Australian tech scaleups failing to stand out

The University of Sydney Business School has collaborated with technology communications consultancy Hotwire Australia to launch a first-of-its-kind study into the use of semiotic codes by Australian tech brands at different stages of business growth.

The study explored the meanings and representations of verbal and visual signs and symbols within Australian and global technology brands, and how these signs and symbols shape consumer perceptions and expectations during the growth of a company.

The research found that choosing the correct semiotics for a brand can deliver a series of incremental gains to impact the top and bottom lines.

But there remains an overreliance on functional branding and marketing strategies amongst tech scaleups and ASX-listed tech brands, with the study finding that by connecting on a more human level tech scaleups can increase consumer interest in their brand by up to 20%.

Meanwhile, 50% of scaleup tech brands adopt the colour blue and 50% use logo graphics to visually depict their product’s function, resulting in these brands failing to stand out from the crowd in the fight for consumer attention.

Likewise, 73% of tech scaleups and ASX-listed tech brands adopt functional brand taglines and slogans, compared to only 18% of global high-performing non-tech brands who adopt the same approach. These high performers are instead far more likely to adopt emotional taglines.

Lead researcher and Associated Professor of Marketing at the University of Sydney Business School Dr Stacey Brennan said the research demonstrates the importance of connecting with consumers on an emotional level.

“The research provided strong evidence that there are key learnings for tech companies at all levels, whether they be startups, scaleups or established players, to better utilise and build their brands,” she said.

“There is real value in forming partnerships that invest in discovering how the tech sector can greater intersect with marketing practices, and ultimately, enable stronger business decisions for one of the key growth engines of our economy.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/duncanandison