MKTG3004 - Pace Marketing Management Project Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction

Living Seawalls is an Australian based not-for-profit organisation that aims to help restore marine biodiversity and ecosystems by installing 3D printed moulds containing complex habitat geometrics (Living Seawalls, 2024). These moulds mimic natural rockpools and crevices (Living Seawalls, 2024). Living Seawalls, also offer customised solutions for new builds such as ecological guidelines and enhancement panels, and impact assessments to quantify ecological benefits (Exhibit 1). The suppliers for these scientifically made moulds are Australian based Reef Design Lab and UK and Ireland supplier Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (Exhibit 1). Living Seawalls currently has no domestic competitors although they do have international ones; Artecology, ECOncrete, XBloc and ARC Marine (Exhibit 1). The three main customers for Living Seawalls are marine infrastructure owners, local and state government, and private 4 property owners (Exhibit 1). From these customers, Living Seawalls profits come from transaction-based sales and licensing agreements.

For Living Seawalls to flourish within the coastal management and marine conservation industry, understanding the current Australian marketplace is necessary. This report will gather current data relating to consumer and business confidences, rising cost of living levels, Australia’s human development index, government regulations, climate change concerns and the impacts of urbanisation, and discuss marketing implications relevant to Living Seawalls.

Consumer and Business Confidence

Australia has felt the pressure of its economic status with the current consumer confidence index sitting at the level of 84.4 March 2024 (Exhibit 2) (Trading Economics, 2024). During March, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment index. dropped 1.8% compared to February’s level of 86 (Trading Economics, 2024). Inflation and interest rates have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic which began in 2020, causing consumer confidence index levels to rest below 100 (Exhibit 3) (OECD Data, 2023). Levels below 100 exert pessimistic attitudes, resulting in a decrease in consumers’ willingness to donate to charities and conservations (OECD Data, 2023). However, the slow improvements of these results indicate that economic pressures from the past two years may be starting to rise, which may mean an increase in investments by consumers in preservation efforts towards the marine biodiversity and management industry (Sweatman, 2023). Consumer confidence levels directly impact the amount of donations non-government organisations (NGOs) receive due to consumers’ willingness to pay. Exhibit 3 illustrates the decline in donations towards NGOs compared to January 2020 to January 2021 as total fundings experienced a $0.13 billion decrease. January 2020 total fundings were $2.16 billion and January 2021 were $2.03 billion (Wood, 2023). Hence, it is imperative for Living Seawalls and other non-government organisations within the same industry to 5 observe consumer and business confidence levels and adjust their strategies accordingly

Cost of Living

The cost of living for Australians have become an issue as annual salaries have been stagnant whilst individuals are experiencing unpredictable work and high inflation rates (Leggatt & McDonals, 2023). The cost of living index for Australia in 2024 is currently at 72.8 and is ranking 13th on a global scale (Exhibit 5) (Numbeo, 2019). Figures show that the average weekly income for Australians is $1,807.70 per week and minimum wage works earn an average of $812.60 (Leggatt & McDonals, 2023). Mean weekly rent cost in Sydney is $750, $550 in Melbourne, and $620 in Brisbane and Perth (Iliakis & Dona, 2023). The average rent cost on a nation scale is $568, 17.4% lower than the United States (Iliakis & Dona, 2023; Numbeo, 2019). Australia is the 87% most expensive country in the world with expenses of a family of four is $7,786/month and $4/312/month for a single person (Upmove, 2024). Exhibit 6 showcases the expense distributions with rent and markets sitting high at 31.5%, leaving no room for finances on shopping and leisure (Numbeo, 2019).

Non-government organisations are mainly funded by donations from supporters, however, due to the relatively high cost of living within Australia, individuals have limited disposable income (Exhibit 6). Considering this, Living Seawalls and similar organisations may find it hard to serve their mission within the community because of insufficient funding towards research, manufacturing, and installations (Hall, 2022). In good news, the Australian population has strong morals and choose to donate to conservation protection programs regularly throughout the year (McCrindle, 2021).

Human Development Index

The human development index (HDI) measures a country’s average achievement in three dimensions; life expectancy, education measured by the years of schooling, and the gross national income (GNI) per capita (Human Development Index, n.d.). As of 2024, Australia has a HDI of 0.946, ranking 10th on a global scale (Exhibit 7). Singapore, another country where Living Seawalls has installed their revolutionary panels, sits at an Index level 0.949, making significant progress in the last few years (Exhibit 8). The HDI factors represent the high degree of awareness the population has for marine biodiversity and management as it reflects high education levels. Elevated human development index levels assist NGOs by enhancing funding opportunities, increased public awareness and aid in the sustainability and long-term impact.

As a result of increased fundings and public awareness, Living Seawalls and other nongovernment organisations will have to compete against one another for public attention. There are currently 43,349 charities within the not-for-profit sector (McCrindle, 2021). In addition, there may be an emphasis on the development of coastal infrastructure that could potentially put marine biodiversity at risk. Therefore, it is essential for Living Seawalls to implement marketing strategies to prioritise environmental preservation above economic growth.

Government Regulations Government policies and regulations can affect a way businesses like Living Seawalls operate domestically. There are multiple government grants within Australia to protect its wildlife, more specially, its coastal ecosystems and marine biodiversity such as the Blue Carbon Ecosystem Restoration Grants (DCCEEW, 2022). This grant is part of the Blue Carbon Conservation, Restoration and Accounting Programs which assist blue carbon ecosystems, management decision and global climate goals (DCCEEW, 2022). The ‘Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999’ (EPBC Act) is a government legislation that aims to protect threated marine species and prevents 9 threats (DCCEEW, 2023). These legislations play a significant role in maintaining and protecting the biodiversity in marine ecosystems. In addition, they also assist Living Seawalls serve their main purpose of helping build sheltered habitats for marine life to thrive. Whilst the ‘Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999’, aims to prevent species extinction, there has been some instances where ecosystems that were cleared were not referred to the government (Ward et al., 2019). The destruction and elimination of habitats raises concerns for Living Seawalls, hence why it is essential for government regulations to work alongside not-for-profit organisations to limit this issue.

Energy and Climate Change Awareness about global warming has grown in Australia over the past few years, with 83% of the population being very concerned (Exhibit 9) (Ipsos, 2022). Climate change is currently ranking second in perceived environmental issues that the Australian population to like to act on, sitting at 47% just under renewable energy (Exhibit 10) (Ipsos, 2022). 72% of Australians strongly believe that the Federal Government have the most power to aid in climate change concerns, but the population perceives nongovernment organisations to have the biggest influence and to be doing to most in helping care for environments and ecosystem that have been impacted by this issue (Ipsos, 2022). Because of growing numbers for a call to action against climate change, the government aims to source 82% of electricity from renewable energy and reach net zero emissions by 2050 (DCCEEW, 2024). This will be achieved through the Climate Solutions Fund; a $2 billion fund that will help reduce emissions within Australia which also provides farmers and small organisations to thrive in new financial positions (DCCEEW, 2024).

The concern for climate change has brought about awareness and a call to action, favouring organisations such as Living Seawalls, as individuals are inclined to support NGOs that values align with their own; more specifically, if they want to see a change in wildlife and marine efforts. Although Australia is trying to be more efficient in their energy usage and limit carbon-emissions, environmental habitats are still losing 10 biodiversity because of the effects of global warming. Consequently, it is important for Living Seawalls to adapt to evolving markets and position themselves accordingly to government initiatives.

Housing, Urbanisation and Pollution

With rising numbers of land cleared for housings, pressures on coastal and urban wetlands within Australia have also increased. Habitat loss, change in natural water flow, pollution, introduction of exotic species and fisheries are all direct impacts to coastal environments due to urban expansions and commercial development (DCEEW, 2024). Since 2001, Australian has seen a massive surge in the number of people populating coastal areas, 87% of Australians now live within 50 kilometres of the coast (DCCEEW, 2021). By 2066, it is estimated that 92% of Australia’s total population will live along shorelines (Sacco et al., 2022). Rapid urbanisation surrounding coastal regions also bring about major environmental concerns such as pollution and floating 11 debris which ultimately deteriorates and creates poor conditions for marine life to thrive in (CSIRO, 2021). Marine ecosystem deterioration has caused 57% of the reef species population to rapidly fall within the past 10 years (Tibbitts, 2023). Based off 1,057 observations of fish, mobile invertebrates, coral and seaweeds, there was a 30?cline which qualifies to be listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Tibbitts, 2023). The pressures attributable to housing, urbanisation and pollution put stress on Living Seawalls due to the destruction of marine ecosystems and limits their access to scientific research. Therefore, it is imperative for Living Seawalls and similar organisations to collaborate with city and land developers to minimise ruining aquatic environments.

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