Auckland councillors call for more brand recognition

Councillors are frustrated at a lack of acknowledgement for the Auckland Council at events hosted by Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).

The subject was raised by Councillor Cathy Casey at the Auckland Council Arts, Culture and Events Committee meeting on Thursday.

Pointing to events such as the Auckland Writers Festival, several members of the committee agreed the council requires more visibility in terms of branding at events funded by ratepayers’ money.

Dr Casey said at the meeting a theme is emerging where council events are often not recognised by the public as being funded by ratepayers via the council.

"How the council is represented to the public is through the pohutukawa [logo], and the words Auckland Council, and that’s what makes the link with ratepayers’ money. That’s where people get all confused about who is running things," said Dr Casey.

"It’s really public relations 101," added Councillor John Watson.

"It’s remarkable that nobody has really picked up on this from within the organisations’ side from the council. In many cases there are big sums of money put in and people have no idea that Auckland Council is involved at all.

"Even the rugby league Nines, which was a massive event…people do not realise that the council is a huge funder, going to millions of dollars to make that happen," said Mr Watson.

Mr Watson believes that acknowledgement for hosting ratepayer funded events would boost the council’s credibility amongst ratepayers.

"When we put on the events, people have to realise that’s what your ratepayer dollar is helping do. Especially in the environment of the last couple of years, there is a lot of scepticism, so the things that the council really deserve credit for isn't probably getting acknowledged.

"It’s not climbing Mount Everest; it’s a pretty obvious thing. If this was a commercial business this would be first and foremost, they understand the importance of branding and winning people over."

Auckland Council Events Manager David Burton said there can be complications with the branding of events.

"Sometimes local boards get quite critical when there’s only an Auckland Council logo and no reference to their local board, so we get it from both sides,” said Mr Burton.

"I would like to have a bigger marketing budget for our events. We do try to get attribution at any event we are involved in to make sure there is always Auckland Council branded equipment and flags."

A clearer link between the CCOs and Auckland Council was a point of emphasis, with councillors Alf Filipaina and George Wood both stating that the CCOs should clearly indicate they are part of Auckland Council when hosting events.

The committee has requested a report to look further into the issue.