31 March 2009
Auckland’s imminent ‘super city’ status will ease confusion for tourists and immigrants faced with sub-brands pushed by all four major cities within the region, according to a marketing expert.
The University of Auckland Business School senior marketing lecturer Dr Mike Lee says sub-branding by Auckland, North Shore, Manukau and Waitakere local authorities confuse people who don’t live in Auckland or those planning to relocate to the region.
“There is currently a lot of splitting in terms of marketing money in Auckland as a whole, so the Auckland Regional Council and Auckland City Council are building their own brands as well as North Shore, south and west Auckland all trying to develop their own sub-brands,” Dr Lee says.
“While this is good in terms of diversity, it can also be confusing. The new Super City will hopefully mean everyone will be on the same page when it comes to branding and marketing of the city as worldclass.”
Pushing Auckland as a city comparable with others of its size and power will be easier with the formation of one management entity for the region, Dr Lee says. But he is warning that one overall consistent brand is required.
“I think if the plan is to market Auckland as one brand to overseas visitors, we should just deliver one consistent message,” he says. “People will soon learn that there is still diversity within the city once their initial interest is stirred and they do some of their own research into what the city can offer.
“We aren’t told about all the diversity within major cities like London or New York, but when we arrive at those places we learn soon enough that there are lots of different things those cities can offer.”
Dr Lee, an expert in branding, says his only concern is that with a larger governance machine, costs and bureaucracy could be affected.
“Theoretically, one giant organisation should be more efficient than several smaller ones all striving towards the same goal, but if for some reason it ends up generating more red tape to go through, and if everything actually becomes less efficient, then that would be unfortunate and would impact very negatively on Auckland as a brand.” |