THE BEST IS YET TO COME.

Crowd favourite Bernard Salt spoke about the challenges and economic uncertainty of the last few years. He said; “The best is yet to come.” You just need to know where the best opportunities are.

Should you be investing the best years of your life, your energy, and your youth in the Australian market for the next 10 years?

Bernard explained that the answer to that depends on whether Australians have the income to buy your products and services. Currently, we are the richest nation on earth in terms of GDP per capita. So, the unequivocal answer is yes. Bernard says, “I would say, if you’re in marketing or advertising and you’re in Australia, you’re in the right place. I would say, don’t move from this place in the next 10 years”.

A growing population means “deepening pools of spending capacity”

Last financial year, we added 520,000 people through net overseas migration and 130,000 through natural increase. That’s a total of 650,000 people added to the Australian population.

Bernard Salt said, “Never in Australian history have we added a figure even close to this. There’s simply more people and more households. Unemployment has a 3 in front of it. I remember when it had an 11 in front of it. I know people are struggling, I get all that, but the idea of marketing and advertising is to actually understand the market and target with rifle shot accuracy, those deepening pools of spending capacity.”

Embrace Australia’s “fusion culture”
​
There are 27 million people on the Australian continent and 31% of us were born outside the Australian continent. This culture influences our preferences and our lifestyles, from the beverages we drink to the way we greet each other to the ingredients we use when we cook.

In his presentation Bernard said, “I remember thinking when quinoa hit cafes and restaurants in 2010, Australians didn’t know how to pronounce quinoa. But as soon as they learned how to pronounce Quinoa, everyone was saying ‘I’ll have the quinoa salad thank you very much.’ We see it as a market sophistication. We’re kind of a colonial remote people. And we are out to create this fusion culture. It’s a bit like “Welcome to Australia mate.’”
​
And according to Bernard, it goes the other way too. When people move to Australia they want to embrace the Australian lifestyle. So, it’s about providing services and products in ways that embrace our “fusion culture”.

A shift in demographics

The demographic that will shape demand over the next 10 years is the future 45 year olds- the people who are aged 35 today.

“Millennials are going from 35 to 45 over the next decade. And I actually think you go through a gateway in the late 30s. By the late 30s. You’re partnered up, you have one or two or three kids, your partner has gone back into the workforce. And all of a sudden that inner city minimalist chic apartment in Bondi or St Kilda just doesn’t do it for you anymore.”

The peak income earning year for most Australians is when they are aged 43. There are currently 5 or 6 million millennials in Australia, the majority of which are headed for age 43 over the next decade.

Bernard Salt said, “This means that we’re seeing the maximum number of people in household formations on the rising side of income earning. Where else would you rather be? Where else on the planet would you rather be in your business than in your industry, at this time in history?”

Catch our behind the scene discussion with Bernard: