content top

How to brand a metropolitan city

Posted by Photolibrary in Australia, How to, Offbeat, Opinion, People on 06 17th, 2010 | View Comments
Flight of an Aeroplane, 1916 - Rozanova, Olga Vladimirovna (1886-1918). Image id: 13899963

Flight of an Aeroplane, 1916 - Rozanova, Olga Vladimirovna (1886-1918). Image id: 13899963

If branding is all about capturing an organisation’s oeuvre, doing something to that effect with a metropolitan city is a mammoth task but it’s one the Australian agency,  Moon took their gloves off for. Sydney now has a new logo and nice website that lends itself to a similar concept by M&C Saatchi, Brand Australia Campaign .

The reactions are to be expected, mixed. Brand New’s article really gave a great dissertation to the whole endeavour but concluded - “its all radiation and no heart”. The logo works well for other applications but as a standalone, it looks techno and somewhat cold, lacking the warm character of Sydney. Though we expect that the people of Sydney at least be aware about their new logo and best form there own opinions.

On the other hand there’s something of Suprematism in it - an abstract art movement formed by Kazimir Malevich the early 1900s who said on it’s inception:

I felt only night within me and it was then that I conceived the new art, which I called Suprematism.

Perhaps Moon felt part of that same night in them too? Nothing wrong with that.

Here’s the logo, courtesy of Brand New:

Logo Sydney

Logo Sydney

Get creative with stock photos, stock footage & production music from photolibrary.com

Bookmark and Share
  • I'm a big fan of logos, but who cares if Sydney or anywhere else has a logo? If they contribute anything to the buying process it is minimal. What's important is how I am engaged during the buying process and the experiences I have before, during and after my interaction.
  • A logo is not a brand. Nor is a website. A brand is so much more than a communications or creative exercise. Here is how to build a metropolitan city brand http://brandconsultantasia.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/how-to-brand-a-city-like-ipoh/
  • Well said, you can always install an outstanding state-of-the-art new letterbox right on the street but how much does that really say about your house and the experience of living in it?
  • You nailed it
  • From your perspective, what's the real point in the exercise of branding a city, state, country (or world) ?
  • Briefly, the point of branding a city, state or country - I'll leave out world because you haven't outlined the target market :) - depends on the city, state or country but generally it is to attract business, talent, investment, visitors, tourists, domestic and regional and international and so on. And each of those sectors have different requirements for value, influencers, preferred sources of information, communications channels and so on. Moreover, the competition in those sectors is different so the way in which a brand interacts with those sectors must be different.

    Ultimately, it is about delivering value. Economic, experiential and emotional value.
  • If you were to make a logo for a metropolitan city, where would you start?
blog comments powered by Disqus