No Slogan for Dunedin - 'Dunedin' is the Brand

Brand Dunedin partners have announced the appointment of two creative agencies that will work together to help promote the city. The agencies are Dunedin-based company BrandAid+ and Auckland-based company Projector Media Ltd.

The brand partners - Allied Press, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin Venues, Otago Chamber of Commerce, Otago Polytechnic, Otago Southland Employers’ Association, Tourism Dunedin and the University of Otago - further announced that they will break with tradition and not have a slogan because ‘Dunedin’ is the brand.

They believe that to be truly successful, ‘Brand Dunedin’ has to be owned by the people of Dunedin and inspire pride in Dunedin.

In January 2010, the Dunedin City Council sought expressions from creative agencies to which twenty-five companies from throughout the country responded. Through a rigorous evaluation process the brand partners shortlisted these twenty-five to five agencies and then to two agencies. The partners unanimously agreed that together these two agencies presented an innovative, dynamic, highly competent and collaborative team.

Luke Johnston is the owner and principal of BrandAid+ which is a design and brand development company based in Dunedin. Luke is born, bred, works and lives in Dunedin with his family. He is well-known for his creative work with the Otago Festival of the Arts, id Dunedin Fashion Week, University of Otago, Taylormade Media, Pacific Aerospace and other clients throughout NZ and abroad.

Born and bred in Dunedin, John Coghill is the managing director of Projector Media Ltd. He went to Otago Boys’ High School and the University of Otago and moved overseas before returning to New Zealand in 2007. He brings with him expertise in branding and digital and social media marketing with his company best known for their work with Air New Zealand’s ‘grabaseat’.

They both agree that branding Dunedin is not about creating another slogan which is why Dunedin will break with tradition of rolling out a branding campaign with a new logo or slogan.

Today’s announcement represents a two-year process in which the partners have worked together with the aim of developing a genuine city-wide collaborative approach to all future Dunedin city marketing. This will be sealed with the signing today of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding by brand partners.

Brand Dunedin provides a framework that can be used by the tertiary, business, tourism, community, local government and media sectors. It has one clear objective, to promote Dunedin’s values and beliefs in order to attract and retain the kind of people who will make a positive contribution to the economic, social and cultural well-being of the city.

Dunedin City Council Chief Executive, Jim Harland explained, “Starting in July, residents will have their say in how the city is portrayed and how it promotes their values and beliefs and this will become the content of all future marketing campaigns. From September, a national campaign will target visitor and tertiary sectors and those people who already have a connection to Dunedin – our ex-locals and alumni.

“By engaging directly with the people of Dunedin we hope to uncover the real Dunedin and show the genuine pride and love that we have for our city. In turn, this will create a profile that will enable Dunedin to present itself in a compelling and cohesive way and attract like-minded people to consider the city as an attractive place in which to live, work, do business, study and to visit.”