South Waikato District Council called for local residents to represent their towns on new signage. The people in the concept designs above are meant to be exchanged for local faces. Image / Supplied
South Waikato District Council called for local residents to represent their towns on new signage. The people in the concept designs above are meant to be exchanged for local faces. Image / Supplied
When South Waikato decided it needed a new campaign to attract more visitors, the first stop was to ask the 25,000 people who call the district home what makes it special.
Their answer was loud and proud: "We love it here". That's now the over-arching slogan for the whole district, with catchphrases and colour themes chosen for each of the four towns of Tīrau, Arapuni, Tokoroa and Putāruru.
There's also a shortlist of 22 locals who answered an open call to be the face of their town and will feature in a new photo campaign with local landmarks.
Mayor Jenny Shattock is "extremely excited" about the new promotional push and says the target audience is primarily visitors to the district.
"Because locals already know ... why they love it here.
"This signage is all about presenting a fresh new image for South Waikato... that is positive, forward-looking, welcoming and aligned with all the exciting growth happening in the district."
The push for visitors comes hard on the heels of a council visit to Wellington to seek investors and of a wave of businesses, including the OFI dairy factory and Better Eggs' free-range forest farm, setting up in the district.
The district has much to offer to visitors, highlights include the Blue Spring Te Waihou walkway, the Waikato River Trails, the Arapuni dam and kayaking tours.
The new signs are all about people and community – and that's why we asked the people of South Waikato to put their names and faces forward," the council says.
SWDC digital marketing coordinator Michaela Coffin says the local faces would make the signs "really special".
"We have received 22 nominations from a range of locals. Later..., we will be going through them all to select the ones to invite for a photoshoot for the signs," she says.
The re-branding project has been in the making since last year when the council decided to cut its annual investment of $60,000 to Hamilton and Waikato Tourism to do its own promotion of the district.
Tourists at the Blue Springs (Te Waihou) near Putaruru. Photo / Joel Ford
SWDC has allocated a total of $457,000 to the rebranding project, which is split into two phases.
The first phase made up of project management, community consultation, research, and brand design has just been completed on budget which was $138,000.
The second phase, which includes the physical costs of new signs, sign replacement and installation, is $319,000.
Coffin says the final signs will look similar to the current concept designs and depict local residents in front of their town's landmarks.
For Putāruru, the council is looking at having the photoshoot in front of the waterpark by the foodcourt and for Arapuni, they are looking at the suspension bridge by the Power Station.
The iconic Tokoroa Pine Man is popular with visitors to the district. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
"The colours for each town sign were chosen to represent something special about the town. The pink for Arapuni represents the gorgeous sunsets they get. The blue for Putāruru represents the Blue Spring (Te Puna). The red ochre for Tokoroa is significant to the local iwi, Raukawa. The green for Tīrau represents their strong farming roots," Coffin says.
The designs have been developed by brand expert Sven Baker in cooperation with a stakeholder reference group made up of nine local representatives.
Representatives include mayor Jenny Shattock, Tīrau Community Board chair Kerry Purdy, Raewyn Whiteman-Thorne from Pride in Putāruru, Maria Te Kanawa from Raukawa mana whenua and Akarere Henry from the South Waikato Pacific Islands Community.
The group also developed welcoming catchphrases for each town. For Tīrau, the slogan "Refresh in Tīrau" was chosen. Putāruru's slogan is "Families thrive, futures grow". For Tokoroa, the group chose the Māori welcome "Nau mai, haere mai" and for Arapuni, the slogan "Take it slow, enjoy our village" was chosen.
Coffin says the whole community had the chance to be involved in developing the slogans and designs by giving feedback.
The current district signs are made of corrugated iron. Pictured is the concept for the new signage that includes the slogan "We love it here". Image / Supplied
Research from 2019 showed that many people outside the district could not place South Waikato on a map and business owners in New Zealand's big cities even believe the district has a notorious reputation.
But the locals love living there and when the council asked them about what makes South Waikato special, it became clear that the people of the district are super proud of their communities.
The current signage is not consistent across the district, so each town will receive its own sign at the entry points and there will also be new signs at the district boundaries displaying the newly developed slogan "We love it here".
"When we spoke to the people who live here, the overarching theme was that the locals love it here and this is what we are trying to get across to visitors," Coffin says.
SWDC head of economic development Paul Bowden says the four towns were diverse, so the council was looking for something they all had in common.
The Arapuni suspension bridge near the power station. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
"The unifying idea is that people all love their towns and communities even though they are so different. If we can feature local people on the signs it will make them authentic," Bowden says.
Tirau is known for its corrugated iron art. Photo / Bayleys
