Another Brand Design for City Leaders to Consider

The same citizen group responsible for selecting the controversial osprey design as Dunedin’s potential brand is now expected to recommend it be rejected in favor of another. 

The alternate design is to be proposed at the March 1 commission meeting. It depicts just the word “DUNEDIN” in a clean, all-capital-letter, san-serif font with a decorative, tri-color “E.” Underneath is a caption that reads: “Life Flows Your Way.”

The Branding Selection Committee, made up of 11 citizens and four city staff members, believes the alternate design “would prove to not only be more representative of Dunedin’s brand statement, but also simpler, fresher and far more versatile,” according to a Feb. 22 letter to city commissioners.

The committee reached its decision Feb. 17 after sifting through community feedback from several stakeholder groups that had met with city staff members since Jan. 26. These groups included:

• the Arts & Culture Committee
• the Visit Dunedin Committee
• Dunedin Chamber of Commerce members and the board of directors (in a separate meeting)
• the Community Redevelopment Advisory Committee
• the Public Relations Advisory Committee
• the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee
• the Branding Selection Committee

The color stripes in the tri-color “E” in the proposed design could be changed to reflect a specific occasion, the Branding Committee says, such as for Mardi Gras celebrations or the Scottish Highlander Games.

The proposed brand comes from a list of four alternates that were designed by independent marketing consultant Wilesmith Advertising. The four short-listed brands were selected by the Branding Selection Committee and narrowed from 15.

— a blue and green osprey in the shape of a heart, with the caption “DUNEDIN: Home of Honeymoon Island: We’ll Steal Your Heart” — was met with immediate public outcry when it was revealed Jan. 19.

An approved brand would, in part, be used on stationery, websites, advertisements, publications, signs, maps and directories that promote travel to Dunedin.

Wilesmith Advertising was to help establish a unified branding and marketing strategy for Dunedin.

Commissioners will discuss the proposed brands Thursday at  during a public meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m.