There is nothing like a logo to polarise opinion, just ask London 2012 and its brand creator Wolf Olins, and the new brand Auckland is no exception.
I should start by saying I like the new Auckland logo, aesthetically it speaks to me. Simply I think it looks nice and the colour palette is pretty cool.
But if a brand is more than a logo, I am still a little unsure what brand Auckland is. What are the proof points that set Auckland apart, that differentiates us in global market? How do businesses across the region get on-board the Auckland brand wagon? I am assuming, possibly an assumption too far, that getting the support of Aucklanders is a pretty big objective.
Can we use the logo? Can Auckland companies that are proud to do business here drop the logo onto the bottom of emails for example? If not, why not?
When we are doing business across the country and globally give us the tools to share the same proof points. We want to be on message but if you want us to tell the story we need to have the full story in a coherent, usable way.
I’ve listened to Oscar Knightley and Kevin Roberts, who has the most amazing global accent, and I’ve drilled down through the website and I get it, it’s not rocket science. The beaches, bush, work life balance, harbours, international but local, vibrant, dynamic but no hard facts. I want statistics; numbers of visitors, global companies with an Auckland presence, GDP, market split, skilled workforce, global market shares, even number of boats, kilometres of beach, port movements, something more than nice words – which incidentally I agree with wholeheartedly.