Acknowledging that the North Sydney brand had developed a lack lustre reputation amongst its residents and workers, North Sydney Council approached us to revitalise the North Sydney CBD brand. The project presented the council with a way to better understand the needs of business leaders and residents with the objective of enhancing the community’s overall experience of the precinct.
Following a major strategic review into North Sydney as a destination for business and residents, Frost* Design and The Nest uncovered the key insight that North Sydney offers a unique work/life balance, which comes from combining the densest CBD in the country with green, harbour fronted surroundings that promote wellbeing.
The strategy’s outcome was brought to life through a creative concept centred on the tagline “Happiness works here”. The concept has driven a content and experience-driven campaign opening up new ways to communicate with target markets and new partnerships with local workers and businesses.
Frost* Design created a striking logo that embodies this “happy balance” by populating the letters “NTH SYD” with vibrant colours, geometric shapes and juxtapositions of images from the local area. The Nest created a content strategy and website to source content from the community in line with events held throughout the area. The crowdsourcing concept puts the content into the hands of current and potential North Sydney workers to represent the perspective of those who work in the area. There is also a dedicated Spotify playlist to represent the feeling of happiness in North Sydney.
The outcome of this strategic rebrand has played out in multiple ways. There is now active involvement and engagement amongst community members as well as increased business partnering with Council to create events and experiences. Importantly, North Sydney has a revitalised sense of its own identity and more clearly articulates its values and personality in the physical environment and across its social channels. The end result is more relevant and meaningful community engagement that is converting to more positive perceptions about North Sydney CBD.