Wanted: a new brand for Auckland
We’ve been the City of Sails, the Big Little City and more recently the World’s Most Liveable City.
Should we leave it at that or is it fourth time lucky?
New Auckland mayor Phil Goff has indicated that ex- mayor Len Brown’s slogan “the World’s Most Liveable City” doesn’t quite fit.
“People laugh when they are stuck in hours of traffic congestion about being the most liveable city . . . We are the fourth most unaffordable city to live in,” Goff said.
Goff, whose slogan is “a city where talent and enterprise can thrive”, said like Brown and mayors who might follow him, he wanted to stamp his own mark on the city.
But branding can be expensive, like the $ 174,000 ‘ A’ logo that lasted three years. Or the $ 329,000 wavy blue logo former Auckland City chief executive David Rankin imposed for council. “The Show that Never Stops” rolled out three years ago by Heart of the City shows new slogans don’t always catch on either.
Auckland was ranked the third most liveable city in the world on the Mercer Quality of Life Survey in 2012 and 2013, but is eighth this year.
Model and presenter Colin Mathura- Jeffree thought Goff ’ s phrase was “a bit wordy”. He joked his personal slogan would read “Auckland: Shopping and Shows”.
On a more serious note he would like to see something like “Auckland: The Adventure Playground” because it encapsulates the diversity of ways to play.
“I love the fact 20 minutes this way I’m on the beach, 20 minutes the other way I’m on a farm. And in another 20 minutes I’m smack bang in the middle of fashion.”
But rebranding may not be worth the money anyway. Mathura- Jeffree said Goff would be a champion if he calculated how much rebranding would cost and then relocated that money into something useful.
“It’s embarrassing but we end up forking out for it in our rates. I would rather we have more beautiful roads with flowers on the sides.
“We want a safe city and we want to be able to move from place to place with ease. And in this day and age we want really fast internet.”
Chief executive Viv Beck said a good slogan needed to evoke emotion, which the World’s Most Liveable City didn’t do.
Her idea was “the city with a pulsing heart” as it symbolised the necessity for the city to keep “beating” with things to do, eat and buy at all hours of the day.
“I think a pulsing heart attracts talent, ideas and investment. All things you need for an international city.”
Beck said she didn’t think a city should change a slogan too often but she understood why the new mayor would want to.
Experts agree that rebranding can be dangerous. AUT tourism professor Simon Milne was surprised Goff would want to change the slogan, saying it was a great sentiment to aim for.
Dow Design group account director Simon Wedde said if Auckland was his client, he would advise them to change the product, in this case the city, to meet the brand rather than change the brand.
“I think the line’s fantastic. It’s exactly what we should be aspiring to.
“We want to be the most liveable city in the world, and to be honest we’re not that far off.”
Wedde accepted that while some elements of Auckland weren’t ideal for people struggling with traffic and housing issues, the overall lifestyle was still a win.
A spokeswoman for the mayor said Goff would not demand a new slogan.
“His priorities are making sure that Auckland is actually a city where [ talent and] enterprise can thrive. And that includes tackling things like housing unaffordability, transport congestion and the culture of Auckland Council.”
Auckland Council’s economic growth agency Ateed is undertaking a comprehensive rebranding project.
Chief executive Brett O’Riley said more than 50,000 people have been engaged to help identify “The Auckland Story”. He said they would present their findings to Goff and the council in the next few weeks.
Simon Wedde, Dow Design