Here is some reasoning why the flag will bring an immediate influx of tourism and trade, and billions in future trade:
- Any change gets attention, and the change of a country’s flag will get lots of attention in the global market for NZ. Even if the potential tourists don’t like the flag, more of them will still have Aotearoa put into their minds, instead of forgetting us as a destination.
- Corporations constantly spend huge amounts of money on as-distinctive-as-possible branding because they know it puts their unique identity strongly in the minds of potential customers. We haven’t changed our brand since 1902. The current flag confuses us with the UK and Australia.
- Our current exports total about $46 billion a year. Even if the upgraded branding only makes a 1% improvement in each years sales. That is, only one out of a hundred decision-makers is inspired by our freshly upgraded image/flag to buy, rather than not buy, or buy from someone else. Within the next five years that will amount to more than 2 billion (compared with about a one-off $30 million general costs of voting the change and adapting flags, letterheads, websites, etc.)