Opera Australia by Interbrand Sydney

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CLIENT

Australia’s nation­al opera com­pa­ny, the largest arts organ­i­sa­tion since its foun­da­tion in 1956, deliv­er­ing over 600 per­for­mances a year. In 2009 Lyn­don Ter­raci­ni as new Artis­tic Direc­tor brought a bold, new vision to the com­pa­ny: to deliv­er opera to the widest pos­si­ble audi­ence in Aus­tralia.

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BRIEF

To rede­fine the Opera Aus­tralia brand to attract new audi­ences. Based on the artis­tic director’s new vision, it should appeal to a con­tem­po­rary Aus­tralia and be avail­able to wider audi­ences than just the opera elite. The new brand def­i­n­i­tion will then inform a new brand iden­ti­ty sys­tem to be deployed across the entire organ­i­sa­tion to bring the brand idea to life.

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APPROACH

We intro­duced a new brand idea, Set­ting Opera Free, to artic­u­late the company’s belief that opera should be for every­one. A new iden­ti­ty sys­tem was cre­at­ed that could open-up to reveal Opera Australia’s incred­i­ble diver­si­ty. The logo opens from OA to reveal Opera and Opera Aus­tralia. Every­thing in between the O and A is opera, and is Opera Australia—as won­der­ful­ly unex­pect­ed as that might be.

Interbrand understood what the brand needed very rapidly and thoroughly, and the execution of their ideas was superb. The new branding has only been out a few days, but already there is a sense from staff and patrons that they are more proud to be associated with the company, and from others that it’s time to take another look at Opera Australia. — Georgia Rivers, Sales and Marketing Director at Opera Australia