Reaction to Tauranga Downtown's new brand

For the past five years 'We have it all' was the phrase used to lure those with disposable income into Tauranga's central business district. Now shoppers and diners are being given the message 'Locals. Love it!' Kate Newton looks into what the new catch-cry means and why the change

Tauranga's Downtown retailers are pinning their hopes on a new brand to pull them through tough times and hold them in good stead for their battle against the malls.
The new logo and slogan were revealed earlier this week and will be followed by a marketing campaign that will include advertising, public relations and the launch of an interactive website.
The new brand is the latest beam of hope for retailers in the Downtown, with free Saturday morning parking starting today and a citywide loyalty card scheme also launched this week.
Tauranga-based Tuskany Agency, which is also a member of Mainstreet, is responsible for the new slogan, "Locals. Love it!" and the logo that it appears on.
Sally Cooke, the company's director and brand strategist, said the new slogan would appeal to Tauranga shoppers' parochial pride. "We kept on arriving back at this feeling that when you do wander around Downtown Tauranga there is a sense of place.
"You can wander into Cabbages and Kings and see Val then go across the road to Pluto and see the lady there and then back to see Mr Stewart at the jewellers."
The logo they came up with includes a small flag-like image with its colours each standing for a different aspect of the Downtown.
"And it has a shadow because anything with substance casts a shadow," Ms Cooke said.
Seventy-five people attended its launch on Monday night and Ms Cooke said there had been no negative feedback.
At longtime Downtown retailer Cabbages and Kings, manager Val Auld said the Christchurch earthquakes had made the first part of the year their toughest time in 19 years of business. But a lift had occurred in the past few weeks.
And the Downtown's new logo was giving them more hope.
"It's brilliant," Mrs Auld said.
Mainstreet manager Kirby Weis said Tauranga Downtown's slogan had been "We have it all" for the last 5 years.
"At the time it was a good slogan. We do have it all but in these times we have got to keep improving. It served its purpose and now we are ready for the next chapter," Mr Weis said.
Mr Weis said that while "Locals. Love it" would appeal to Tauranga people, he also expected tourists to relate to it.
"When you go to places you want to meet the people," he said.
"I'm not a tourist who doesn't want to be involved with a place. At the end of the day I want to sit down at a cafe and catch up with the locals."
In the Downtown, Mr Weis estimates 60-65 per cent of the 270 primary retail stores are locally owned and operated.
"Our strength is, we have a lot of locals and personalities. We have those people who make it more enjoyable than a mall environment," he said.
"We might be the CBD but we are also a whole bunch of people trying to make the community work."
But it hadn't been a good time for city retailers lately, he said.
"Honestly, our members are hurting, but in saying that we have to always be positive. The feeling is 'yes it's hard, but we are still kicking on, we are still paying the bills'," Mr Weis said.
As a piece of optimism for retailers, he offers some anecdotal evidence of a pick-up - the carparks are looking fuller.
"It's anecdotal, but we have seen it," he said.
"The future is bright. I'm an eternal optimist, but things move in cycles. We are going to be moving out of the bottom of the cycle soon. In the next year or two things will be getting better.
"Things will definitely get better. We've just got to grind it out."
At one of the city's oldest retailers, Don Stewart Jewellers, co-owner Lawrence Stewart said he saw a bright future for the Downtown, but one that would be brighter if free Saturday parking was extended to the whole week.
"Now that there are so many satellite cities, or shopping centres, that have not got any parking charges incurred on them, it's a definite negative," Mr Stewart said.
Andy Mead, a strategic planner with Tauranga City Council and a member of the City Centre Action Group, said proposed and in-progress development for the city centre would bring more people on to the main shopping streets.
Developments included the under-construction Sharp Tudhope building on the corner of Devonport Rd and 1st Ave, and the big office building being built on the corner of Elizabeth St and Cameron Rd.
Retailers could also look to the proposed development on the City Markets site and a downtown tertiary campus, as well as the development of the waterfront, for hope of more people coming to spend time in the Downtown.
Negotiations with a four-star hotel were also going on.
"It's going to continue to be the primary commercial hub of the city," Mr Mead said.
"It will also be the primary entertainment and dining top location."