How does one express an organisation’s persona?

Published on 01 February 2024

During a stint working at NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in the early 2010s, I witnessed a turning point in its public-facing persona. The organisation was shifting focus, from reporting on its conservation work at a regional level, to also promoting visitor experiences on a statewide level.

A cohort of NPWS staff members were tasked with thinking about how their organisation’s personality – otherwise known in marketing terms as its brand – was perceived by the community and how this might be communicated via a new website and social media channels.

At this point you’d be forgiven for imagining goofy ‘ideation’ sessions led by Karsten, the fictional brand expert on ABC’s Utopia: "For others to know who we are, we have to know who we are, and who we are is defined by why we are."

Judging by its history, the who, why and how of Bellingen’s Memorial Hall has always been clear: its persona has centred firstly around its role as a monument in honour and memory of the 960 men and women of the district who defended the newly federated Australia in the First World War. Secondly, the venue functioned as the community’s entertainment hub, a place for good times: parties, dinners, dances and coming-of-age milestones in people’s lives.

In a relatively small community such as ours, we may observe that the hall is a familiar place, in which we often see familiar faces. Such familiarity, both comforting and reassuring, can also be transformational when audiences are presented with work that challenges core beliefs. It’s the power of art.

Today, the hall hosts activities that cross the spectrum of live performance, visual art and educational workshops. As such, I believe its persona – both familiar and boundary-pushing – will continue to be determined by the diverse presenters mounting shows and the audiences they attract, along with a splash of in-house programming (watch this space).

As with the building’s external features, the Hall’s new website retains some original, familiar stylings, while highlighting the enhanced facilities and providing comprehensive event listings, ticket links and guides to visiting and hiring the venue. Future ‘ideation’ will be faithfully reported via these articles, which you’ll find archived right here in the Blog section. Happy browsing!