regions are. Unfortunately the headline for the city region is that it's "liveable" (http://www.southaustralia.com/regions/a ... -city.aspx), which is of little interest to visitors... and of course they pump city based "events" pretty hard, but that's only 1 month out of 12 lol.

I think the problem with the city itself is reasonably well understood - no one lives in it. More people means more commerce, more things to do, more reason for others to hang around the city past 5:45pm etc.

[AG]

maybe this is why Tourism SA behaves the way they do?

Yeah, ive got friends there and that's pretty much 'the deal'. From their perspective, they're looking to get the best bang for their marketing buck. Not that there's anything wrong with that - I think those of us that live here dont always appreciate how awesome these regions are. Unfortunately the headline for the city region is that it's "liveable" (http://www.southaustralia.com/regions/a ... -city.aspx), which is of little interest to visitors... and of course they pump city based "events" pretty hard, but that's only 1 month out of 12 lol.

I think the problem with the city itself is reasonably well understood - no one lives in it. More people means more commerce, more things to do, more reason for others to hang around the city past 5:45pm etc.

I tell you, when you move from a city of 1.3 million people to a regional centre of 50,000 like I have, there's a hell of a lot more to do in Adelaide after 5:45 pm than where I currently am. Probably a point lost on people who have never lived anywhere but in the major cities (which is the majority of Australians).

[Will]

maybe this is why Tourism SA behaves the way they do?

Yeah, ive got friends there and that's pretty much 'the deal'. From their perspective, they're looking to get the best bang for their marketing buck. Not that there's anything wrong with that - I think those of us that live here dont always appreciate how awesome these regions are. Unfortunately the headline for the city region is that it's "liveable" (http://www.southaustralia.com/regions/a ... -city.aspx), which is of little interest to visitors... and of course they pump city based "events" pretty hard, but that's only 1 month out of 12 lol.

I think the problem with the city itself is reasonably well understood - no one lives in it. More people means more commerce, more things to do, more reason for others to hang around the city past 5:45pm etc.

I tell you, when you move from a city of 1.3 million people to a regional centre of 50,000 like I have, there's a hell of a lot more to do in Adelaide after 5:45 pm than where I currently am. Probably a point lost on people who have never lived anywhere but in the major cities (which is the majority of Australians).

Yeah, good point. I've always found that the people that say that Adelaide is a 'big country town' have never actually lived in the country.

[TanTan]

Hi Everybody,

First Post in SA Forum, long time SSC Stalker who has recently returned from 10 Years living in Sydney..

I think Adelaide Bashing actually does us all a favour,

If people realised that we had; no toll roads, cheap, simple (MetroCard) reliable Public transport (yes i know we use diesel trains but they are still more reliable than Cityrail, even the B1 replacement bus is).. lets not even start with the cost of living!

Skyscraper Shymscraper for a city of it's size Adelaide has a great CBD with Depth, History, Character and Charm..

The mining boom is winding down now and Australia will have to look to Industry's like Biotech (North Terrace SAHMRI Precinct)



Let the rest of Australia live in overpriced Meriton Apartments which fall apart..

South Australia - Quality not Quantity!!