Parnell is a place where ‘amazing’ and ‘incredible’ live just around the corner from each other, where timeless heritage rubs shoulders with the bright, modern lights of tomorrow and where business meets up with pleasure for a perfectly served coffee or gastronomic adventure.
Late last year Parnell Business Association embarked on an extensive engagement programme that involved focus groups and individual consultations with a wide cross section of the various stakeholders in Parnell under the project banner ʽReinvigorate Parnell’. The outcome was a Blueprint document for our future direction, with one of the initial imperatives being the repositioning and rebranding of Parnell. Following a range of submissions from local creative agencies, we awarded Parnell-based Ogilvy & Mather the project of repositioning Parnell and redesigning the brand identity.
The initial exploration of this process began with an assessment of the competitive environment and what could be a distinctive ‘essence’ that Parnell could own. A number of strong contenders came through this intensive process, but one stood out amongst all the rest. It made the most of Parnell’s mix of history and modern living, as well as our wide open (park and shore) spaces and attractiveness as a business hub within easy reach of the CBD. It appealed to both our commercial and residential population – those who want Parnell to succeed in a business sense – and to those who live and seek a relaxed and ‘unpressured’ experience where “you can be you”. The clincher was that the chosen direction made us excited, not only for the Parnell of today, but for what lies round the corner.
The final positioning chosen: ‘Parnell. The Space to Be’
These few short words ‘clicked’ with a host of different stakeholders for a number of different reasons, all of which were positive.
Next was the development of a new identity. What has resulted is a confident wordmark, angled for progression. It celebrates being ‘a village on a hill’ and the typeface is modern, bold and spacious with a classic nod to heritage, loosely enclosed in a box frame.
You will notice our website refresh, new flags flying in the streets and the new brand rolling out in various media applications. So watch this space – there is still much to do, but we now know it’s in a new and exciting direction – one that will form the basis of all that we do to help Parnell succeed.
