New Logo Melbourne’s $240,000 makeover

Melbourne, the brand, has been given a $240,000 facelift and the result is a big M. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has unveiled a new logo for the city, which will replace the previous M and leaf symbol introduced in the early 1990s. Cr Doyle said the old logo was “a bit daggy” and Melbourne needed a new design to reflect its cool sophistication on the world stage. “The world’s changed, the city of Melbourne has changed, this organisation has changed as well, and we’re now playing far more, not just on the national stage but also on the international stage,” Cr Doyle said.

 

Preliminary research for the new brand cost the council $91,000 and the design itself cost $148,000, Cr Doyle said.

But he defended the cost, saying the new logo would save the council money in the long run by gradually replacing about 50 different logos the city now uses for its various services.

Designing those logos cost about $90,000 a year, excluding brand maintenance costs.

Monash University marketing expert Francis Farrelly described the new logo as “OK”.

“It certainly doesn’t jump out at me immediately, it reminds me a little bit of some of the early incarnations of the MTV logo with the big M,” he said.

Associate Professor Farrelly said Melbourne’s brand had needed refreshing and the cost had not been excessive.

But he said the logo would be meaningless without improvements to the city to back it up.

“Given the brand of this city … is not at its brightest period, then putting out a new bold logo like this is all good but it needs to be supported,” Associate Professor Farrelly said.

“It’s not going to mean anything unless people can identify with it and feel that we’re in a renaissance period and a bunch of things are going to happen to bring Melbourne back to genuinely being in the best three or four cities in the world.”

Associate Professor Farrelly said the logo would only live up to the City of Melbourne’s spin if matched with events, beautification programs and increased safety.

“If it is a brand logo and it is just words then it’s a bit like crocodile tears, the tears are there but they don’t actually mean anything,” he said.

Cr Doyle said the council would not spend any additional money on rolling out the new logo because it would be gradually introduced as signs, uniforms, stationery and other branded products needed replacing.

Cr Doyle said the old logo was produced in a different era – when Joan Kirner was premier and Lindy Chamberlain was being compensated for wrongful conviction.

“If I recall accurately I was listening to MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, and I still can’t understand that,” he said.

with Mex Cooper
source