When a quarter is a whole
If branding is about claiming a space and owning it then Parnell has just done that. The smartest and oldest suburb in Auckland has now declared itself the most creative.
The new Parnell brand has adopted creative quarter as its strapline. However, it is not only creativity in the traditional sense. It has been given a much fuller meaning which embraces a wide variety of activities that can involve everyone that either lives of works in Parnell.
Before going any further we have a declaration of interest to make. We’re in love with Parnell. Our Auckland offices have been there for eight years. Our Creative Director has lived here for 17 years. And oh yes we were given the responsibility of creating the brand.
As we know Parnell is rich in heritage and has enjoyed a number of eras which have helped define it. The 1970s spring to mind.
Part of our brief was to revitalise the brand to create a more contemporary and dynamic image of the surburb. This wasn’t as difficult as it might sound, as the raw material was all there. Parnell has always had a reputation for its creative or artistic side.
But as the brand story stated:
Let’s not limit ourselves to creativity’s conventional meaning. Yes, we have art galleries, designer clothing and speciality shops. There’s Bromhead, poking his wit at sacred cows. The musical genius of the Finns. New Zealand’s first man of letters, C K Stead. All inspired expressions of creativity, but we’re more than that. It’s our ability to be a bit lateral. Using our minds to reason and imagine solutions. Always striving to be original and inventive.
Parnell can still be other things. “We have created a brand that will appeal to all parts of Parnell. It has a large element which will enable Parnell to turn up the volume,” said Mary Davy, Maxim’s Creative Director.
The challenge now, as it is for all brands, is to get the brand ‘out there’ so that no one can be mistaken that Parnell is indeed the creative quarter.