‘Flood of humanity’ needed as Australians are urged to buy Queensland in new campaign
One man’s mission to help businesses ravaged by the floods and cyclones which devastated so much of Queensland this summer has turned into a national campaign of hope.
At the height of the Brisbane floods, local businessman Murray Berghan, took out full-page ads asking Australians to aid in the recovery by buying Queensland products and calling on the communications industry to create a campaign to bring this plea to life.
Last Friday, at Mr Berghan’s family’s flood affected business, thatplea became a reality at the launch of the national buyQLD campaign.
“Thename buyQLD says it all, www.buyQLD.org is a not for profit websitewhere flood and cyclone affected businesses can register a free profilepage which will include what their business does, how they wereimpacted and ways that others can help,” Mr Berghan said.
“Thebusinesses can also upload a logo and three images and are welcome to’sell’ themselves or even make a special offer or deal. Themission is simple, spread the message to all Australians that by buyingfrom Queensland businesses you can help repair the damage to theeconomy and reduce the emotional and financial burden experienced by somany business owners and their employees. The effects of theQueensland flood and cyclone are still causing much grief, anguish andfinancial pain for many business owners. The cyclone-affected town ofCardwell is now experiencing rising floodwaters in their homes andbusinesses, signaling Queensland is not out of the woods yet.”
“It is now more important than ever for Australians to band together and lend their support. This is where buyQLD comes in.”
MrBerghan said almost 30 private companies in the media andcommunications industry had given their time, staff and resources toget this campaign underway. “When I took out those ads in January, Ididn’t know what to expect. I have been overwhelmed with the support toget this campaign off the ground but the work is only just beginning,”he said. “Everything has been donated for free including cinema,television and print ads, billboards, public relations, social media,printing and IT services.”
All of the faces of the nationalcampaign are from businesses severely affected by Queensland’s naturaldisasters. Boardwalk Bar and Bistro’s Shannon Miller said she wouldnever forget that fateful day in January when the Brisbane River brokeits banks and claimed her workplace.
“It happened so quickly, weonly had two hours to save as much as we could before the water rosetoo far. At its peak, the water nearly reached our roof,” Ms Millersaid. “It was extremely hard to watch the business go under butwhat made it worse was that the Boardwalk’s storage in the Riparian carpark, which was full of wine, food stores and cold room facilities,also submerged.” Seven weeks after the flood, the Boardwalk Bar and Bistro is trading again with a limited menu and it needs customers.
“Thisis where the buyQLD campaign will be so valuable. The perception outthere is the whole area has been wiped out. We are really relying onour customers to help get us back on our feet,” she said. “Thebest thing we can do as Queenslanders is show our support by spendingour dollars in our own backyards. Shop locally, holiday locally andsupport those businesses that are trying to survive.”
BrookfieldGarden Centre was also engulfed by water. “A nursery looks so awfulwithout any plants. I was heartbroken afterwards, I am passionate aboutmy trees and to see them all destroyed was just devastating,”greenstock buyer Robyn Barron said.
“The community and industry support has been unbelievable to help us get operating again.
“Iwanted to get involved in this campaign to help my fellow Queenslandersas people tend to forget about the affects of a disaster like this onceit is no longer being blasted across the media. They don’t necessarilyrealise or understand that businesses are still struggling to get backon track.”
How to get involved:
- Visit the site and register your affected business or buy from registered businesses.
- Include the word ‘buyQLD’ while searching products and services online.
- ‘Like’ Facebook group buyQLD
- Follow Twitter user @_buyQLD
- Forward the buyQLD YouTube appeal