Friday 12 September 2014

City of Melbourne – Re-branding for the Future

Having recently just visited Melbourne with Christine, I couldn’t help but notice the prominence of the city’s own branding. Whether it was on event tickets, billboards or magazines, Melbourne had been given a very clear identity, and one that perhaps is a lot more memorable than some of Australia’s other capital cities. 

Re-branded by Landor Associates in 2009, the brief for this project highlighted the need for an identity that could not only represent the city itself, but also the various sub-brands, programs and events that are connected to the City of Melbourne. The resulting logo of this re-branding exercise (pictured below) is at the heart of the new corporate identity, and as mentioned by the Creative Director of this project, ‘the bold ‘M’ presents a full expression of the identity system - immediately recognizable and as multifaceted as the city itself: creative, cultural, sustainable.’

The Multi-faceted City of Melbourne Logo
(Source: Landor Associates Website)

What I personally love about this (fairly) new identity is that it is not only contemporary, but also incredibly flexible and could be easily tweaked to suit the needs of different collaborators that are involved in promoting the city as a destination and lifestyle experience. Having also read the city’s 2013-2016 Marketing Strategy, I can see this identity working for the city in the long run as they plan to place an even greater focus on community involvement, and leveraging the experiences (whether it’s dining, night life, shopping or markets) that are unique to Melbourne.

What makes this new Marketing Strategy quite innovative for destination marketing is that it is focused on the consumer journey in both offline and online spaces. This journey is not only limited to the City’s own online and physical platforms, but also those of the local businesses in Melbourne that make it such a memorable destination. With the launch of a digital marketing mentoring program for local business in the near future, the City of Melbourne is clearly committed to encouraging community participation in the city’s own marketing strategy, and with its new identity, it should have no problem doing so.

Salil Kumar
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

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