Provisional Programme

The Cultural Currency of Collecting

by Mark Cartwright

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) worked with Kantar Consulting to determine the cultural currency of collecting with a view to identifying growth opportunities for the Mint.
Kantar Consulting is a global specialist growth consultancy with over 1,000 analysts, thought leaders, software developers and expert consultants. They focus on developing and executing brand, marketing, retail, sales and shopper strategies that deliver growth. They track 1,200 retailers globally, have purchased data on over 200 million shoppers and forecast social, cultural and consumer trends across the world.
The project involved desktop research to identify the value of collecting in culture today; ten interviews with key internal stakeholders to understand the ambitions for the business; 18 interviews with collectors, dealers and psychologists to gain a deeper understanding of the world of collecting and the drivers behind it; independent quantitative research with over 2,700 Mint customers and 2,000 Australians, to size the collector market and test insights gained from the qualitative phase of the project.
This project which was completed in August 2019, highlighted two key insights for the Mint. It found that:
– One in five Australians call themselves collectors and that the estimated value of the collecting industry in Australia is around $2.7 billion dollars – a greater value than the total bottled water industry value;
– Collecting has less to do with the object and more to do with the experience of collecting and the emotional benefit that is derived from this activity.
In addition, the project identified four distinct collector segments, each with their own motivators, attitudes, emotional drivers and preferences, to enable further growth for the Mint. Details of these four collector segments will be presented.
Also, RAM gained important brand insights which will alter the way in which the brand is represented in the Australian marketplace.
In summary, the major finding – backed by credible research methodology – is that the Mint should not limit itself to those who collect coins, but in fact should focus on converting people who collect other types of objects.
To effectively seize this opportunity of profound scale, the Mint is required to refocus its approach from emphasising the role of precision manufacturer, distributor and retailer of coins to a consumer facing business that creates immersive experiences to engage Australians in their world of collecting.
By doing so RAM will expand its share of a domestic market valued at over $2.7 billion dollars and 5 million+ active collectors and establish itself as the preeminent collectible in Australia.