An Albury-based family business likes living and working in Albury Wodonga so much that they take their love of home on a road trip – or, in fact, thousands of road trips.
Third generation family business, O’Brien Transport, has emblazoned the virtues of life in the twin cities on their truck trailers so they can be seen by tens of thousands of travellers on some of Australia’s busiest highways.
The artwork shows a father and son fishing together, with the words, “We live and work in beautiful Albury-Wodonga” proudly displayed at the bottom of the image.
Eighty of their trailers spread the positive Albury-Wodonga message between Sydney and Melbourne, and as far afield as Adelaide and Brisbane.
The company’s corporate services manager, Christine O’Brien, said the idea came about from a desire to celebrate everything that’s special about living on the border, while also supporting jobs and investment growth across both cities.
“If you’re a customer and you’re driving up behind one our trucks you’re seeing an unexpected marketing image which is a subtle, understated nod to our beautiful part of the world,” she said.
“Part of the message is trying to talk about how living in a regional area gives you a work-life balance, which is why there’s a father and son in the image.”
Christine said the photo and words carried a secondary message as a recruitment tool for the company, which employs 100 people and has operated on the border since 1948.
By subtly pressing home the lifestyle advantages of living in Albury Wodonga, the company hopes to attract more drivers to move to the region and join O’Brien – especially during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic when many metro-based drivers and their families were drawn towards a better lifestyle in the regions.
So far, it’s working, with the company recording an encouraging increase in recruitment enquiries.
“We also wanted our drivers to have something on the back of the trucks that made them feel proud – they’re the ones who are out there driving – so we wanted them to feel part of it,” Christine said.
With the promotion of Albury-Wodonga rolling up and down our highways night and day, the O’Brien family hopes to not only recruit new employees but also to help other businesses by promoting tourism and investment in the border cities.
The opportunities to join forces in promoting Albury Wodonga are endless, and local businesses are encouraged to put their own spin on promoting our outstanding part of the world, so that we can continue to grow and thrive together.
AlburyCity’s Economic Development team is on hand to discuss your creative marketing ideas and offer some of the following resources and information to get you started:
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